Apple Unveils Speedier, More Visually Appealing MacBook Pro, Air at WWDC

Written by Channel
June 11, 2012

The Silicon Valley giant's computers both start shipping today.

Apple is rolling out major improvements to its notebook computers the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco Monday.

The Silicon Valley giant’s computers both start shipping today. The Air, described by Phil Schiller, SVP of worldwide marketing, as “really [changing] the consumer notebook market,” is available in 11-inch and 13-inch designs, features the latest Core i5 and Core i7 dual-core processors; an Intel HD graphics chip that is 60 percent faster; flash storage up to four times faster than traditional hard drives; 4GB of faster memory, configurable to 8GB; and a new FaceTime HD camera that delivers HD 720p.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro features the latest Intel Core i5 or Core i7 dual-core processors, up to 2.9 GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.6 GHz. The 15-inch version features the latest Intel Core i7 quad-core processors up to 2.7 GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.7 GHz and NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M discrete graphics. Both the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pros can be configured with a 1TB hard drive or SSDs up to 512GB that are up to twice as fast as the previous generation.

The MacBook Air and MacBook Pro ship with OS X(R) Lion. Starting today, customers who purchase a Mac are eligible for a free copy of OS X Mountain Lion when it becomes available. Mountain Lion introduces what Apple calls innovative features including the all-new Messages app, Notification Center, system-wide Sharing, AirPlay Mirroring, Game Center and the enhanced security of Gatekeeper. With iCloud built into the foundation of OS X, Apple says Mountain Lion makes it easier than ever to keep your content up to date across all your devices.

The 11-inch MacBook Air comes with a 1.7 GHz processor, 4GB of memory and is available with 64GB of flash storage starting at $999 (U.S.), and 128GB of flash storage starting at $1,099. The 13-inch MacBook Air comes with a 1.8 GHz processor, 4GB of memory and is available with 128GB of flash storage starting at $1,199, and 256GB of flash storage starting at $1,499. Configure-to-order options include a 2.0 GHz Intel Core i7 processor, up to 8GB of 1600 MHz DDR3 onboard memory and up to 512GB flash storage.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro is available with a 2.5 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of memory and 500GB hard drive starting at $1,199, and with a 2.9 GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of memory and 750GB hard drive starting at $1,499. The 15-inch MacBook Pro is available with a 2.3 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, 4GB of memory, Intel HD Graphics 4000 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M, and 500GB hard drive starting at $1,799; and with a 2.6 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of memory, Intel HD Graphics 4000 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M, and 750GB hard drive starting at $2,199. Configure-to-order options include faster quad-core processors up to 2.7 GHz, additional hard drive capacity up to 1TB, up to 8GB of memory and solid state storage up to 512GB.