Apple updates 13-inch MacBook Pro Retina with Broadwell

Updated MacBook Pro Retina 13 offers Broadwell, Force Touch trackpad, longer battery life

Additionally, the laptop now features the Force Touch trackpad and its battery life has been extended.

Andrey Konstantinov, Published 03/10/2015

Apart from introducing its long-anticipated Watch wearable and a new fanless MacBook during its "Spring Forward" event yesterday, Apple has also updated the 13-inch MacBook Pro Retina. The most important upgrade is of course the Intel Broadwell ULV (28 W) processors, but the new Force Touch trackpad is now installed too. It reacts differently based on applied pressure, allowing the user to, for example, "deep-click" on a word and thus summon a Wikipedia article about it. Apple also promises improved battery life (10 hours instead of 9), though it's not yet known whether the battery capacity was increased or more efficient 14 nm processors alone are responsible for this improvement.

As usual, Apple does not reveal the exact CPU models, but they are very easy to deduce. All three configurations are stated to use Intel Iris Pro 6100 graphics and either a Core i5 or a Core i7 processor. Only three currently existing SKUs match these criteria:

Intel Core i5-5257U (default on $1300 and $1500 models)
Intel Core i5-5287U (default on the $1800 model and available as a $100 upgrade for the other two)
Intel Core i7-5557U ($100 upgrade for the $1800 model, $200 for the other two)

8 GB of 1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM is standard for all configurations but can be doubled for an extra $200. PCIe-based flash storage is now allegedly twice as fast compared to the predecessor and is available in 128 GB ($1300 model), 256 GB ($1500 model), 512 GB ($1800 model) or 1 TB (a $500 upgrade for the $1800 model) capacities. All configurations are already available for purchase through Apple's web store.

The 15-inch MacBook Pro Retina, however, did not get updated. This is because it uses non-ULV quad-core processors, which are still missing in the Broadwell range. It's likely that Apple will announce an upgrade as soon as Intel starts offering 5th generation 47 W CPUs to its partners.

... facilitates new ways to interact with content

Buyers can choose a faster CPU, more storage or double the RAM

Source(s)

Apple Store (US)

+ Show Press Release

Press release

Apple Updates 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display & MacBook Air

SAN FRANCISCO―March 9, 2015―Apple® today updated the 13-inch MacBook Pro® with Retina® display with the all-new Force Touch trackpad, fifth generation Intel Core processors and Intel Iris Graphics 6100, two times faster flash and longer battery life, bringing even more performance and capabilities to our pro customers.* Apple also today updated the 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air® with fifth generation Intel Core processors, Intel HD Graphics 6000, and Thunderbolt 2, and added up to two times faster flash to the 13-inch MacBook Air, making the perfect everyday notebooks even better.

“Today the popular 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, 11-inch MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Air all received significant upgrades,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The 13-inch MacBook Pro has been updated with the latest processors, more powerful graphics, faster flash, longer battery life and the all-new Force Touch trackpad. We’re also bringing the latest processors and graphics, and faster Thunderbolt 2 to the 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air, as well as up to two times faster flash to the 13-inch MacBook Air.”

The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display features the all-new Force Touch trackpad that brings a new dimension of interactivity to the Mac®. The new trackpad features built-in force sensors that allow you to click anywhere and haptic feedback that provides a responsive and uniform feel. You can even customize the feel of the trackpad by changing the amount of pressure needed to register each click. The Force Touch trackpad also enables a new gesture called Force Click, a click followed by a deeper press, for tasks like pulling up the definition of a word, quickly seeing a map or glancing at a preview of a file.

The updated 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display also features fifth generation Intel Core processors up to 3.1 GHz, with Turbo Boost Speeds up to 3.4 GHz, faster integrated Intel Iris Graphics 6100, and flash storage that is up to two times faster, with throughput up to 1.6GBps.* In addition, the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display now delivers up to 10 hours of battery life and up to 12 hours of iTunes® movie playback.**

The updated 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air now feature fifth generation Intel Core processors up to 2.2 GHz, with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.2 GHz, integrated Intel HD Graphics 6000, and Thunderbolt 2, delivering up to 20Gbps, twice the bandwidth of the previous generation. The 13-inch MacBook Air also features faster flash storage that is up to two times faster than the previous generation.***

Every new Mac comes with OS X® Yosemite, a powerful new version of OS X, redesigned and refined with a fresh, modern look, powerful new apps and amazing Continuity features that make working across your Mac and iOS devices more fluid than ever.

iMovie®, GarageBand®, iPhoto®, and Pages®, Numbers® and Keynote® come free with every new Mac. iMovie lets you easily create beautiful movies, you can use GarageBand to make new music or learn to play piano or guitar and you can edit and share your best shots with iPhoto. Pages, Numbers and Keynote, make it easy to create, edit and share stunning documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Pages, Numbers and Keynote for iCloud® let you create a document on iPhone® or iPad®, edit it on your Mac and collaborate with friends, even if they are on a PC. The new Photos for OS X app keeps your growing photo and video collection automatically organized and easy to navigate and will be included in an OS X Yosemite update this spring.

Pricing & Availability
The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is available today through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers with a 2.7 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.1 GHz, 8GB of memory and 128GB of flash storage starting at $1,299 (US); with a 2.7 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.1 GHz, 8GB of memory and 256GB of flash storage starting at $1,499 (US); and with a 2.9 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.3 GHz, 8GB of memory and 512GB of flash storage starting at $1,799 (US). Configure-to-order options include a faster dual-core Intel Core i7 processor up to 3.1 GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.4 GHz, up to 16GB of memory and flash storage up to 1TB. Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at www.apple.com/macbook-pro.

MacBook Air is available today through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. The 11-inch MacBook Air comes with a 1.6 GHz processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.7 GHz, 4GB of memory and is available with 128GB of flash storage starting at $899 (US), and 256GB of flash storage starting at $1,099 (US). The 13-inch MacBook Air comes with a 1.6 GHz processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.7 GHz, 4GB of memory and is available with 128GB of flash storage starting at $999 (US), and 256GB of flash storage starting at $1,199 (US). Configure-to-order options include a 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.2 GHz, up to 8GB of memory and up to 512GB flash storage. Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at www.apple.com/macbook-air.

*Testing conducted by Apple in March 2015 using preproduction MacBook Pro with Retina display configurations. For more information visit www.apple.com/macbook-pro/features-retina/.
**The Wireless Web protocol testing was conducted by Apple in March 2015 using preproduction MacBook Pro with Retina display configurations. Battery life and charge cycles vary by use and settings. For more information visit www.apple.com/macbook-pro.
***Testing conducted by Apple in March 2015 using preproduction MacBook Air configurations. For more information visit www.apple.com/macbook-air/features.html.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, MacBook Pro, Retina, MacBook Air, iTunes, OS X, iMovie, GarageBand, iPhoto, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iCloud, iPhone and iPad are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.