Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Apple gives Retina MacBook Pros a speed boost ahead of Yosemite rollout

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After rumors surfaced yesterday about an incoming MacBook Pro refresh, Apple’s store went down earlier today, and now, hey presto! New MacBook Pros. The updated models haven’t changed significantly, but look to be better equipped to handle the next version of OS X due in the fall, Yosemite. All 15-inch MacBook Pro Retinas now have 16GB of RAM standard instead of 8GB, and the priciest model has an optional 1TB PCIe-based SSD. The larger Retina models were also bumped by 200Mhz to the latest 4th Core-i7 CPUs, with the top-liner getting a Core i7-4980HQ which hits the magical 4.0GHz mark. Surprisingly, Apple has stuck with NVIDIA’s GeForce GT-750M for its top model with discrete graphics rather than updating to the latest GeForce GT800M series. The upside, however, is that the price for that model has dropped by $100 to $2,499 (or £1,999 in the UK).

The 13-inch models, meanwhile also got memory and speed boosts. The minimum amount of memory now available on the entry level 13-inch MacBook Pro has doubled to 8GB, and all 13-inch models also got a 200MHz CPU speed bump. Despite the performance tweaks, Apple has kept the same pricing across the board, apart from the aforementioned discrete graphics model. All of that should keep MacBook Pro fans happy, particularly those grumbling about the meager 4GB of RAM previously in the base models. We imagine that Apple wasn’t upgrading the memory out of sheer generosity, however. There are a lot of new tweaks in Yosemite, including a new look, Spotlight search, widgets, a new version of Safari and more — so any extra space won’t hurt.

Filed under: Laptops, Apple

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Source: Apple (1), (2)

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