Digitimes briefly reports that Apple will be releasing updated notebooks "in the near future", with supply chain sources indicating that Apple's orders will rise 20% in the second quarter compared to first-quarter production.

The new MacBooks are only expected to receive specification upgrades to Intel's latest Haswell platform and are estimated to be unveiled at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, the sources said.

Claims of a 20% increase in orders come less than a month after the site claimed that orders would see a 10% increase for the quarter, although overall notebook shipments for 2013 are expected to be flat or only slightly higher year over year due to a lack of major updates and a weak PC market.


Late last month, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that an update to the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lines would be a highlight for next month's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which kicks off on June 10. Kuo had previously believed that Apple would consolidate its MacBook Pro lines into an all-Retina lineup in mid-2013, but he now believes that continued popularity of the non-Retina models has led Apple to push back its consolidation plans for the time being.

Kuo indicated that updated models of the non-Retina MacBook Pro and MacBook Air should ship relatively soon after WWDC, with updated Retina MacBook Pro models shipping somewhat later due to constraints on display production.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has issued a new report forecasting that the product highlight of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which kicks off on June 10, will be the introduction of new models of the company's MacBook Pro and MacBook Air lines based on Intel's latest Haswell processors. The projection is in line with previous reports from Kuo and other sources, as well as recent claims that Apple will begin ramping up production of the new models in mid-May.


On the MacBook Pro side, Kuo is reversing his earlier predictions suggesting that 2013 would see Apple discontinue the non-Retina MacBook Pro lineup and shift consumers to the slimmer and more expensive Retina line introduced at last year's WWDC. Kuo believes that continued strength of non-Retina MacBook Pro models, particularly the 13-inch line, have led Apple to continue producing the non-Retina lineup for the time being.

Contrary to our previous projection, we now think Apple will continue to make the MacBook Pro alongside the MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro because the 13” MacBook Pro remains the most popular product in the MacBook line. Also, there is still demand in emerging markets, where Internet penetration isn’t advanced, for optical disk drives.

Kuo believes that the updated versions of the non-Retina MacBook Pro could begin shipping very soon after WWDC, but that the new Retina MacBook Pro models will begin shipping somewhat later due to production bottlenecks on the displays.

For the MacBook Air, Kuo also believes that the new models will be introduced at WWDC and ship very soon after, but he indicates that Apple is unlikely to include Retina displays in the updated lineup. He believes that cost, thickness, and production concerns will continue to keep Retina displays out of Apple's lowest-cost and thinnest notebook line for the time being.

Over the past several months, a number of rumors have suggested that Apple will be looking to update its notebook lineup at or soon after its Worldwide Developers Conference, which kicks off on June 10. In particular, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a relatively strong track record, laid out a roadmap in January predicting that the MacBook Air could see an update by late in the second quarter with Apple's MacBook Pro moving to an all-Retina lineup early in the third quarter.

Reports on whether there will be any design changes as part of a rumored June notebook update have varied, with a February report from Taiwan's Economic Times claiming that the MacBook Air will see a design refresh while Kuo has suggested that the Retina MacBook Pro may also see design tweaks.


Digitimes has weighed in several times on the June notebook refresh rumors, first noting them in late December while suggesting that Apple may cut prices on the MacBook Air in the interim in order to keep sales moving. To that end, Apple did in fact drop pricing on its high-end 13-inch MacBook Air alongside a February spec bump for the Retina MacBook Pro. Digitimes weighed in again just weeks ago, claiming that Apple will be updating its notebook lineup late this quarter, again suggesting a June launch.

In a new report out today, Digitimes claims that Apple's quarterly notebook shipments are expected to grow 10% sequentially as the company works through the remainder of its excess inventory and looks to begin ramping up production again in mid-May. The report notes that this new production will primarily be next-generation models based on the Haswell platform.

Apple's MacBook shipments in the second quarter are expected to grow 10% sequentially as the company has almost finished digesting its excess inventory and should start placing new orders in mid-May, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.

The orders in May are expected to be mainly Haswell-based models, the sources noted.

Conflicting with some earlier reports of design changes for the MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro, Digitimes says that Apple's suppliers have not received any instructions for changes to designs or their equipment, suggesting that the upgrades may be limited to internal improvements.

During Apple's earnings conference call earlier this week, CEO Tim Cook appeared to play down the company's product launch plans for the next several months, specifically noting optimism about "amazing" new products coming in the "fall and throughout 2014".

Digitimes reports that Apple has essentially halted all component orders for its Mac product lines, apparently working through significant inventories of components delivered during an aggressive ramp-up late last year that may have proven overly aggressive.

The suppliers originally expected to finish digesting their Mac inventories in April, but are now stranded waiting for further instructions from Apple.

The sources revealed that Apple's Mac orders to the supply chain dropped to almost nothing after the Lunar New Year holidays. Apple had high hopes for its Mac product lines and placed aggressive orders at the end of 2012; however, the company is now badly affected by the decision.

The report claims that Apple generally provides shipment forecasts to its supply chain partners at the beginning of each quarter, but the company has not done so for the second quarter. The lack of information has reportedly left suppliers wondering when they will be able to resume production.

Just last week, Digitimes claimed that Apple is likely to refresh its notebook lineup at the end of the second quarter, so it seems that suppliers may need to start ramping up production for new models in the relatively near future.


Apple frequently has to juggle its supply chain as it approaches product updates, seeking to accurately estimate consumer demand in order to deplete its existing inventories just as the new models are released. But if today's report is true, it seems that Apple may have overestimated customer demand for the early part of 2013 and is now finding itself with substantial inventories heading into its next round of product updates.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has also warned about reading too much into rumors from Apple's supply chain, noting that its "very complex" nature makes it difficult to accurately interpret what is actually going on from limited data points, even if that data is accurate.

Citing supply chain sources, Digitimes reports that Apple is expected to see only modest "single-digit" shipment growth for its notebook lineup in 2013, with the 13-inch MacBook Pro in particular seeing weaker-than-expected sales.

Apple was confident about its 13-inch MacBook Pro performance for 2013, but the device's actual sales turn out to be weaker than expected, leaving the company still digesting its inventories in the first quarter.

The sources pointed out that Apple's MacBook Pros have strong attraction to consumers, but the devices' high prices are instead pushing consumers away.

The report also claims that Apple will be refreshing its notebook lineup "at the end of the second quarter", which could mean an introduction at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference expected in June.


Digitimes had reported in late December that Apple was planning a June refresh for its notebook lineup, and similar timeframes have been claimed by reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Taiwanese newspaper Economic Times.

Back in mid-February, Apple released a surprise minor update for the Retina MacBook Pro, including a significant price drop for the 13-inch models. Apple also dropped pricing on the high-end MacBook Air at the time, a move that had been at least in part predicted by Digitimes in its late December report.

Apple is likely to use Intel's forthcoming Haswell processors in its next-generation notebooks, and Intel will reportedly be releasing the first mobile Haswell chips in late May or early June.

Law360 reports (via 9to5Mac) that a Retina MacBook Pro owner has launched a would-be class action lawsuit against Apple, alleging that the widely reported ghosting issues are the result of defective LG screens and that Apple has been "tricking" customers into buying these by not distinguishing them from models sold with Samsung screens.


Ghost images of previous content have been widely demonstrated on some Retina MacBook Pros, as in the above video. A support thread on apple.com on the issue currently runs to over 7000 posts across almost 500 pages. Apple uses displays manufactured by both Samsung and LG in its Retina laptops, and it has been strongly indicated that the issue affects mostly machines with LG screens. Apple has so far made no statement on the issue beyond a support document in which it describes "image persistence" as a characteristic of IPS displays and gives some advice on minimizing the effects.


The lawsuit has been filed in a Federal court in California by Retina MacBook Pro owner Beau Hodges, who says that Apple should have disclosed the issue and allowed customers to choose between machines with LG and Samsung screens.

The electronics giant must know about the differences between the two versions because it spent a considerable amount of time testing the products during research and development and has been inundated with complaints from customers about the LG screen’s problems, according to the suit.

“The performance disparity between the LG version and the Samsung version is particularly troubling given that Apple represents the MacBook Pro with retina display as a single, unitary product, described as the highest quality notebook display on the market,” the complaint said. “None of Apple’s advertisements or representations discloses that it produces the computers with display screens that exhibit different levels of performance and quality.”

A class action lawsuit is one in which an individual or small number of people file a claim representing a larger group of individuals in similar circumstances.

Apple today released MacBook Pro Retina SMC Update 1.1, addressing an issue with frame rates while playing graphics-heavy games and fixing several other bugs.

About MacBook Pro Retina SMC Update v1.1

This update resolves a rare issue where users may experience slow frame rates when playing graphics-intensive games on the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display. It also includes bug fixes for Power Nap, wake from sleep and fan control.

Retina MacBook Pro owners will no doubt be testing the update to see whether the fan control bug fixes mentioned in the release notes address the widespread complaints with fan speed spikes under relatively low loads.

The 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro beat 18 Windows 8 laptops in a battery-life test conducted by Which?, the UK consumer test organization with a reputation for the most detailed testing in the industry.


In the web-browsing test where most laptops performed best, the Acer Aspire M5-581T was the longest-lasting Windows 8 machine at 358 minutes, while the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro lasted 30 minutes longer. The Which? test was primarily aimed at comparing Windows 8 machines, but they included two non-Windows machines as a contrast. The MacBook Pro topped the list, while a Samsung Series 3 Chromebook came out in the middle of the pack at 224 minutes.

The longest running Windows 8 laptop for web browsing is the Acer Aspire timeline Ultra M5-581T – a 15.6″ screen, 2.1kg ultrabook. It lasted almost six hours on battery – enough to get you to from London to Middlesbrough and back – and fell 30 minutes shy of the battery life of the 13″ Apple Macbook Pro Retina, but costs around £500 less.

If you switch to watching movies from the Acer’s hard disk, you’d get four hours and 37 minutes of movie viewing time – a little over an hour less than the Macbook.

Similar to Consumer Reports in the United States, Which? is known for scientific approach and detail in its testing. For example, product testers hook up laptops to lab gear to measure power consumption, use thermal imaging systems to measure heat and use light-measurement kits to test screen brightness.

Earlier this week, Geek.com highlighted a growing a number of complaints from owners of Apple's 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro regarding overactive fans. The issue has been noted in our forums and is the subject of a lengthy thread in Apple's discussion forums. From one report:

My first instance of runaway fans was under the lightest of conditions, having only one browser open only a few tabs and a cool computer. The fact it was cold is what is so alarming. Out of nowhere the fans spun up to a roar, stayed there for a few minutes, then decelerated back down to idle. Every so often this happens, usually daily, and it's horribly annoying on a high quality well engineered computer.

From the list of reports flowing in, users suspect that Apple's recent shift to using SanDisk solid-state drives in the Retina MacBook Pro may have something to do with the issue, although it is likely a software issue rather than a hardware one.


Apple support staff have offered mixed responses to the issue, with some customers receiving replacement machines while others have been assured that the behavior is normal. If the issue is indeed a software one as is suspected, Apple should be able to fix it relatively easily with an update pushed out to owners of the affected machines, but it is unclear whether Apple is working on a fix at this time.

(Photo from iFixit)

Following last week's introduction of new processors for the Retina MacBook Pro lineup, Primate Labs has analyzed benchmarks coming in from the new machines through the company's popular Geekbench 2 software.

Unsurprisingly, the benchmarks reveal a roughly 3-5% increase in Geekbench scores for each of the processor bumps. For the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro lineup, Apple bumped each of the three available processors by 100 MHz, accounting for the minor benchmark improvements.

One thing to note is that the new mid-range Retina MacBook Pro has the same speed processor as the old high-end Retina MacBook Pro. However, the new mid-range model is slightly slower than the old high-end model. While this seems surprising at first, the difference is easily explained by comparing the two processors: the old high-end processor has more cache than the new mid-range processor.

For the 13-inch lineup, the 100 MHz speed bumps were limited to machines based on the high-end stock configuration starting at 256 GB of storage, with those machines also seeing a 3-5% improvement in Geekbench scores.

Aside from the processor improvements for the Retina MacBook Pro lineup, Apple also reduced pricing on the 13-inch models by $200-$300, increased RAM on the high-end 15-inch stock configuration, and reduced pricing on storage options.

Apple today announced that it has updated its Retina MacBook Pro lineup with new processors, also moving to lower pricing across the board on the 13-inch models.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display now starts at $1,499 for 128GB of flash, and $1,699 for a new 2.6 GHz processor and 256GB of flash. The 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display now features a faster 2.4 GHz quad-core processor, and the top-of-the-line 15-inch notebook comes with a new 2.7 GHz quad-core processor and 16GB of memory.

The high-end 15-inch stock configuration now has the twice the amount of RAM that it had previously and the new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro prices are $200 and $300 cheaper than their predecessor models, respectively. Apple has also lowered pricing on SSD upgrades across the Retina MacBook Pro lineup, with the bump from 256 GB to 512 GB now costing $300 instead of $500 and the additional bump to 768 GB costing $400 instead of $500.

In addition to the Retina MacBook Pro updates, Apple has also lowered the price of the 256 GB 13-inch MacBook Air by $100, now starting at $1399.

Update: Apple has also eliminated the high-end stock configuration of the non-Retina 15-inch MacBook Pro, leaving only the base model starting at $1799. Customers can still configure the low-end model with all available options, meaning that the previous high-end configuration is still available, but it is no longer being promoted separately as a stock machine.

Apple today added the new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro to the refurbished section of its online store, giving prospective customers the opportunity to save 15% compared to brand-new machine. Currently available models include:

- 2.5 GHz Core i5 with 128 GB storage: $1439, compared to $1699 new

- 2.5 GHz Core i5 with 256 GB storage: $1699, compared to $1999 new

- 2.9 GHz Core i7 with 512 GB storage: $2289, compared to $2689 new


All three models are listed as shipping in 1-3 business days.

As with all of Apple's refurbished products, the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro units have been thoroughly tested and reconditioned and carry a one-year warranty equal to that offered on brand-new machines.

The addition of the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro to Apple's refurbished store comes roughly two weeks after the appearance of 15-inch models. But with the 13-inch models having just been introduced in October, some four months after the launch of the 15-inch models, the smaller Retina MacBook Pro has made the transition to the refurbished store much more quickly than its larger sibling.

(Thanks, Alan!)

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a very good track record in predicting Apple's product plans, has issued a new research report outlining his expectations for Apple's 2013 product launches. Kuo believes that Apple will focus its launches on the third quarter of this year, with a number of updates throughout the company's various product families.


- iPhone: Kuo expects that Apple will introduce both an iPhone 5S and a revamped iPhone 5 around June or July of this year, with the iPhone 5S appearing very similar to the current iPhone 5 but carrying a number of upgrades including an A7 system-on-a-chip for better performance, a fingerprint sensor, and camera improvements such as an f2.0 aperture and a smart LED flash. He also believes that the lower-cost iPhone will in many ways simply be an iPhone 5 repackaged into a slightly thicker (8.2 mm vs. the current 7.6 mm) plastic enclosure available in six colors.


- iPad and iPad mini: Kuo forecasts that Apple will update both lines during the third quarter of the year, with the iPad mini gaining a Retina display as the most notable change. He also predicts that the full-size iPad will become considerably slimmer and lighter and adopt the thinner side bezels seen on the iPad mini.

- MacBook Pro: In line with his predictions from last year, Kuo believes that Apple will do away with the non-Retina MacBook Pro line in 2013, moving to an all-Retina lineup at cheaper price points than the current Retina models. Kuo also believes that Apple will tweak the design of these thinner Retina MacBook Pros, despite having just introduced the current form factor last year.

- MacBook Air: Retina displays remain a challenge for the MacBook Air given their relative thickness, and Kuo predicts that they will not be appearing in the 2013 MacBook Air lineup. Kuo believes that a move to Intel's forthcoming Haswell platform will be the main upgrade for the machines, with the update coming perhaps as soon as late in the second quarter.

- Desktops: Kuo notes that the iMac redesign has been well-received, but it appears that he does not see Retina displays coming to the lineup in 2013. He simply predicts a shift to the Haswell platform for the iMac and Mac mini in the fourth quarter of the year. Kuo's report does not address a new Mac Pro, even though Apple CEO Tim Cook had personally shared that a significant update for the line was due in 2013.

- iPod touch: Apple will reportedly discontinue the fourth-generation iPod touch, which is currently being sold alongside the new fifth-generation models. In order to fill the gap, Kuo believes that Apple will introduce a scaled-back fifth-generation model with 8 GB of storage and no rear camera at $199.

- Apple TV: Kuo predicts a minor update to the existing Apple TV product as soon as late this quarter, but he offers no details on what the update would entail. He also notes that Apple's more substantial television effort is unlikely to appear in 2013, with content issues and a lack of experience in the television set industry pushing things back until 2014.

Apple has released an update for late 2012 iMac models that fixes issues related to sleep and Thunderbolt, as well as compatibility when using 5GHz Wi-Fi frequencies. The update is recommended for all "late 2012" iMacs.

iMac EFI Update 2.0 can be downloaded from Apple's support site or through the Mac App Store on affected iMacs.

About iMac EFI Update 2.0

This update is recommended for all iMac (late 2012) models. This update contains general performance fixes pertaining to sleep and Thunderbolt, and improves compatibility when using the 5GHz band in Wi-Fi.

Boot ROM or SMC Version Information: After Update is complete:

Build version: 010A.05
ROM version: IM131.88Z.010A.B05.1211151146

It's not clear if this is in addition to the Wi-Fi Update released earlier today, or if it includes that fix as well as a few more iMac-specific ones.

Update: Apple has released a similar MacBook Pro Retina EFI Update v1.1 for the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro.

Apple has released a new 13" MacBook Pro with Retina Display, an upgrade to Apple's most popular notebook. The new Retina model, like it's 15" brethren, strips out the optical drive to limit thickness and weight, while adding a new 2,560 x 1,600 pixel display. The new MacBook Pro is 20% thinner than its full-size brother and weighs 3.57 pounds.

The new MacBook Pro packs more than 4 million pixels into its 13-inch Retina display, nearly twice the number of pixels in an HD television. At 227 pixels per inch, the Retina display’s pixel density is so high the human eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels at a normal viewing distance, so images look sharp and text looks like it does on the printed page. With four times the pixels of the current 13-inch MacBook Pro, you can view and edit video in pixel-accurate 1080p and see a new level of detail in high resolution images. The 13-inch Retina display uses IPS technology for a 178-degree wide viewing angle, and has 75 percent less reflection and 28 percent higher contrast than the current generation.

Internally, the updated MacBook Pro will offer flash storage, Intel dual-core Ivy Bridge processors, and Intel HD Graphics 4000. It can be configured with up to 768 GB of flash storage. The 13-inch retina display MacBook Pro will start at $1,699 with a 128 GB flash drive and 8 GB of RAM. It begins shipping today.

The full-size MacBook Pro with optical drive remains available.

9to5Mac reports that it has received information on three models of the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro launching today. According to sources, the machines appear to use the same 2.5 GHz and 2.9 GHz processors found in the non-Retina models, and like the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro all of the 13-inch Retina models start at 8 GB of RAM.

Unlike the 15-inch lineup, however, the entry-level 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro will come with 128 GB of flash storage, with higher-end standard models moving up to 256 GB and 512 GB of storage. The 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro starts at 256 GB of storage.

- 2.5 GHz, 128GB of Flash storage, 8GB of RAM
- 2.5 GHz, 256 GB of Flash storage, 8GB of RAM
- 2.9 GHz, 512GB of Flash storage, 8GB of RAM

Pricing on the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro is said to start at approximately $1699, a $500 premium over the non-Retina model. For that premium, users will receive a Retina display, 128 GB of flash storage instead of a 500 GB traditional hard drive, and a bump from 4 GB of RAM to 8 GB. The Retina version of course also comes in a thinner form factor that omits the optical drive and Ethernet and FireWire ports.

The site has also received details on the new Mac mini models coming out today, with the high-end models now moving to quad-core processors. As with the existing lineup, there are two standard configurations and a server configuration.

- 2.5 GHz dual-core, 4GB RAM, 500GB Hard drive
- 2.3 GHz quad-core, 4GB RAM, 1TB Hard drive
- Server: 2.3 GHz quad-core 4GB of RAM, 2TB Hard drive

The new Mac mini models should retain the current pricing and gain build-to-order RAM options of up to 16 GB.

This 2880x1880 screenshot of Dashboard on a Retina-equipped MacBook Pro displays at full resolution on non-Retina equipped Macs. The image gives a decent idea of the sheer number of pixels on Apple's new flagship Mac.

Click the image to see the full-size version.

With Apple's new "Next Generation MacBook Pro" being the headliner in terms of new hardware introduction at WWDC, there is obviously considerable interest in how the new model compares with the previous design, which continues to be offered in both 13-inch and 15-inch sizes.


Engadget posts a brief hands-on with the new MacBook Pro fresh out of the box, showing how much slimmer the new form factor is than the standard MacBook Pro.

It's 0.71-inches thick, or roughly 25 percent thinner than the current generation Pros (which, by the way, live on -- except for the 17-incher). That's just .03-inches thicker than the 13-inch MacBook Air, but it feels like quite a bit more. Where the Air is tapered, this has a constant thickness throughout. So, again, it doesn't feel like an Air, but it's a big improvement over the Pro.

On the right side you have an SD card reader, full-size HDMI port and the first USB 3.0 port. (Which, by the way, is not blue -- Apple just made all the ports 3.0 and they're all naturally white.) On the other side is the other USB 3.0 port along with dual Thunderbolt ports, a headphone jack and the new MagSafe 2 connector.

The Next Generation MacBook Pro is currently available only as 15-inch model and is available starting at $2199.

Update: The Verge has also posted a gallery of hands-on photos of the new MacBook Pro.

In its quest for thinness in the Retina Display MacBook Pro, Apple removed the optical drive and built the display into the unibody construction. The company's engineers also designed a new, thinner MagSafe power port to accommodate the notebook's 0.71" height.


The new MagSafe 2 connector -- which is incompatible with the original MagSafe power bricks as well as devices with a MagSafe power cord built into products like the Apple LED Cinema Display and Thunderbolt Display -- is included in the new Retina MacBook Pro as well as the new MacBook Air models. It seems likely the port will make its way to the legacy MacBook Pro models in a future update.

Apple is selling a MagSafe to Magsafe 2 Converter for $9.99 on the Apple Online Store, as well as new 85W and 45W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter for $79 each.

At WWDC today, Apple introduced a third line of notebook computers that Phil Schiller called the "Next Generation MacBook Pro." He noted that the company was "willing to discard old, legacy things" to make a new notebook that was radically thin and light. An Apple video called it "the very best computer that we've ever built."


The new MacBook Pro -- which is in addition to the existing line of Pro's, which was also updated today -- is built around a 15.4" Retina display at a 2880x1880 resolution, 220 ppi with 5,184,000 pixels, with a display that is built directly into the unibody construction to make the notebook lighter.

It includes quad-core Ivy Bridge processors up to 2.8GHz and turbo boost up to 3.7GHz, up to 16GB of MacBook Air-like non-upgradable 1600MHz RAM, and a maximum of 768GB of next generation flash storage. The new Pro weighs in at 4.46 pounds and is 0.71" thick, but does not include a MacBook Air-like tapered body. There is no optical drive.

Apple has developed a new type of fan to keep the machine cool. It uses an asymmetrical blade system to cool the machine while being as quiet as possible. Apple claims the thermal management system operates in a way that is nearly imperceptible to the user.

Apple claims 7 hours of battery life with 30 days of standby time. It includes an SD slot, HDMI, and a USB 3.0/2.0 combo port on the right side, and a MagSafe power port, two Thunderbolt ports, another USB 3.0/2.0 port and a headphone jack on the left. Apple will soon begin offering a Firewire 800 and Gigabit Ethernet to Thunderbolt adapters. The machine also includes "the best stereo speakers ever put into a desktop or notebook" and dual microphones.


Pricing begins at $2,199 for the base model with the Retina display, a 2.3GHz quad-core Ivy Bridge i7, 8GB of RAM, a NVidia GeForce GT 650M 1GB graphics card, and 256GB of flash storage. The Next Generation MacBook Pro begins shipping today.

Regarding the Retina display, Apple will ship a special build of Lion with HiDPI support built-in, and will include updated versions of iPhoto, Mail and Safari to support the increased resolution. Final Cut Pro and Aperture are also receiving updates as well. Apple has been working with major developers to get their apps updated, including Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk's AutoCAD, and Blizzard's Diablo III.