Yesterday, at Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook introduced a whole great big pile of new Apple stuff. Here are the top 8 new products and services.
1) All-new MacBook Pro: The “MacBook Pro with Retina Display” (no, really, that’s what they call it) is an all-new 15″ design. It’s faster, sleeker, ultrasharp, and impressive all around. It starts at $2,199, and if you max it out, it will run you a cool $3,749. More specifically, It has:
- more powerful CPU
- super high resolution screen like that of the iPhone 4 and current iPad
- thickness of only 0.71 inches and weight of only 4.5 pounds
- HD camera
- HDMI output
- two Thunderbolt ports
- SD slot
- two USB 3.0 ports
- 256 GB to 768 GB of fast solid state (flash) storage
- 8 to 16 GB of RAM
- special quiet fans
Here’s what it doesn’t have: FireWire or Ethernet ports (both are provided by optional Thunderbolt adapters), or a built-in CD/DVD drive (you can use the optional USB SuperDrive).
2) All-old MacBook Pro: Not to be confused with the new MacBook Pro (Apple just loves to give different products the same name), the existing MacBook Pro 13″ and 15″ designs are now more powerful thanks to updated insides, USB 3.0 ports, and HD camera. The 13″ starts at $1199 and the 15″ starts at $1,799. The 17″ model has been unceremoniously discontinued, presumably because if you want as many pixels as it offered, you can buy the new 15″ with the Retina display, and get even more.
3) Good old MacBook Air: The smallest, lightest Macs look the same on the outside, but are faster on the inside, sporting:
- more advanced CPU
- more responsive solid state storage (64 GB to 512 GB)
- faster RAM (4 GB to 8 GB)
- USB 3.0 ports
- HD camera
Some of the base configuration prices have been lowered, with the 11″ model starting at $999 and the 13″ model starting at $1,199.
4) New AirPort Express: Looking like a white version of the Apple TV, the $99 AirPort Express has received its first-ever redesign. On the plus side, it now has dual radios (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz), and two Ethernet ports, meaning you can finally use it as a router for wired as well as wireless devices. On the minus side, it no longer has built-in power prongs, meaning it can’t hang off a wall socket as a neat little no-cables wireless repeater. Boo.
5) New Mac Pro: Apple’s venerable tower, which hasn’t been redesigned in almost ten years, gets a nominal speed increase. It’s in some ways behind the rest of the product line: no Thunderbolt, slower SATA drive connections, USB 2.0. It still packs a powerful punch for pros, however.
6) New iPad “Smart Case“: It’s like the Smart Cover, only it covers the back as well as the front.
7) Coming soon: Mac OS X 10.8 “Mountain Lion” brings “200 new features,” and more of the iOS experience to the Mac, or at least the Macs it will run on. It will be a $19.99 upgrade. We’ll cover it when it’s released.
8) Coming somewhat after that: iOS 6 will add a bunch of features to your iPhone 3GS or newer, iPad 2 or later, or iPod touch 4th generation or later, including:
- Facebook integration
- all-new maps with turn-by-turn navigation
- shared iCloud photo streams
and a buncha other stuff we’ll cover when it’s out.
(June 2012)