Apple's New MacBook Pro with Retina Display

"A Retina display with 5.1 million pixels. An all-flash architecture. Quad-core Intel Core i7 processors. In a design that’s just 0.71 inch thin and 4.46 pounds. It’s not just the most advanced notebook we’ve ever made, it’s the most advanced Mac we’ve ever made."
 
- This is how Apple describes its latest gift to the computer world.
The completely redesigned MacBook Pro is the lightest MacBook Pro ever and nearly as thin as a MacBook Air. The 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is available through the Apple Online Store and Apple Retail Stores, starting at $2,199 (US).



Retina Display
Apple's most important communication piece on this new device centers around the retina display. It's been touted as the world's highest resolution display.

Pixel density is measured at 220 ppi. That's far lower than the 326 ppi the iPhone 4S delivered when it introduced the world to Retina and, indeed, the 264 ppi rating on the new iPad. However, with a 2880-by-1800-pixel resolution, the new MacBook Pro is said to have 3 million more pixels than an HDTV. The 15.4-inch packs over 5 million pixels creating a stunning picture and pin sharp text.
IPS technology gives you a wide, 178-degree view of everything on the screen, so you’ll see the difference in colors at practically any angle. The new Retina display reduces glare while maintaining incredible color and quality. In fact, it has a 29 percent higher contrast ratio than a standard MacBook Pro display.

All Flash Storage
You’ll notice a difference in whatever you do — starting up takes seconds, apps launch quickly, even navigating the desktop feels incredibly fluid and responsive. It’s all thanks to flash storage, which gives you up to four times the performance of a traditional hard drive. When you use apps like Final Cut Pro or Aperture, you can perform even the most demanding tasks right from your internal storage. And since the all-new MacBook Pro comes with up to 768GB of flash storage, you can keep all your important files with you, including large video and photo libraries. Flash doesn’t have any moving parts, which makes it superdurable and quiet. It also has the ability to stay in standby mode for up to a month. Whether it’s been 1 day or 30, this all-flash MacBook Pro will spring to life, right where you left off.



Long Battery Life
A 7-hour battery life is impressive for any notebook. But for a high-performance notebook with an ultra-high-resolution display, top-of-the-line processors and graphics, and a superslim design, it’s absolutely remarkable. The built-in 95-watt-hour battery gives you up to 1000 full charge and discharge cycles and up to 30 days of instant-on standby time.³ Which means you can put your MacBook Pro to sleep, and it’ll come back on instantly — after a day, a week, or even a month. With Power Nap coming this summer in OS X Mountain Lion, your MacBook Pro can continue to receive new email and calendar invitations while it’s asleep. And when it’s connected to a power source, it can download software updates and make backups with Time Machine. So the next time you open your notebook, everything’s right there waiting for you.
According to Engagdet.com the MBP handled all kinds of tests incredibly well. Below are results from the tests conducted.



Once the system became noticeably hot, it caused the redesigned fan system to pop on, which draws in air from a pair of vents on the left and right sides of the bottom of the chassis and blows it out through the hinge. It's been optimized to create a less obnoxious sort of whirring noise. Indeed it's a subtle and unobtrusive white kind of sound, but it's definitely not silent. In fact, the fan doesn't sound particularly different than that on the current MacBook Air, though a few decibels less obtrusive. Still, you'll always know when your system is really cranking.

Intel Core i7 Processors
This notebook has the power to do amazing things. Third-generation Intel Core i7 Ivy Bridge processors with a state-of-the-art 22-nanometer single-die microarchitecture provide the fastest quad-core performance ever in a notebook. Hyper-Threading technology allows two threads to run simultaneously on each core. And with speeds up to 2.7GHz, 6MB of shared L3 cache, and Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.7GHz, these processors are great for running professional applications like Aperture and Final Cut Pro. They also support up to 16GB of superfast 1600MHz memory. Which means the all-new MacBook Pro is ready to take on whatever you can dream up.



NVIDIA Graphics



Paired with those quad-core chips is 8GB of 1,600MHz DDR3 RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M Kepler unit with 1GB of GDDR5 memory. Also on tap is integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics, the hotter of the two GPUs toggle on when the situation demands. Engadget tested Diablo III on the new MBP, and cranked it up to full resolution and full graphical details.
The frame rate hovered between 25 and 30 fps which was quite impressive and perfectly playable at such a resolution. Turning it down to something a little more reasonable, 2048 x 1280, netted 40 to 45 fps and running at a relatively mundane 1280 x 800 delivered frame rates over 70. This, then, is a quite passable gaming machine.

Ports and Connections
Everything about the all-new MacBook Pro is high performance — even its I/O. Thunderbolt is the fastest, most versatile I/O available, and this notebook has two Thunderbolt ports. That’s a huge advantage when you need to connect to just about anything — external displays, RAID arrays, video capture devices, even FireWire peripherals (adapter sold separately, available July) and Gigabit Ethernet networks (adapter sold separately). Combine that with two USB 3 ports, an HDMI port, and an SDXC card slot, and in a matter of minutes you can build an entire professional studio with the all-new MacBook Pro as its centerpiece.



The Ethernet port has now been replaced by a Thunderbolt adapter that is not
included with the laptop. (It'll cost you $29.99.) Likewise, the FireWire 800 port has been removed, replaced by a separate Thunderbolt adapter. Leaving all those things behind will be difficult, but the new Pro provides two USB 3.0 ports and two Thunderbolt ports. (Interestingly, Apple chose not to make the USB ports blue, as they're both 3.0 and, therefore, there was no need to differentiate.) Inside is an 802.11n radio providing some of the fastest wireless connectivity available, but there's no option for 3G/LTE broadband. Those who want to roam past the confines of a hotspot will have to bring their own modems.
There's the now-standard single headphone jack on the left side and the soon-to-be-standard MagSafe 2 connector. This new connector is a few millimeters shorter than the old one and a few millimeters wider. Apple says this is needed because of the laptop's thinner profile and, indeed, the new Airs also make the change to MagSafe 2. But, since the old Airs got by just fine with the slightly chubbier connector, and since there's still plenty of room for the relatively massive USB ports, we're just not seeing the need for a redesign right now.

Audio and Visual
You haven’t heard it all until you’ve heard the speakers inside the all-new MacBook Pro. For something so thin and light, the sound is huge. And with a wide dynamic range, optimal balance, and a crisp, expressive quality, these speakers might sound too good to be true. That’s because we labored painstakingly over the design to maximize the quality of every decibel you hear.



Dual built-in microphones are great for when you want to be heard. If you’re making a FaceTime call, for example, the mics reduce background noise from behind the notebook. And when you use Dictation (coming this summer in OS X Mountain Lion), they create an adaptive audio beam that intelligently adjusts to detect your voice — instead of the noise around you.


In Conclusion
iFixit, the vigilant DIY repair company just posted its notes after spending some time completely disassembling the new Apple MacBook Pro and states that "it is the least repairable laptop we’ve taken apart.”
Apparently the new MacBook Pro is built like a MacBook Air and an iPad in that everything is custom and designed for the thinnest possible end product. The batteries are glued into place, the RAM is soldered to the logic board, it uses a custom SSD, and, worse yet, the screen assembly is all one piece, which means owners will need to replace the whole thing if something happens to any part of it. They couldn’t even get the massive 94Wh battery removed from the case.
A word of advice- make up your mind as to what specifications you can stick with for the long haul till your next upgrade to a completely new laptop because there are no upgradeable parts. Like the new iPad, Apple is designing products to be replaced rather than fixed.