Improved performance and Thunderbolt technology make Apple’s latest MacBook Pro models an impressive upgrade
The iPad and iPhone may have grabbed all the headlines lately, but Apple has also been selling record numbers of its Mac computers in recent months.
The company’s laptop range has been particularly successful, and to capitalise on that success Apple has now overhauled its entire range of MacBook Pro laptops.
The MacBook Pro doesn’t have the elegant slim-line design of the MacBook Air but, as the name implies, these models are aimed at professional users who require power and performance above all else.
Apple has therefore updated these latest models with more powerful processors and graphics, and introduced a brand new Intel I/O technology called Thunderbolt.
The new models look virtually identical to their predecessors, and there are no major changes to the existing ’unibody’ aluminium chassis design. As before, the MacBook Pro is available in three different sizes, with 13in, 15in or 17in screens.
The entry-level 13in model that used to cost £1,020 with a 2.3GHz Core 2 Duo processor now gains a Core i5 processor running at the same speed and a minor price cut that brings it down to £999.
For another £300 you can bump the processor up to a Core i7 running at 2.7GHz, but we reckon the £999 model will hit the sweet spot for many existing MacBook owners who are thinking about upgrading.
There’s a bit of a price jump when stepping up to the 15in models. The two earlier Core i5 models are now replaced with Core i7 processors, starting at £1,549 for a 2GHz model. However, we looked at the 2.2GHz model, which comes in at £1,849 with 4GB of 1,333MHz memory and a 750GB hard disk.
This model includes the integrated Intel HD 3000 graphics plus a separate AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 1GB of its own memory. That gives you the option of switching between the two graphics processors depending on whether you need greater battery life or greater performance.
