Neil Hughes
Apple on Tuesday issued an update to its 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, adding faster Intel processors, as well as the new pressure-sensitive Force Touch trackpad.
The new trackpad, previously available on the 13-inch MacBook Pro and 12-inch MacBook, has built-in force sensors and a Taptic Engine that delivers haptic feedback. It allows users to click anywhere with a uniform feel, and users can even customize the amount of pressure needed to register each click.
Force Touch opens up a range of new gestures, including the new force click. Developers can tap into these expanded capabilities with new APIs available in the latest builds of OS X Yosemite.
And with refreshed Intel processors, the new 15-inch MacBook starts with a 2.2-gigahertz Intel Core i7 chip for $1,999, upgradeable to a 2.5-gigahertz processor and dedicated AMD Radeon R9 M370X graphics card for $2,499.
Notably, the chips are not Intel's latest-generation "Broadwell" processors, which remain unavailable in quad-core configurations. As a result, Apple is still utilizing the previous-generation "Haswell" architecture, albeit at faster speeds.
"The response to the new MacBook and updated 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display has been amazing, and today we are thrilled to bring the new Force Touch trackpad, faster flash storage and longer battery life to the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.
The updated 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display also features up to 2.5 times faster flash storage than the previous generation, with throughput up to 2GBps. Apple also claims that the notebook offers an additional hour of battery life, with up to 9 hours of wireless web browsing and up to 9 hours of iTunes movie playback.
In addition, MacBook Pro with Retina display discrete graphics deliver up to 80 percent faster performance using new AMD Radeon R9 M370X graphics for editing video in Final Cut Pro X, rendering 3D images in pro graphics apps or playing high-resolution games.
AppleInsider first noted last week that Apple had begun discontinuing multiple 15-inch MacBook Pro models ahead of the introduction of new hardware. Additional reports correctly indicated that both the 15-inch MacBook Pro and 27-inch iMac would see upgrades this week.
The newly updated 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is available today through Apple's online store, Apple's retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. Configurations include:
- A 2.2 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.4 GHz, 16GB of memory, 256GB of flash storage and Intel Iris Pro graphics starting at $1,999 (US)
- A 2.5 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.7 GHz, 16GB of memory, 512GB of flash storage and AMD Radeon R9 M370X graphics starting at $2,499 (US)
- Configure-to-order options include faster quad-core Intel Core i7 processors up to 2.8 GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 4.0 GHz and flash storage up to 1TB.
Trade in your old Mac
Readers planning to purchase Apple's new 15-inch MacBook Pro, 27-inch iMac, 12-inch MacBook or otherwise may want to lock in a cash buyback offer from AppleInsider partner Gazelle on their old model, before payouts fall. See our previous coverage on Gazelle's buyback programs for more details.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
80 Comments
Didn't even take till wensday, curious if it simply wasn't just supply shortages when the 13 inch updated.
I was hoping they would introduce a redesigned model based on the new macbook - thinner, lighter, more colours (but with more connectivity options). Hope they do it around September this year with intel skylake.
hoping to see the external trackpad upgraded to Force Touch.
Didn't even take till wensday, curious if it simply wasn't just supply shortages when the 13 inch updated.
The 15-inch update was delayed because Intel staggered the release of the next generation (Broadwell) processors. The 2-core processors used by the 13-inch MBPro were released in February. The 4-core processors used by the 15-inch MBPro were due to be released about now.
Edit: it appears these updated MBPros do not have Broadwell processors. Evidence from the configuration page on the store is that they are still the same Haswell processors as before ("fourth generation" vs "fifth generation" for the 13-inch models). If that isn't an oversight, it means Intel probably cancelled the Broadwell 4-core release because the next generation (Skylake) is due relatively soon, or Apple got tired of waiting.
The AMD Radeon GPU might have been another factor delaying the 15-inch update.
If this really is Haswell, I'm impressed they achieved another hour of battery life with the same processor.
This upgrade has no Broadwell processors (it is still Haswell; check Apple website and Schiller didn't say processors upgrade) so the Iris Pro graphics is still from Haswell and RAM is still 1600MHz and no LPDDR3. Only the flash storage has upgraded along with Force Touch trackpad and battery life and discrete graphics. What a shame