Apple has put a final end to the rumours that have circulated of late regarding what exactly it would be revealing at its Worldwide Developers Conference, by detailing the updates that its notebook line-up is receiving.

 

And, while it effectively laid the 17” MacBook Pro to rest, the rest of the news was all good.

For starters, the company showcased a next generation MacBook Pro, that will sport the Retina display that garnered so much favour on the new iPad.

The display offers up a resolution of 2880 x 1800 and 220 ppi. Beyond that, this new notebook hosts a quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, clocked at 2.7 GHz, and accommodates up to 16 GB of RAM.

Graphics and storage wise, the new notebook is equipped with a GeForce GT 650M graphics solution and up to a capacious 768 GB of flash storage, respectively. The base model though, will come with a dual core i7 clocked at 2.3 GHz, 8 GB of RAM and a more industry standard 256 GB solid state drive.

Other features that users can expect include USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports, two Thunderbolt ports, and an SD card slot. Additionally, and particularly notable, the next generation MacBook will have an 18 mm profile (only slightly more than the MacBook Air) and weigh in at 2 kg. However, this welcome reduction in thickness and weight comes at a price, namely, the sacrifice of the optical drive.

 

For a more intimate view as to why Apple believes this is its "best notebook" to date, hit the video below. 

 

 

Air to the throne

Along with the next generation MacBook, the much loved MacBook Air also received an upgrade, which will bring an Ivy Bridge processor (dual core i7 clocked up to 2GHz), to the ultralight notebook.

Additionally,  up to 8 GB of memory and a solid state drive that provides up to 512 GB of storage, along with USB 3.0, will also be onboard.  

On the 11” MacBook Air, the display will offer a 1 366 x 768 resolution, while five hours of battery life is expected. The 13” iteration though, will offer a rather better resolution of 1 440 x 900 and seven hours of battery life.   

Both of the new MacBook Air’s are, as expected, very portable. At their thickest, they are a mere 17 mm. Weight wise, the MacBook Air’s are still the featherweights of the MacBook contenders. While the 13” MacBook Air weighs in at 1.3 kg, the 11” MacBook Air weighs in at a hair’s breath more than a kilogram, at 1.08 kg.

 

 

Calling a pro

Amid these two announcements though, the workhorse of the range, the MacBook Pro, has not been completely neglected either. The 13” MacBook Pro receives a much welcome bump in screen resolution, up to 1280 x 800, and can be configured with either a dual core i5 processor running at 2.5 GHz or a dual core i7 running at 2.9 GHz.

The 15” will be available with a  quad-core i7 processor, while users will be able to choose between 2.3-GHz and 2.6 GHz variants, and the display will similarly be bumped up to a 1440 x 900 screen resolution. Graphics wise, on the 15” MacBook Pro, users will also be able to choose a GeForce GT 650M with 512 MB or 1 GB of video memory.

Both the 13” and the 15” notebooks will sport 4 GB of RAM, upgradeable to 8 GB, a 500 GB or 750 hard disc drive, and seven hours of battery life.

To the point

Along with these announcements, Apple also revealed details of iOS 6 and its Mountain Lion OS. Unfortunately though, local prices and availability have yet to be released.