Apple refreshes MacBook Pro, introduces world’s highest resolution notebook display

“The most beautiful computer we’ve ever made.”

2012 Apple MacBook Pro — Apple at WWDC keynote: "There's never been a notebook this gorgeous."

At its annual developer conference today in San Francisco, Apple unveiled what it’s calling the world’s highest resolution notebook display. At 2880 x 1800, the “Retina” display will ship with the refreshed 15-inch MacBook Pro.

According to Apple, the pixels are so small that your “retina cannot discern them.”

Previously retina displays have only been available on the iPhone and the most recent (3rd gen) version of the Apple iPad.

In addition, the new MacBook Pro range is lighter, more svelte. Weighing in at under 4.5 pounds and only .71-inches thick (Retina model), it could help Apple counter the push of the Intel-equipped “Ultrabook” laptops from the likes of Lenovo, HP and Dell.

“Today we’ve updated the entire MacBook line with faster processors, graphics, memory, flash storage and USB 3 connectivity,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “We’ve made the world’s best portable family even better and we think users are going to love the performance advances in both the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.”

MacBook Pro with Retina display

15.4″ Retina display

2.3 GHz quad-core i7

8GB RAM

GeForce GT 650M 1GB

256G flash storage

Ports: SD card, HDMI, USB 3/USB 2 x 2, MagSafe 2, Thunderbolt, Headphone

7 hours

0.71″, 4.46 lbs

$2199

The updated Mac OS X, Mountain Lion, will take advantage of the new resolution allowing users to “see things they’ve need seen before.” Mac’s popular line of apps — including Safari, iMovie, iPhoto — that are bundled with its laptops also receive updates. Per Apple’s press release, starting today, customers who purchase a Mac are eligible for a free copy of OS X Mountain Lion when it becomes available.

MacBook-Pro-gdgt — "It’s 15.4 inches across, but it’s pixel density — are you sitting down? It’s 2880 x 1880, four times the amount of pixels." (Photo: gdgt.com)

New models will be available with i5 or i7 Ivy Bridge processors, which Intel began shipping earlier this year.

Battery life: 7 hours, up to 30 hours standby.

Graphics are powered by NVIDIA’s Kepler-based GeForce GT650M.

The new MacBook Pros begin shipping today.

2012 MacBook Pro Pricing

The 13-inch MacBook Pro is available with a 2.5 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of memory and 500GB hard drive starting at $1,199 (US), and with a 2.9 GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of memory and 750GB hard drive starting at $1,499 (US). The 15-inch MacBook Pro is available with a 2.3 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, 4GB of memory, Intel HD Graphics 4000 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M, and 500GB hard drive starting at $1,799 (US); and with a 2.6 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of memory, Intel HD Graphics 4000 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M, and 750GB hard drive starting at $2,199 (US). Configure-to-order options include faster quad-core processors up to 2.7 GHz, additional hard drive capacity up to 1TB, up to 8GB of memory and solid state storage up to 512GB.

[MarketWatch: Apple WWDC MacBook Pro PR]