By: Philip Icuss
No Apple did not release their newest iPhone or tablet yet, but they did make great updates to the MacBook Air/ Pro and their operating systems for the desktop, MacBook, iPhone, and iPad. Let’s break these down in to categories and summarize each of them.
The MacBook Air
The MacBook air has been updated with the newest 3
rd generation intel Core processor, named the Ivy Bridge. Also it has a 2.0 GHz dual core i7, a turbo boost to take the 2.0 GHz to a 3.2 GHz, up to 8 GB and 1600 MHz of memory, and up to 60% faster graphics with 512 GB of Flash storage giving it twice as fast of a read speed than the previous model. The USB3 has been integrated into the newest Line of Apple MacBooks giving it ten times faster USB capabilities. And, just for fun, Apple threw in a 720p Facetime camera on the top of the screen.
The MacBook Pro
The Pro has all of the features that the new Air comes with, but it includes a few new features of its own like nvidia graphics. The nvidia graphics update gives the Pro GeForce GT 650M graphics, a new Kepler architecture, up to a GB of video memory, and all of this is on top of 60% faster graphics. A big change to the MacBook Pro is that the ports for USB have been combined so that both USB2 and USB3 are able to connect to the same port. Also, the HDMI port is a new addition to the MacBook and the charger port has been made thinner to suit the thinner body.
The MacBook Pro with Retina Display
This Retina Display Pro was probably the most hoped for release from the Apple team “pre-WWDC”. At 15.4 inches diagonal, it is larger than the MacBook Air but is nearly as thin at a mere 0.71 inches thin. The Retina Display screen is immaculate to look at, giving the world of photography an immensely better detailed screen to hone in all the knit-picky details of their work. The screen has over 5.1 million pixels with a pixel density of 2,880 x 1,800. That’s over 3 million more pixels and 75% less glare than an HD television. And, to top it all off, Apple has thrown in an 802.11n Wi-Fi connection.
OS X
This new operating system for the desktop and MacBook, called Mountain Lion, offers over 200 new features, the most important being the iCloud integration, the larger sharing features, a Siri like dictation system, and an amazing push notification system that links twitter, Facebook, and all other systems running on your Apple systems (computer, iPad, iPhone, iTouch, etc.).
OS 6
This iPhone and iPad system update has over 200 updates as well but is most significant in the Maps app and Siri technology. Apple has used helicopters and airplanes to create 3D images of multiple metro areas that will allow a user to see those 3D images when using the Maps app on an iPhone or iPad. The largest break through in the Maps app is the integration of turn-by-turn navigation onto the iPhone and iPad. The navigation has the ability to work from the locked screen, show you up to date traffic, and offer detours, with how much time it will save by taking, automatically when it realizes traffic is slowing. Siri has been mainly fine tuned to work out any bugs it had and to better answer all questions that it has without needing to search for it on safari. It can also be used to open apps and instantly get directions and turn-by-turn navigation from Maps.
In Closing…
It is safe to say that Apple has made great releases in their time, but this has been one of their best WITHOUT releasing their new iPhone or iPad. Apple was able to greatly better their line of MacBooks without changing the outer appearance for the worse. They did change them a bit, by making them thinner, but that was about it. These are the types of changes that Apple is known for and it is why their customers love their products. The Retina Display technology is an amazing breakthrough in the world of displays and the newest operating systems will help Apple customers take full advantage of capabilities that all Apple products and technologies have to offer.
Click here to watch the full Apple WWDC or
Click here to watch a short video on the new MacBook Pro with Retina Display.
What did you think of the Apple WWDC? Did they let you down or live up to the hype? Let us know on our comments.