Apple announces next generation MacBook Pro at Worldwide Developer’s Conference

At this year's WWDC, Apple's annual developer's conference in Califorina, Apple's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller announced the next generation of Mac laptops, the new MacBook Pro.

The new notebook is the highest-end computer in the MacBook lineup, blending features of both the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air. Weighing less than 4.5 lbs and only 0.71" thick, Apple has sought to fit the latest evolutions in their notebook technology into a pint-sized package.

At first look, The Verge reported in their live chat that the computer looked like an iPad laptop, slimming down the form factor to make it the lightest MacBook Pro yet.

Arguably the biggest selling point of the new MacBook Pro is the graphics capabilities. The screen, which has been made thinner by removing the additional cover glass of previous models, now includes a retina display. The latest iPhones and iPads already include this technology, which is meant to render the pixels on screen so small that your retina can't discern them.

During the keynote presentation, Schiller showed some of the software that will be making use of the technology, including Final Cut Pro, which can now display a 1080p video on screen and still leave room for edit menus. The screen boasts a 2880x1800 resolution, making it what Apple calls the "world's highest resolution notebook display."

Other applications have been optimized to work with the display as well, including Apple titles like Mail, Safari, iPhoto and iMovie, as well as third-party applications like Adobe Photoshop. Updated versions of Autodesk's AutoCAD and games like Diablo III are also in the works.

To power that high-end resolution, Apple is building the new MacBook Pros with quad-core 2.3GHz i7 processors, and GeForce GT 650M 1GB GPU. The notebooks will also come with a host of other upgrades, like a USB port on each side that supports USB 2 and USB 3, two Thunderbolt ports, support for Bluetooth 4.0, and up to 768GB of flash memory.

While the new MacBook Pros won't be shipping with Mountain Lion, Apple's latest upgrade to OS X, those who purchase one of the new laptops can get the upgrade for free when it's released in July.

The new MacBook Pros will cost $2199 USD for the 15.4" notebook, which begins shipping today.