New Macbook Pro with Retina Display 2012 Philippines Price, Specs, Release Date is Today!

This post aims to collate all relevant information about the next-generation Macbook Pro with Retina Display in the Philippines. Trust that we'll update this entry regularly or every time news about this particular product surface.

One of the highlights of this year's WWDC Keynote given by Apple executives just a few hours ago in San Francisco, CA was the introduction of the new Macbook Pro.



"The MacBook Pro with Retina display pushes the limits of performance and portability like no other notebook," shared Tim Cook, Apple CEO.

"With a gorgeous Retina display, all flash architecture and a radically thin and light design, the new MacBook Pro is the most advanced Mac we have ever built."

Retina Display on a Notebook

The new MacBook Pro Retina display - similar to what's found on Apple iPhone 4S and the new iPad - is the world's highest resolution notebook display with over 5 million pixels; That's 3 million more than what's on an HD television.

According to Apple, "At 220 pixels-per-inch, the Retina display’s pixel density is so high the human eye cannot distinguish individual pixels from a normal viewing distance, so text and graphics look incredibly sharp." (Now, doesn't that remind you of Steve Jobs describing the display of the iPhone 4 back in 2010?)


The Retina display uses IPS technology for a 178-degree wide viewing angle, and has 29 percent higher contrast and 75 percent less reflection than the screen of the previous generation Macbook Pro.



A Thinner Aluminum Unibody Enclosure

Enclosed in a precision-engineered aluminum unibody and having an all flash storage architecture, the new MacBook Pro - weighing only 4.46 lbs - is easily the lightest MacBook Pro ever and - measuring only 0.71 inch at its thickest point - is nearly as thin as a MacBook Air.

Flash storage that's up to four times faster than traditional notebook hard drives with many moving parts enables the all new MBP to "play four simultaneous streams of uncompressed 1080p HD video from internal storage. The flash storage architecture also delivers improved reliability, instant-on responsiveness and 30 days of standby time."



The Most Powerful Macbook Pro Yet!

The MacBook Pro with Retina display runs on the latest Quad-Core Intel Core i7 with clock speed of up to 2.7 GHz and Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.7 GHz, and features NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M discrete graphics, up to 16GB of 1600 MHz RAM and flash storage up to 768GB. There are two Thunderbolt and two USB 3.0 ports, which allow users to connect to multiple displays and high performance devices, and a new HDMI port which offers quick connectivity to HDTVs.



This notebook's battery delivers up to 7 hours of wireless productivity, and uses what Apple calls 'Adaptive Charging technology' to provide up to a thousand recharges. The 2012 MacBook Pro also flaunts a FaceTime HD camera, glass Multi-Touch trackpad, a full-size backlit keyboard (shown above), 3-stream 802.11n Wi-Fi, enhanced speakers, dual microphones, and a thinner MagSafe 2 power port.

Stellar Software

Quoting Apple, "OS X Lion, iPhoto, iMovie, iTunes and other Apple apps including Aperture and Final Cut Pro X have been updated to take full advantage of the new MacBook Pro with Retina display. The updated Aperture 3.3 also includes revolutionary new image adjustment features and now supports a unified photo library so photographers can move seamlessly between iPhoto and Aperture."



Despite the almost concurrent announcement of OS X Mountain Lion via the WWDC Keynote, the new MacBook Pro ships with the older OS X Lion. Nonetheless, customers who purchase a Mac starting today are eligible for a free copy of the latest version of OS X as soon as it becomes available. Mountain Lion introduces innovative features including built-in iCloud for convenient sharing and access of content across all of your devices, Game Center, enhanced Gatekeeper security, the all new Messages app, Notification Center, system-wide Sharing, and AirPlay Mirroring.

Now Out in the Philippines!

Amazingly, the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is now available in the Philippines through Apple Online Store!


No word yet from Apple's Authorized Resellers in the Philippines including Digital Walker and Power Mac Center.

The next-generation MBP is available in two variants; One with a 2.3 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.3 GHz, 8GB of memory and 256GB of flash storage sells for Php 107,990; and the other with 2.6 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.6 GHz, 8GB of memory and 512GB of flash storage goes for Php 137,990. Note that Apple offers configure-to-order options which include faster Quad-Core processors with clock speeds of up to 2.7 GHz, up to 16GB of RAM and flash storage up to 768GB.

TP Thoughts:

Three things, TP Friends --

1. When Apple said that this is the best Macbook Pro they've ever made, they weren't joking. Not only is it exquisitely gorgeous like a fine piece of jewelry, it's also a true powerhouse that can really help you get things done.
2. It's darn expensive. But all things considered, I think it's worth it.
3. The key feature of the follow-up to this release - I believe - is already pretty obvious. Can you tell me what it's going to be?