Thought the new 13 inch MacBook and 15 inch MacBook Pro were impressive? You haven’t seen anything yet. Apple just unveiled the 17 inch MacBook Pro – its most advanced laptop to date.
Just like the smaller models, the new MacBook Pro’s body is made from a single piece of aluminium. It means it’s strong and light, but there’s one crucial difference – the battery.
In other MacBook models the battery is removable, but the 17 incher tucks it away inside. That’s because it’s a completely custom battery, using special-shaped cells and system-integrated chips to monitor its performance.
The upshot is that the new 17 inch MacBook Pro will run for up to eight hours on a single charge. That’s simply staggering for a machine with a 17 inch screen.
But that’s not all. Just like the smaller MacBook Pro, there are two graphics cards inside the 17 inch version, and even with the more powerful Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT it’ll still stay working for seven hours.
There’ll only be one configuration of the 17 inch MacBook Pro, costing $2799, or just over £1,900. Inside there’ll be dual processors running at 2.66GHz, 4GB of memory and a 320GB hard drive. You’ll be able to add up to 8GB of memory though, and upgrade to a 256GB solid state drive.
There’s also the option to install an anti-glare screen, instead of the glossy glass version found on the 13 and 15 inch MacBook and MacBook Pro machines, although that removes the black bezel and adds a traditional silver surround. It’ll begin shipping at the end of the month.
Out January | $2,799 (£1,900) | Apple
