MacBook Air
and MacBook
Pro updated for
back–to–school
season
Entry–level models updated,
targeting students in particularBY ALEX SUMMERSBYAPPLE HAS REVISED its entry–level MacBook Air and
MacBook Pro line–up, and is aiming these models at
students as part of its Back to School promotion (this
promotion applies to other Macs and iPads too).
The base–model MacBook Air with 13–inch Retina
screen gains a True Tone display — meaning that colors
are automatically adjusted for the ambient lighting— but is otherwise unchanged from its predecessor. It
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$1,099 (or $999 for students and others eligible for
Apple’s education pricing).
This is now the cheapest Apple laptop — Apple has
quietly discontinued the 12–inch MacBook and non–
Retina MacBook Air.
The entry–level 13–inch MacBook Pro receives more
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quad–core processors (with eDRAM increased from 64MB
to 127MB), making it “two–times more powerful than
before” according to Apple. Where the base model
previously had function keys, it now has a Touch Bar,
meaning all MacBook Pro models now have this feature.
Other changes include the addition of an Apple T
security chip and Touch ID; True Tone display; Bluetooth
5.0 (compared to 4.2 in the previous model); and a faster
graphics processor, the Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645
(compared to the 640 in the previous model).
The list price is unchanged from the previous model, at
$1,299 (or $1,199 for students).UNDER THE HOOD
In one of their renowned teardowns, our friends at iFixit
found other changes inside the revised MacBook Pro. The
battery is slightly larger than in the previous model, with8 SEP 2019 maclife.com Image rights: Apple.
FEED YOUR MIND. FEAST YOUR EYES.