Today is Apple’s big day with its Worldwide Developer Conference and it’s newness for the entire unibody MacBook line.
It seems that Apple has taken Microsoft’s Laptop Hunters message to heart and has cut prices for all of its unibody MacBooks across the board.
The 15-inch MacBook Pro now starts at $1699 as opposed to the $1999 it was previously. The entry-level model has a 2.53 GHz Core 2 Duo with 4 GB of DDR3.
The 17-inch now starts at $2499, down from $2799, with a 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo and 4 GB of DDR3.
The top model MacBook Air gets a massive price cut of $700 down to $1,799. It comes with a 2.13 GHz Core 2 Duo, 2 GB of DDR3 and a 128 GB SSD.
Curiously, Apple has decided to include the 13-inch MacBook now as part of its MacBook Pro line, as it’s sharing so many of the same characteristics. The 13-inch MacBook Pro now starts at $1199 and comes standard with a backlit keyboard, Firewire 800 and a 2.26 GHz Core 2 Duo and 2 GB of DDR3. This will place the entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro now ahead of the recently refreshed polycarbonate white MacBook.
All of the unibody MacBooks inherit the ‘built-in’ battery design that was introduced earlier this year in the 17-inch model. Apple boasts that the new design lasts three-times longer than removable batteries with its 1,000 recharges. Battery life also jumps by two hours for a total of seven hours across the board.
While PC notebook and even netbook users have enjoyed this feature for years, the new MacBook Pros will finally get a flash memory card slot. The 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pros will get an SD card slot while the 17-inch will get an ExpressCard slot.
So in summary:
- All unibody MacBooks are now Pros, including the 13-inch model (except the Air)
- All MacBook Pros have flash card readers
- All MacBook Pros have the built-in seven-hour battery
Also, Apple really needs to do something about that glossy glass screen. Hopefully the 17-inch’s option of a matte display will also trickle down, even though Apple didn’t make any mention regarding the screen.
While MacBook Pros are more affordable and attractive than ever, it’s still a premium product that won’t shake the image that Macs are expensive.
