14 DAY TRIAL // Confirming yesterday’s report by 9to5mac, Bloomberg cites people with knowledge of Apple’s plans as saying that the Cupertino computer giant is, indeed, launching updated MacBook Pro systems at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June.
The laptops are said to boast Retina displays, resembling those on the newer iPhones and iPads, at a larger scale. The 2012 MacBook Pro reportedly has enough Flash storage to hold OS X Mountain Lion (for faster boot times) and additional, hard-disk-based storage.
The battery life is also improved, thanks to the solid state drive (SSD) holding the OS.
Several new ports are to be found on the computers, going by yesterday’s report from 9to5mac, including two USB 3.0 connectors.
The Bloomberg report further confirms that Apple will be using Ivy Bridge processors from Intel. Other reports add that NVIDIA will be the supplier for the graphics module.
People working on prototype units have said the notebooks are thinner, thanks to the exclusion of the aging optical disc drive.
The computers are not similar to the MacBook Air, as in they don’t have tapered edges, these people said.
The systems are reportedly launching at WWDC 2012, Apple’s annual conference, with a focus on software development.
OS X Mountain Lion is also expected to launch at WWDC 12, despite Apple’s initial estimates to have the software ready in late-summer.
Mountain Lion further blends Apple’s desktop OS with iOS, the underlying software of iPhones and iPads worldwide, porting over features like Notification Center, Messages, Twitter, Notes, Reminders, and more.
At its developer-centric conference this year, Apple is also set to unveil iOS 6, the next major version of the company’s mobile operating system. There are not many rumors as to what iOS 6 could bring to the table in terms of new features, though a 3D mapping service seems to be part of the software.