Latest MacBook Pro gets retina display – and a hefty price tag

Apple on Monday unveiled the newest MacBook Pro, a powerhouse of a computer with a price tag to match.

Priced at more than two grand, the new MacBook Pro is not for the light-of-pocket.

But the latest version of Apple's flagship laptop, which was introduced today at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco, is a bruiser of a machine, with a quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, 768GB of flash storage, a .71-inch chassis, and a 2880x1880 "retina display" – the highest-resolution screen available on any laptop today, according to Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller. 

The MacBook Pro, which weighs a reported 4.46 pounds – relatively light for a laptop – will get a base price of $2,199, CNET is reporting. Apple will begin selling the device through its website later today. Speaking at the WWDC keynote, Apple CEO Tim Cook called the rejiggered MacBook "the most beautiful computer we have ever made." 

Of course, the MacBook Pro was not the only laptop unveiled by Apple at WWDC 2012. For instance, Schiller and Cook also took the wraps off a mildly rejiggered Macbook Air, with an Ivy Bridge processor, better graphics, and a pair of USB 3.0-capable ports. Prices on the Air will remain unchanged: $999 gets you 64GB of flash storage and an 11-inch display, and $1,099 gets you the same display and 128GB of storage. 

But it is the new MacBook Pro that has soaked up the bulk of the limelight. And why not? The Pro blends the slim lines of the Air with the muscle of a professional-grade laptop. "[It] covers a lot of our wish-list bullet points for a dream Air-Pro hybrid, although you'll have to pay a pretty penny to get one," notes Scott Stein of CNET. 

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