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MacBook Pro 2013 vs. MacBook Pro 2012: spec showdown

Brandon Widder
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macbook pro 2012 vs 2013 spec comparison copy
Image used with permission by copyright holder

At Apple’s latest product event, the Cupertino-based company announced two new additions to the MacBook Pro lineup — along with the previously-announced Mac Pro. As previously speculated, both the 13-inch and 15-inch models sport Intel Haswell processors found in the new Macbook Air, while touting the same Retina displays adorning the 2012 MacBook Pro. Both the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pros feature the newly-launched Mavericks OS, in addition to 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Thunderbolt 2.0, and integrated graphics courtesy of Intel Iris and Iris Pro.

Cosmetically, the new models aren’t vastly different. The 13-inch model 15-inch models are slightly thinner and lighter than their predecessors, measuring 0.71 inches thick and weighing in at 3.46 and 4.46 pounds, respectively. Apple claims that battery life has gotten a significant boost thanks to updated specs and software optimization courtesy of Mavericks. This could extend battery life an additional two hours beyond the previous models, offering a total of up to nine hours of usage and 30 hours of standby time. Although the $1,999 15-inch model ships with Intel’s Iris Pro integrated graphics, users can always opt the $2,599 model, which includes a Nvidia GeForce GT 750M GPU which should provide you with more graphics processing power over Iris Pro.

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The 13-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,299, while the 15-inch MacBook comes in at $1,999. Both are on sale now. Check out our comprehensive spec comparison for a closer look at how the 2013 MacBook Pro stacks up against last year’s Retina Macbook Pro.

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2012 Retina MacBook Pro (13-inch)

15macbook-pro-retina 2
Image used with permission by copyright holder

2013 Retina MacBook Pro (13-inch)

MacBook Pro Retina 2
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Dimensions 12.35″ x 8.62″ x 0.75″ 12.35″ x 8.62″ x0.71″
Weight 3.57 pounds 3.46 pounds
Chassis Aluminum Aluminum
Keyboard Backlit w/ ambient light sensor Backlit w/ ambient light sensor
Processor 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz) with 3MB shared L3 cache 2.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 2.9GHz) with 3MB shared L3 cache
RAM 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3L onboard memory 4GB of 1600MHz DDR3L onboard memory
Screen Size 13.3″ (non touch) 13.3″ (non touch)
Resolution 2560 x 1600 (Retina) 2560 by 1600 pixels (Retina)
Storage 128GB SSD 128GB SSD
Graphics Support Intel HD Graphics 4000 Intel Iris Graphics
Networking 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0
Ports HDMI, 2 Thunderbolt,
2 USB 3.0, SDXC card reader, USB 2.0		 HDMI, Thunderbolt 2.0, USB 3.0
Webcam 720p FaceTime HD camera 720p FaceTime HD camera
Operating System Mac OS X Mountain Lion Mac OS X Mavericks
Battery Life 6 hours 9 hours
Price $1,499 $1,299

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Brandon Widder
Brandon Widder
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Brandon Widder is a multimedia journalist and a staff writer for Digital Trends where he covers technology news, how-to…
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