The best of Apple’s WWDC 2012 event – The Verge

Chrome vs. Safari browsers on the MacBook Pro’s Retina display

2012-06-12T03:39:02-04:00

chrome safari retina display

Apple's new MacBook Pro with its Retina display is undoubtedly a breakthrough for laptops, and certain notable third-party apps have already been updated to take full advantage of the expanded resolution. However, unlike the comparatively seamless leap to Retina displays made by the new iPad and the iPhone 4, it looks like OS X apps will need specific upgrades to see any advantage from the MacBook Pro's screen.

You might find yourself switching to Safari for a while

While iOS automatically renders text and many other standard UI elements at Retina resolution, many apps currently look distinctly blurry on the new MacBook Pro's display - we've …

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New MacBook Pro with Retina display vs. MacBook Air in pictures

2012-06-11T18:45:17-04:00

Gallery Photo: New MacBook Pro with Retina display vs. MacBook Air

Though the new MacBook Pro with Retina display is thinner obviously than its non-retinal Pro counterpart, what's more interesting to us is that Apple also claims it's "as thin as MacBook Air." We sized it up with our 13-inch MacBook Air (not this year's model), and in fact, the new MacBook Pro with Retina display is both thinner and thicker at parts - it all depends on that patented wedge. And that goes for both lid open and closed.

As for the new MagSafe, while we haven't exactly pulled out a ruler, it looks from the naked eye to have the exact same five-dot configuration - what's different now is the surrounding cover, which is both thinn …

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Apple’s 2012 MacBook family portrait: a guide for new buyers and upgraders

2012-06-11T17:21:03-04:00

apple macbook family portrait 2012

As expected, Apple unveiled some massive refreshes to it's full lineup of MacBook laptops earlier today at the Moscone Center as part of its WWDC 2012 keynote - but you may still be wondering whether an upgrade or a first time MacBook purchase is worth the hit to your bank account. While you may want to wait until we've had some time to test-drive Apple's new equipment, we've got a pretty good idea of what the lineup looks like from specs alone - so let's dig in.

Click on the images below to compare all of Apple's new products side by side in our database:

For New Buyers

If Apple's latest batch of MacBooks finally convinced you to buy into …

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New MacBook Pro with Retina display hands-on pictures and video

2012-06-11T16:37:32-04:00

Gallery Photo: New MacBook Pro with Retina Display hands-on pictures!

So we meet. It's one thing to see the new MacBook Pro with Retina display behind thick, protective glass. It's another to see it up close and personal, where you can actually get a feel for the weight and thinness of the device. The laptop we're using is a 2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 with a 3.6GHz Turbo Boost, Nvidia GeForce GT 650M graphics, 8GB DDR3L SDRAM, a massive 512GB of flash storage, and of course, the 15.4-inch 2880 x 1800 Retina display - no more turning down settings to play Diablo 3 (remains to be seen, but rest assured we'll test this when we get a moment's breath).

Like the MacBook Air, the power button has been moved in l …

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New MacBook Pro with Retina Display first look!

2012-06-11T15:11:09-04:00

mbp retina

We just got our first glimpse of the new MacBook Pro with Retina Display, and while it's under cylindrical (and very reflective) glass, it's easy to see that the display is very, very beautiful. What also stands out is, despite the aforementioned barrier (not to mention the throngs of iPads and iPhones with the camera app open), we could still make out the impressive horizontal viewing angle. On top of all that, it really is surprisingly thin in person - you can see the new MagSafe adapter is about the full thickness of the laptop. The air vents are quite visible under each edge of the machine. Both Thunderbolt ports and a USB 3.0 port hug t …

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Turn-by-turn navigation added to Maps in iOS 6

2012-06-11T14:42:59-04:00

ios 6 maps

Apple launched its own Maps app in conjunction with iOS 6, and one of the new highlight features is turn-by-turn navigation. In addition to the standard turn-by-turn directions, and a "Quick Route" button on search results, you'll also be able to get directions from Siri. You can tell Siri where to navigate you, or even ask "are we there yet?" and find out how long it'll be before you arrive. Everything works from the lock screen, too. There's a persistent ETA at the top of the screen, and has a look and feel much more elegant than any existing GPS software we've seen before. It's all baked into Apple's new mapping system, one of the biggest …

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Apple replaces Google Maps with its own maps, turn-by-turn navigation and traffic info

2012-06-11T14:41:51-04:00

Maps

Apple was widely expected to roll out its own replacement for Google Maps in iOS6, and today it's done that. Apple has just unveiled Maps. Since 2009, Apple has bought three mapping startups: Placebase, Poly9, and C3 Technologies - the last two of which are 3D mapping companies. We do know that Apple is also making use of a lot of other companies' data for its maps too - most notably TomTom.

Just last week Google unveiled new features including offline maps for Android and 3D mapping, at an event dedicated to mapping, which some people took as a clear sign that the company was feeling the weight of the impeding move by Apple to its own tech …

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Apple’s next-gen MacBook Pro vs. the competition

2012-06-11T14:31:20-04:00

mbp

It's difficult to fathom what "the competition" to a laptop with 2880 x 1800 resolution might be, but Apple's next-generation MacBook Pro and its Retina display are still built around the same components as every other laptop, so we thought we'd square it off against the best of the rest. Check out our comparison below for the strongest alternatives to Apple's new knight in matte aluminum armor.

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iOS 6 adds FaceTime over cellular networks, lets you send video calls from your phone number

2012-06-11T14:29:30-04:00

via d35lb3dl296zwu.cloudfront.net

FaceTime's been a Wi-Fi only affair for as long as the video calling solution has existed - it didn't even work over speedy LTE - but starting in iOS 6, the restrictions have been lifted. We don't know which networks qualify, though. Will it work over LTE? HSPA+? 3G, perhaps? Apple's not saying right now. What's more, Apple is unifying your phone number and Apple ID such that if you make a FaceTime call or send an iMessage to a person, they'll be able to call, message, or email you back by normal means, and you'll be able to answer calls to your phone number that's linked to FaceTime using any supported device, like your iPad or Mac. We'd ha …

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New MacBook Air vs. the competition: by the numbers

2012-06-11T14:25:02-04:00

Gallery Photo: MacBook Air liveblog photos

Apple's just upgraded it's MacBook Air line with speedy SSDs and Ivy Bridge cores, but in terms of overall specs, it's a mixed bag when comparing to the competition. Apple has brought the Air line at least up to par on the processing front with top-of-the-line ultrabook competitors that have recently adopted Intel's 3rd-generation Core i5 and i7 chips. The 13-inch Air's base clock speed of 1.8GHz looks nice against the competition, with competitors like the Envy Spectre XT following closely behind at 1.7Ghz. The new Air also reaches parity with competitors at the high-end, with an Intel Core i7 clocked at 2GHz - speed that matches the Spectr …

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