News: new MacBook Pro with Retina display, new MacBook Air, Mountain Lion, and more!

One of the biggest points from this year's WWDC 2012 Keynote was the announcement of an entirely next-generation MacBook Pro with Retina display. The new 15" MacBook Pro features a display with a staggering 2880x1800 display — at 220ppi, it's a much higher resolution display than any display ever featured in a laptop, least of all in a 15-inch laptop. It features no optical drive, two Thunderbolt ports, an all-new MagSafe connector, and will retail for NZ $3499. Ships in a week, according to the Apple online store. WWDC was apparently also a good time to introduce a new MacBook Air lineup, with the ultraportable notebook range also getting a slight update. A few bits and pieces have changed from the 2011 model: Apple has moved to the Ivy Bridge series of Intel CPUs, they've bumped the RAM from 2 and 4GB to 4 and 8GB, and the new MacBook Air now features USB 3 as well as Thunderbolt.

Mountain Lion also warranted a large mention at WWDC, and it's being released next month for the low price of US $19.99.Apple showed off the new apps — Notes, Reminders, and Messages, but also showed off a few previously-unknown features. Features like system-wide Dictation, new iOS-like sharing, and built-in supports for Twitter and Facebook.

Silently, the Mac Pro was also updated after the main Keynote. Unfortunately, for many this will be a disappointing update: the new Mac Pro doesn't feature the new Xeon E5 processors as expected, nor does it feature Thunderbolt. If putting anything less than the latest technology (graphics or processor wise) into your flagship workstation is a sign that it's dead, then the Mac Pro could well be headed on its way out.