Apple launches new MacBook Pros with faster processors and Thunderbolt high-speed interface

Last September, I wrote a post forecasting that Apple would announce a new generation of MacBook Pro notebook computers in Q1 2011 using Intel's Sandy Bridge-generation processors and Light Peak high-speed interface. Today, Apple did release its new generation of MacBook Pros, which use Sandy Bridge Core i5 and i7 dual- and quad-core processors. They're also the first products to implement Light Peak, which is now called Thunderbolt.

The new MacBook Pros range from $1,199 (U.S.) for the 13-inch model with a 2.3GHz Core i5 dual-core processor, to $2,499 for the 17-inch model with a 2.2GHz Core i7 quad-core processor. For the 15" and 17" models, Apple has shifted from the NVIDIA GPUs that it previously used to AMD's Radeon GPUs. The 13" model uses the improved GPU built into the latest generation of Intel's Core processors. All models are shipping as of today.

In addition, all of the new MacBook Pros implement the Thunderbolt interface, which shares the Mini DisplayPort connector for connecting external displays. As many as six devices can be daisy-chained on the Thunderbolt interface, which has a maximum throughput of 10 Gbps--twice that of USB 3.0, and more than 12 times more than FireWire 800. The Thunderbolt interface explains why Apple didn't implement USB 3.0 in last year's models and Intel didn't incorporate USB 3.0 in its chipsets for Sandy Bridge--both companies knew that a faster interface was coming.

The lack of a high-speed interface to external storage and video capture devices has been the biggest limitation when using MacBook Pros and iMacs for data-intensive applications such as video editing. Thunderbolt eliminates that problem, although it will take some time for peripheral vendors to ship Thunderbolt-compatible devices.

Update: Intel has made its own Thunderbolt announcement, with more technical details. Media creators will be excited by the list of companies that have already signed on to support the new interface:

• External hard drives and storage arrays: LaCie, Promise Technology and Western Digital
• Audio interfaces: Apogee, Avid
• External audio processors: Universal Audio
• Video interfaces: AJA, Avid and Blackmagic Design

Apple: Good news, bad news and no news

Apple announced its updated MacBooks and MacBook Pros yesterday. Here's my take on the announcements:

• No news: With very few exceptions, everything that Apple announced yesterday had already been leaked in detail. There was a time when Apple could keep secrets. No more.
  
  
• Bad news: Even with the LED backlit displays, multitouch-enabled touchpads without mouse buttons and cases carved out of a single block of aluminum, there was little in yesterday's announcement to generate excitement. Despite switching to Nvidia chip sets and graphics controllers, the performance of the MacBooks and MacBook Pros still lags behind that of comparably priced notebooks from other manufacturers.
   
• Good news: Steve Jobs shared the stage with COO Tim Cook and head of design Jonathan Ive. As I wrote about earlier this month, one way for Apple to avoid manipulation of its stock price through rumors about Steve Jobs's health is to demonstrate that it has a strong management team. The company is starting to do that.

One has to be concerned about the direction that Apple's new product development is taking. There's a real sense of incremental improvement in the iPhone, iPods and now the MacBooks. The last earth-shaking announcement was the original iPhone, which feels like it occurred decades ago. I hope that we'll see something really new, not just improved, soon.