Apple significantly upgrades its entire line of MacBooks Pro’s while also making them more affordable

Lost in the shuffle of Apple’s new iPhone announcement were the significant changes Apple made to its entire Pro line of notebook computers. Phil Schiller got things started by announcing a new unibody 15-inch MacBook Pro model with a built-in non-removable battery. Previously, the 17-inch model was the lone notebook to contain a non-removable battery. The benefit, of course, is that the battery in the 15-inch MacBook Pro is now significantly bigger, resulting in a much longer battery life of 7 hours. Even more impressive is how efficient the new MacBook Pro battery is. While typical laptops start losing their charge after 300 recharge cycles, the new battery in the 15-inch MacBook Pro is good for 1000 recharge cycles. Put differently, the battery in the 15-inch MacBook Pro will perform at optimal efficiency for 5 years. That, however, might not be good news for Mac users who are always looking for convenient reasons to upgrade. Battery life, however, is just the beginning of the story. Apple quietly made the 15-inch MacBook Pro even more of a bargain with some of its other enhancements. For starters, the screen is much improved, with a 60% greater color gamut. And Apple has finally added an SD card slot to the machine as well. This should be a welcome addition for the millions of people who use SD cards on their phones and cameras on a daily basis. Phil Schiller also explained that the new 15-inch MacBook Pro is the fastest laptop they’ve ever made, and can support configurations that include a dual core 3.06 Ghz processor with 6 MB of level 2 Cache, and up to 8 GB of RAM. Lastly, new hard drive configurations max out at 500 GB, with an option for SSD as well. But arguably more important than all of the new features Apple added to the 15-inch MacBook Pro is the price. Apple shocked many by lowering the base configuration of the machine down to $1699, a full $300 cheaper than it was before. An upgraded and cheaper 15-inch MacBook pro is obviously great news for interested consumers, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. Next on Schiller’s agenda was a revamped 13-inch unibody MacBook that also houses a built-in battery, resulting in 40% longer battery life (7 hours). It also sports a display with a 60% greater color gamut, an SD card slot, a built-in backlit keyboard, Firewire 800, and support for up to 8GB of RAM. All told, you’re looking at an incredibly full-featured MacBook. So incredible, in fact, that Schiller said that the machine described above will be referred to as a MacBook Pro. And if a 13 inch MacBook Pro wasn’t enough to get you excited, perhaps the price will. The 13 inch MacBook Pro starts at just $1199, which is an incredible price for a machine of that quality. It’s also great to see the presence of Firewire on an Apple laptop for under $1200. Apple also lowered the price on its 17-inch MacBook Pro by $300, while simultaneously upgrading the MacBook Air and chopping $300 off of its selling price as well. After announcing the changes to its line of notebooks, Schiller proudly exclaimed that Apple now sports the most affordable lineup of laptops its ever had. In the end, Apple really delivered with its laptop related announcements at yesterday’s keynote. Faster internals, better battery life, SD card slots, better displays, and cheaper prices all add up to a win win for consumers. Microsoft might like poking fun at Apple’s pricing in its commercials, but with the latest upgrades, Apple has instantly made its entire line of notebook computers that much more competitive, and just as important, affordable.