Apple news storm: MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and iOS 6 Maps

New MacBooks and iOS 6 are the big stories at Apple’s WWDC 2012 event.

As expected Apple used its WWDC 2012 event to announce a new line-up of MacBooks along with details of its iOS upgrade iOS 6.

3D mapping is coming to Apple devices with iOS6 in the very near future

New MacBook Pro

The headline release is a new £2,299 Apple MacBook Pro with an iPad-style Retina display that crams a super-HD 2880×1800 resolution into a 15-inch screen. The Pro is also loaded with up to 16GB RAM and up to 768GB of flash storage.

Ports-wise, there’s an SD slot, HDMI, two Thunderbolt ports and USB 2 and 3 on both sides. Impressively, despite all these hefty specs the new Pro weighs in at a light and portable 2kg and offers up to seven hours battery life.

New MacBook Air

If you prefer your laptops on the skinnier side, there’s a new 11-inch MacBook Air featuring the latest Intel 3rd Gen Core processor, up to 8GB RAM and a whopping 512GB of flash storage.

It also has USB 3.0 on board. The 11-inch MacBook Air boasts 1366×768 screen resolution and will be priced from $999 (£849). Further up the size ladder, the new 13-inch MacBook Air has a 1.8GHz Core i7 processor, 1440×900 screen resolution, Intel HD graphics and will cost from $1199 (£999).

New Mac Pro desktop

As for the desktop Mac Pros, the updates are only minor spec bumps. The basic model now features a 3.2GHz quad-core Xenon processor, 6GB RAM and a 1TB hard-drive.

For a bit more moolah, the processing is upped to a pair of 2.4GHz six-core chips with 12GB RAM and the same 1TB hard-drive. If you go for the Mac Pro Server edition, you’ll get a 3.2GHz quad-core Xeon chip with 8GB RAM and two 1TB hard-drives.

The new Mac Pro family will set you back £2,049, £3,099 and £2,449 respectively and they’re available to buy now.

iOS6

Apple also announced a range of changes to its operation system in the new iOS6. The iPhone voice-control system Siri will be extended to additional apps and the video-chat software FaceTime will work over 3G connections.

There’s also the introduction of iOS Maps. This new mapping software will offer full access to 3D maps, similar to those available on Google Maps, as well as providing turn-by-turn voice navigation.

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