10 Years Ago Today: Apple Announces First MacBook Pro With a Retina Display

by

Today marks the 10th anniversary of Apple announcing the first MacBook Pro model featuring a higher-resolution Retina display.

2012 retina macbook pro apple website
Introduced at WWDC 2012, the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro introduced a much thinner design compared to the previous model, as Apple removed the built-in Ethernet port, FireWire port, and CD/DVD drive. The notebook was still equipped with two Thunderbolt ports, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, an SD card slot, MagSafe 2, and a headphone jack.

"The MacBook Pro with Retina display pushes the limits of performance and portability like no other notebook," said Apple CEO Tim Cook, in a press release announcing the new MacBook Pro. "With a gorgeous Retina display, all flash architecture and a radically thin and light design, the new MacBook Pro is the most advanced Mac we have ever built."


At the time it launched, Apple said the Retina MacBook Pro featured the world's highest resolution notebook display, with 220 pixels per inch. The notebook was powered by Intel's third-generation quad-core Core i7 processors, and equipped with NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M graphics, up to 16GB of RAM, and up to a 768GB SSD.

Pricing for the first Retina MacBook Pro started at $2,199 in the United States. In October 2012, Apple announced a 13-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina display, which started at a lower price of $1,699. Both notebooks are now on Apple's obsolete products list.

Popular Stories

iphone 16 display

iPhone 17's Scratch Resistant Anti-Reflective Display Coating Canceled

Monday April 28, 2025 12:48 pm PDT by
Apple may have canceled the super scratch resistant anti-reflective display coating that it planned to use for the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to a source with reliable information that spoke to MacRumors. Last spring, Weibo leaker Instant Digital suggested Apple was working on a new anti-reflective display layer that was more scratch resistant than the Ceramic Shield. We haven't heard...
Read Full Article • 113 comments
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Reaches Key Milestone Ahead of Mass Production

Monday April 28, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple has completed Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) for at least one iPhone 17 model, according to a paywalled preview of an upcoming DigiTimes report. iPhone 17 Air mockup based on rumored design The EVT stage involves Apple testing iPhone 17 prototypes to ensure the hardware works as expected. There are still DVT (Design Validation Test) and PVT (Production Validation Test) stages to...
Read Full Article • 28 comments
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue

20th Anniversary iPhone Likely to Be Made in China Due to 'Extraordinarily Complex' Design

Monday April 28, 2025 4:29 am PDT by
Apple will likely manufacture its 20th anniversary iPhone models in China, despite broader efforts to shift production to India, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In 2027, Apple is planning a "major shake-up" for the iPhone lineup to mark two decades since the original model launched. Gurman's previous reporting indicates the company will introduce a foldable iPhone alongside a "bold"...
Read Full Article • 122 comments
iphone 17 air iphone 16 pro

iPhone 17 Air USB-C Port May Have This Unusual Design Quirk

Wednesday April 30, 2025 3:59 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to launch a dramatically thinner iPhone this September, and if recent leaks are anything to go by, the so-called iPhone 17 Air could boast one of the most radical design shifts in recent years. iPhone 17 Air dummy model alongside iPhone 16 Pro (credit: AppleTrack) At just 5.5mm thick (excluding a slightly raised camera bump), the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air is expected to become ...
Read Full Article • 142 comments
apple watch ultra yellow

What's Next for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3

Friday April 25, 2025 2:44 pm PDT by
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, which launched on April 24, 2015. Yesterday, we recapped features rumored for the Apple Watch Series 11, but since 2015, the Apple Watch has also branched out into the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch SE, so we thought we'd take a look at what's next for those product lines, too. 2025 Apple Watch Ultra 3 Apple didn't update the...
Read Full Article • 65 comments
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
Read Full Article • 102 comments
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Read Full Article
iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Feature

All iPhone 17 Models Again Rumored to Feature 12GB of RAM

Tuesday April 29, 2025 3:36 am PDT by
All upcoming iPhone 17 models will come equipped with 12GB of RAM to support Apple Intelligence, according to the Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station. The claim from the Chinese leaker, who has sources within Apple's supply chain, comes a few days after industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all be equipped with 12GB of RAM. ...
Read Full Article • 83 comments

Top Rated Comments

Johann2000 Avatar
Johann2000
38 months ago
10 years later and we are still at 8GB base ram ..
Score: 94 Votes (Like | Disagree)
erkanasu Avatar
erkanasu
38 months ago
who else is feeling old AF?
Score: 59 Votes (Like | Disagree)
entropys Avatar
entropys
38 months ago
The high point of apple design.
Score: 56 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sharky II Avatar
Sharky II
38 months ago
Typing this on my 2012 rMBP and it's still a great machine... the screen is still beautiful, bright, white and sharp. I was lucky that mine didn't have the delaminating issue.

Quad core i7, 16GB RAM and an SSD means it's still more than capable of dealing with everyday tasks... it can play a 60fps 4K video on YouTube without issue and even plays back 4K H265 files but having no decode/encoders, the fans ramp up immediately!

MagSafe, built in SD Card reader, HDMI out, minidisplay port and USB3...! The only thing that lets it down is that, since installing opencore/Monterey, running it in 1920 "high" res makes it feel a little sluggish (graphically). But most of the time I'm at default unless there's some specific work that needs lots of space.

This model obviously peaked in 2015.

Here it is next to a 10 year younger Mac Studio Ultra and it still looks modern.

Attachment Image
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
TheYayAreaLiving ?️
38 months ago
Golden era! Such an iconic product. Most advanced ?

When Apple announced this MacBook Pro. I couldn’t afford it however the retina screen display was stunning. This was a well-developed, structured, and industry-leading engineered product, Apple had worked on.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Think|Different Avatar
Think|Different
38 months ago
Meanwhile, still too many entry-level, third-party displays are still nothing close. It’s baffling.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments