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

Generic iOS 18

iOS 18.1 With Apple Intelligence: New Features, Release Date, and More

Thursday October 10, 2024 8:26 am PDT by
iOS 18.1 will be released to the public in the coming weeks, and the software update introduces the first Apple Intelligence features for the iPhone. Below, we outline when to expect iOS 18.1 to be released. iOS 18.1: Apple Intelligence Features Here are some of the key Apple Intelligence features in the iOS 18.1 beta so far: A few Siri enhancements, including improved understanding...
Read Full Article • 18 comments
16 pro

iPhone 17 Pro Models Rumored to Introduce These 5 New Features

Friday October 11, 2024 8:55 am PDT by
While the iPhone 16 series was released just a few weeks ago, there are already many rumored features for the iPhone 17 models, and especially for the Pro models. Below, we recap five key new features rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max so far: 24MP front camera for all iPhone 17 models: All four iPhone 17 models will feature an upgraded 24-megapixel front-facing camera, according...
Read Full Article
space black mbp

Apple Potentially Facing Worst Leak Since iPhone 4 Was Left in a Bar

Monday October 7, 2024 3:03 pm PDT by
Alleged photos and videos of an unannounced 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M4 chip continue to surface on social media, in what could be the worst product leak for Apple since an employee accidentally left an iPhone 4 prototype at a bar in California in 2010. The latest video of what could be a next-generation MacBook Pro was shared on YouTube Shorts today by Russian channel Romancev768, just...
Read Full Article • 174 comments
When Will Apple Launch More M4 Macs Feature

Will Apple Release M4 Macs Soon? Here's What the Latest Rumors Say

Thursday October 10, 2024 6:22 am PDT by
Apple often releases new Macs in the fall, but we are still waiting for official confirmation that the company has similar plans this year. We're approaching the middle of October now, and if Apple plans to announce new Macs before the holidays, recent history suggests it will happen this month. Here's what we know so far. As of writing this, it's been 220 days since Apple released a new...
Read Full Article • 53 comments
Generic iOS 18 Feature Real Mock

Apple Stops Signing iOS 18.0

Thursday October 10, 2024 12:10 pm PDT by
Apple today stopped signing iOS 18.0, preventing iPhone users who have upgraded to iOS 18.0.1 from downgrading to iOS 18. Apple released iOS 18.0.1 a week ago on October 3. It is not unusual for Apple to stop signing older versions of iOS within a week or two after a new version of iOS is released. When Apple stops signing an update, it can no longer be installed on an iPhone due to a...
Read Full Article • 17 comments
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 2

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 17

Tuesday October 8, 2024 5:45 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different – already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip...
Read Full Article • 299 comments
ios 18 1 make primary

iOS 18.1 Includes Option to Set 'Primary' Email Address and Change iCloud Email

Friday October 11, 2024 3:55 pm PDT by
In iOS 18.1, there is a new option to set a "Primary" email address in the Settings app, which means it is easier to change the main email address associated with your Apple Account. The Primary email address is the one that is visible to other people when collaborating on and sharing documents, sending calendar invites, and more. Apple did not previously make it easy to change an Apple...
Read Full Article • 93 comments
iPad mini review thumb

iPad Mini 7 Coming Next Month: What to Expect

Tuesday October 8, 2024 6:16 am PDT by
Rumors strongly suggest Apple will release the seventh-generation iPad mini in November, nearly three years after the last refresh. Here's a roundup of what we're expecting from the next version of Apple's small form factor tablet, based on the latest rumors and reports. Design and Display The new iPad mini is likely to retain its compact 8.3-inch display and overall design introduced with...
Read Full Article • 120 comments

Top Rated Comments

Johann2000 Avatar
Johann2000
31 months ago
10 years later and we are still at 8GB base ram ..
Score: 94 Votes (Like | Disagree)
erkanasu Avatar
erkanasu
31 months ago
who else is feeling old AF?
Score: 59 Votes (Like | Disagree)
entropys Avatar
entropys
31 months ago
The high point of apple design.
Score: 56 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sharky II Avatar
Sharky II
31 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 ?️
31 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
31 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