An image posted on a Chinese forum, claimed to have been taken inside of Apple’s new Paradise Walk store, indicates that Apple could be preparing to release an updated line of Retina MacBook Pros in the near-future. The image appears to be from one of Apple’s iPad Smart Signs within the store, and the sign advertises 15-inch MacBook Pros with technical specifications and features not found in the current lineup.
The first possibility is that this image is faked, but the other likely possibility is a system error on Apple’s part. There’s also room for this image to indicate an actual MacBook Pro lineup update coming in the near-future. The rumored specifications indicate that Apple will be bumping the standard 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro line from two models to three, and all will include 16GB of RAM as a standard option. Here are all the purported models:
- 2.2GHz Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost to 3.4GHz), 16GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and Intel Iris Pro Graphics
- 2.5GHz Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost to 3.7GHz), 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and Intel Iris Pro Graphics & NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M w/2GB Video Memory
- 2.8GHz Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost to 4.0GHz), 16GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and Intel Iris Pro Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M w/2GB Video Memory
For comparison, here is the current MacBook Pro with Retina display lineup:
So, besides the 16GB of RAM standard across the board, there will be minor processor speed boosts, and for the first time, a standard configuration with a 1TB drive. Interestingly, NVIDIA recently launched a more-efficient, yet more powerful, GeForce GT 800 graphics card, so if this MacBook Pro update is actually happening, it’s interesting that the new processor is not in the tech specs. There’s also no word (yet) on upgraded 13-inch models, but Apple likely wouldn’t just touch one of the two Retina screen sizes. A Haswell MacBook Pro update in this timeframe makes sense with Broadwell seeing delays. Apple’s MacBook Air received a similarly minor speed increase earlier this year, and sources say that the Cupertino-company is readying a new 12-inch Retina MacBook and a 4K desktop for release around the fall.
