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Apple has announced a lower-priced $1,999 configuration of its 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display, as well as a 15-inch MacBook Pro that now gets Apple’s recently introduced Force Touch trackpad.
The new 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display arrives with a $500 price drop from its previous $2,499 configuration, according to Apple, by incorporating changes such as a standard 1TB hard drive rather than an Apple hybrid Fusion drive. The 27-inch iMac also includes 5,120-by-2,880 resolution and 67 percent more pixels than a 4K display, a 3.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds of up to 3.7GHz and AMD Radeon R9 M290 graphics, according to Apple. Also included is 8GB of memory and 1TB of storage, as well as four USB 3.0 ports and two Thunderbolt 2 ports that deliver up to 20G bps each, twice the bandwidth of the previous generation.
Plus, the company has lowered the price of its top-end iMac with Retina 5K display to $2,299, featuring a 3.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds of up to 3.9 GHz, AMD Radeon R9 M290X graphics and a 1TB Fusion Drive.
In addition to getting the new Force Touch trackpad, the latest 15-inch MacBook Pro model with Retina display also receives faster flash storage, longer battery life and faster discrete graphics, according to the company. Force Touch includes built-in force sensors and a Taptic Engine that delivers haptic feedback, allowing users to click anywhere on the pad for a uniform feel. The updated 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display also features up to 2.5 times faster flash storage than the previous generation and an additional hour of battery life, giving users up to 9 hours of use on a charge.
In March, Apple announced its all-new, re-engineered 12-inch MacBook, which is thinner, lighter and has longer battery life than previous versions, according to an earlier eWEEK report. The new MacBook started at $1,299.
The 12-inch MacBook received a host of other changes as well, including a new butterfly keyboard system that replaces the old scissors keys system, resulting in a smaller, quieter keyboard that is 40 percent thinner than the one it replaces. The basic version includes a 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor with Turbo Boost speeds of up to 2.4GHz, 8GB of memory, 256GB of flash storage and Intel HD Graphics 5300. For $1,599, users can get their MacBook with a 1.2GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor with Turbo Boost speeds of up to 2.6GHz, 8GB of memory, 512GB of flash storage and Intel HD Graphics 5300.
“The response to the new MacBook and updated 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display has been amazing, and today we are thrilled to bring the new Force Touch trackpad, faster flash storage and longer battery life to the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display,” Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, said in a statement. “Customers love the groundbreaking iMac with Retina 5K display, and now with a new lower starting price, even more people can experience the best desktop we’ve ever made.”
The updated 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display and the new iMac machines are available immediately.