Apple upgrades 15-inch MacBook Pro with Force Touch trackpad

20.05.2015
Following an upgrade to its 13-inch MacBook Pro, Apple has added the Force Touch trackpad to its 15-inch laptop. The Mac maker says it has also added faster graphics and storage, and given the MacBook Pro an extra hour of battery life.

The Force Touch trackpad is a pressure-sensitive control surface that to the user is a bit like a graphics tablet. Press once and you click - press harder and you can have greater and greater effect. It relies on support from the software you're using - which doesn't include any of the major creative tools yet - but you can see how it might be used by fast-forwarding or rewinding a clip in QuickTime: the harder you push, the faster it goes.

Apple says that the new storage is 2.5 faster than in previous models, and the graphics are up to 80 per cent faster when editing in Final Cut Pro X.

The 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display is available with two standard models. The base model has an Intel Core i7 2.2GHz processor, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD and Iris Pro graphics, and costs £1,332.50 plus VAT. The higher-end model has a 2.5GHz chip, 16GB RAM, 512GB storage and an AMD Radeon R9 M370X graphics chip - and costs £1,665. Build-to-order options include a 2.8GHz chip and a 1TB SSD.

Look out for our review soon.

Cheaper 5K iMac

Apple has also introduced a cheaper iMac with a 5K display, which costs £1,332.50 plus VAT and has a 3.3GHz Core i5 processor, an AMD Radeo R9 M290 graphics chip, 8GB of RAM and 1TB storage. Previously the cheapest iMac with a 5K display was £1,665 for a 3.5GHz chip, 8GB RAM, Radeon R9 M290X graphics and 1TB storage. - which now costs £1,540.

(www.digitalartsonline.co.uk)

Digital Arts Staff