Apple finally launched their refreshed line of Retina MacBook Pro. The device packs the Haswell chipset, Retina display and PCIe-based flash storage. Looking at the previous generation and the current generation of MacBook Pros today should tell whether Apple has been able to update its line successfully. Is the 2013 Haswell MacBook Pro really better?

Haswell Chips

Evert year Intel unleashes a set of chipsets which tech manufacturers can choose to adopt or not. Apple recently included the Haswell chipset in their MacBook Air and iMac offerings last September. The tech giant did the same thing for 2013 MacBook Pro. The line now runs on fourth-gen Intel Core i processors.

The 2012 MacBook Pro, on the other hand, runs on a Sandy Bridge processor. The Sandy Bridge is powerful in its right but Haswell offers a number of significant changes. Compared to the 2012 version, the 2013 Haswell-based MacBooks provide up to 9 hours of battery life for the 13-inch. The 15-inch provides up to 7-8 hours of battery life.

Increase in speed is an evident change as well.

Lighter, Thinner and Cheaper

The latest 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro model features the lightest and thinnest design yet. The device weighs 3.46 pounds or 1.57kg and measures 0.71 inches or 1.8cm thick. The 2012 weighs 3.57 pounds and 1.61kg and measures 0.75 inches or 1.9cm.

The price also became more affordable. The 2013 model will start shipping at $1,299. The previous model started at $1,699. However, the price cut also came with some sacrifice. Instead of the 8GB RAM available from the previous generation, the 2013 MacBook line only comes with 4GB RAM.

Better 15-inch Performance despite Price Cut

Whereas the thinness and weight remain the same for the 2013 15-inch MacBook Pro, its graphics took a leap. The device now features integrated Intel Iris Pro graphics. This is the same graphics technology found on the latest iMacs.

The 15-inch model starts at $1,999 whereas the previous generation started at $2,199.

Thunderbolt 2 and Wi-Fi 802.11ac

The 2013 MacBook Pro packs the new generation of Thunderbolt as well. Reportedly, Thunderbolt 2 will bring solid speed improvements and 20GB/s of bandwidth according to Apple. The 2012 model had only 10GB/S of bandwidth. Another notable feature is the 4K support from Thunderbolt.