Recently, Apple announced their new MacBook Pro, which includes some upgrades, as well as new features.

The new MacBook pro still features a unibody aluminum case, which replaces multiple parts of a case with just one. Also like before, the MacBook Pro has a multi-touch trackpad, as well as a magnetic latch, rather than a clasp or other mechanism, in order to keep the computer closed.

The new MacBook Pro features Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, with the i7 being standard in the 15 and 17 inch models and and the i5 for the 13 inch version of the product. However, users can choose to have the Intel Core i7 processor in the 13 inch if they wish. These new Intel processors can perform up to twice as fast as the previous generations could.

Also included in the new MacBook Pro is a feature called “Turbo-Boost 2.0”, which enables users to perform processor intensive tasks, causing the processor to automatically increase the speed of the active cores to up to 3.4 GHz.

Another new feature that was included in this update to the MacBook Pro is called “Thunderbolt”, which is a fast I/O, or input/output, port, which was created after collaboration between both Intel and Apple. The new “Thunderbolt” port, which is located on the side of the MacBook Pro, similar to a USB port, enables users to plug in both HD displays and high-speed peripherals, such as an external hard drive or other device.

There are also adapters that users can use so that they can utilize the Thunderbolt port for peripherals that require the use of a USB cord or FireWire cable or even Ethernet or Fibre Channel networks. Since Thunderbolt is based on DisplayPort technology, users can connect any Mini DisplayPort display to the MacBook Pro, using the Thunderbolt port. Also, users can connect DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, or VGA displays to their computer’s Thunderbolt port using an adapter.

In addition, Apple’s FaceTime users will be happy to know that the MacBook Pro now has a high definition FaceTime camera, capable of recording video in 720p HD. The FaceTime HD camera also supports an aspect ration of 16:9, which will allows more area to be in the shot.

The new MacBook Pro also has a SDXC card reader built into the 13 and 15 inch models, which supports up to 64GB memory cards. This feature will allow users to quickly and easily transfer images from their digital cameras, right to their computers.

Hyperthreading is another new feature, which is now standard on the MacBook Pro. Hyperthreading allows for two threads to run at the same time on each processor core, which means that the MacBook Pro will recognize eight virtual cores on a quad-core processor and four virtual cores on a dual-core processor. By doing this, the computer will be able to “balance” tasks throughout the different virtual cores, giving it better performance.

Another new addition to the MacBook Pro is the Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor, which allows users to do graphics related tasks, such as encoding video and using Apple’s new HD FaceTime camera more efficiently. In the 15 and 17 inch versions of the MacBook Pro, there is a new AMD Radeon graphics processor, which also allows for graphic intensive applications, such as gaming and video editing.

If you’re interested in purchasing a MacBook Pro, the 13 inch model starts at $1,199, the 15 inch model starts at $1,799, and the 17 inch model starts at $2,499.

For more information about the new MacBook Pro lineup, or to purchase one, you should check out the MacBook Pro section of Apple’s website.