Apple is updating the grandaddy of all ultrabooks by adding Intel’s latest processors and boosting the amount of storage and memory available for the MacBook Air.

The new 2012 model MacBook Air is still a ridiculously thin and light laptop — but now it’s available with up to a 2 GHz Intel Core i7 Ivy Bridge processor, up to 8GB of DDR3 1600 MHz memory, and up to 512GB of solid state storage.

You can get the new MacBook Air from the Apple Store for $999 and up.

MacBook Air

Apple says not only are the processor and memory faster than before, but the company is also using faster solid state disks in the latest models.

The MacBook Air is also getting USB 3.0 for faster data transfers.

One thing Apple is not changing is the screen resolution. The 11.6 inch MacBook Air still has a 1366 x 768 pixel display and the 13.3 inch model has a 1440 x 900 pixel screen.

If you want a higher resolution display you’re going to have buy a next-generation MacBook Pro — which has a 15.4 inch, 2880 x 1800 pixel display. That’s 220 pixels per inch. But it’ll cost you $2199.

The good news is that OS X has been updated to take advantage of the new ultra high resolution display, so we could see “retina” displays on other Apple laptops in the future.

Prices for the MacBook Air continue to start at $999. That’s how much an 11.6 inch model with a 1.7 GHz Intel Core i5 dual core processor, 4GB of memory, 64GB of storage, and a 5 hour battery will run you.

13 inch models start at $1199 for a 1.8 GHz Core i5 dual core CPU, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 7 hour battery.

The smaller MacBook Air measures 0.7 inches thick and weighs 2.4 pounds. The 13 inch model is no thicker, but weighs just under 3 pounds.

Both models are available starting today.

via gdgt and The Verge

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2 replies on “MacBook Air goes Ivy Bridge, gets optional 512GB SSD”

  1. Nothing new under the sun…
    I’m really disappointed in the screen resolution though…
    And still 1000$ for 64GB.

  2. Wow with the move to Ivy these are almost compelling. I wish the drives they used were standard so you could upgrade them without spending an arm or a leg, but I guess you can’t have everything.

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