Apple 2013 MacBook Pro Release Date Arrives: Updated Laptops Unveiled With New Intel Processors, Price Starts At $1,299

More than a year after their unveiling at WWDC 2012, the 2013 MacBook Pros are now official. Apple has updated both its 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pros with some impressive specs and a focus on improved battery life.

The 13-inch retina display MacBook Pro features Intel’s fourth-generation Haswell processor; in conjunction with the integrated Intel Iris graphics, the 13-inch MacBook Pro now packs battery life of up to nine hours, a two-hour improvement from the previous 13-inch retina display MacBook Pro. Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, notes that the entire "Batman" trilogy can be watched on one charge of the new MacBook Pro.

Now thinner and lighter, the 13-inch retina display MacBook Pro weighs 3.46 lbs. and is just 0.71 inches thick. It features Thunderbolt 2 and the faster 802.11ac “Gigabit” Wi-Fi in addition to 4GB DRAM and 128GB SSD. The 13-inch retina display MacBook Pro is priced at $1,299, $200 less than the previous-generation model.

The 15-inch retina display MacBook Pro features Intel’s fourth-generation Crystalwell processor and integrated Intel Iris Pro graphics. The 15-inch MacBook Pro now packs an eight-hour battery life in addition to Thunderbolt 2, 802.11ac “Gigabit” Wi-Fi, 8GB DRAM and 256GB SSD. The 15-inch retina display MacBook Pro is priced at $1,999.

The non-retina display MacBook Pro notably has not been updated. Now the MacBook line stands with the 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Airs as non-retina and the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pros featuring retina displays. The 2013 MacBook Pros will power the newly released OSX Mavericks.

Follow me on Twitter @FionnaatIBT.