Why go Retina? Apple dishes out lots of reasons

Apple, of course, has to justify the AU$2500 starting price for a computer. So it's offering plenty reasons for you to get a Retina MacBook Pro.

Wondering whether you should part with $AU2499 for a MacBook Pro with Retina display? That is, after all, a lot for a laptop these days.

Apple is trying to make that decision easier by offering lots of reasons to buy a MacBook Pro Retina. While professionals may need little convincing, will the average user care?

Here is the list of core benefits that Apple is claiming for the Retina MacBook Pro:

• Raw specs: 15.4-inch screen, 2800x1800 resolution, 220 pixels per inch (ppi). By comparison, the third-generation iPad is 2048x1536 and 264 ppi

• It has higher contrast ratios, deeper blacks, better viewing angle (via IPS tech), reduced glare and reflection (by up to 75 per cent), according to Phil Schiller

• OS X Lion has been updated to take full advantage of the Retina display. "Reading your mail is like reading fine print," said Schiller. Reality check: it will take a while for non-Apple applications to go Retina, if indeed lots do

• Safari: "surfing the web can be like experiencing print quality," Schiller said. It's sharper than a printed page. Reality check: that doesn't necessarily apply to other web browsers

• iPhoto: "looking at thumbnail photos in the events view, you'll see a clarity and level of detail you've never seen before," Schiller said

• There's been a "major update" to Aperture. "The whole UI has been updated for Retina ... every element ... now, you're looking at four times the resolution of your photos," Schiller said

• Final Cut Pro: "because of the density of the Retina display, that video area in the top right ... that is 1080p HD video. That means there are over 3 million pixels left over for your magnetic timeline ... effects. Nine simultaneous streams of "ProRes" video [and] four simultaneous streams of uncompressed video [are possible now]," Schiller said

• Adobe: there's a new version of Photoshop that takes advantage of Retina coming, according to Schiller

• Autodesk: updated Autocad will allow "a level of detailed work not possible in a notebook before," Schiller said.

Schiller did offer a qualifier, though. "Applications do have to be updated to take advantage of the Retina display. If they aren't, we can pixel-double them and make them the proper size." Pixel doubling, as most users know, is not a pretty sight.

But getting back to the list above, similar Retina-justifying arguments were made by Apple for the third-generation iPad Retina. And Apple didn't have much trouble convincing consumers to buy it (me included).

Then again, this isn't an AU$540 iPad. It's an AU$2500 computer.

See the Apple MacBook Pro video for more details.

Via CNET