The new MacBook Pro Retina display with 2880*1800 resolution is the world’s highest resolution notebook display with over 5 million pixels, 3 million more than on a full-HD television. At 220 pixels-per-inch, the Retina display’s pixel density is so high the human eye cannot distinguish individual pixels from a normal viewing distance, so text and graphics look sharper. The Retina display uses IPS technology for a 178°wide viewing angle, and has 75% less reflection and 29% higher contrast than the previous generation.

The MacBook Pro 15" with Retina display features the latest Intel Core i7 quad-core processors up to 2.7GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.7GHz, Nvidia GeForce GT 650M discrete graphics with 1GB of GDDR5 memory, up to 16GB of DDR3L 1600MHz memory and flash storage up to 768GB. Two Thunderbolt and two USB 3.0 ports allow pro users to connect to multiple displays and high performance devices, and a new HDMI port offers quick connectivity to HDTVs.

iFixit, a popular electronics do-it-yourself weabsite, today gave the new MacBook Pro with the Retina display its worst-possible repair score of just 1 out of a possible 10.

"This is, to date, the least-repairable laptop we've taken apart," said Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit, in an email today. "Apple has packed all the things we hate into one beautiful little package." . . .
"The new MacBook Pro is virtually non-upgradeable -- making it the first MacBook Pro that will be unable to adapt to future advances in memory and storage technology," said Wiens.

The teardown revealed that Apple used many of the same assembly techniques as it does with the self-contained and virtually un-upgradable MacBook Air, including proprietary screws, copious amounts of glue, expensive parts -- the screen in particular -- that must be completely replaced even after the smallest failure and fused components that will likely break when a neighboring part must be removed.

As Wiens noted, the new MacBook Pro really can't be upgraded after purchase.

As in the MacBook Air, the laptop's memory is soldered to the logic board, eliminating any later RAM upgrade. Customers must order the Pro with exact amount of memory they desire, and pay Apple's high prices.

Although the MacBook Pro with Retina display comes equipped with 8GB of RAM standard, boosting that to 16GB at the time of purchase adds another $200 to the already=steep $2,199 sticker price of the base model.

At Crucial .com, a popular source for notebook memory upgrades, 8GB of additional RAM for a 15-in. MacBook Pro that doesn't feature the Retina display costs just $87.

Nor can the solid-state drive (SSD) be swapped out for something larger . . .