Apple relased a product line update to the MacBook Pros today. Among many of the features are an updated processor, graphics processor, FaceTime HD Camera, and the new Intel Tunderbolt technology (formerly Light Peak).
Processor
Apple has switched to the new Sandy Bridge chipset offering giving the 15 and 17-inch MacBook Pros what appear to be the biggest jump. The 13-inch gets a 2.3GHz Dual Core i5 and a 2.7GHz Dual Core i7. In the 15 and 17-inch models you can only get the i7. The 15-inch gets a 2.0GHz and a 2.2GHz Quad Core i7, and the 17-inch gets a 2.2GHz Quad Core i7. According to Apple, this processor bump is going to result in up to 2x faster processor speeds. All models have the integrated Intel HD 3000 Graphics but only the 15 and 17-inch models have a seperate GPU. The price appears to be the same as before the refresh.
GPU
In the 15 and 17-inch MacBook Pros Apple has included an AMD Radeon HD 6490M with 256MB GDDR5 memory, or 6750M with 1GB GDDR5 memory (on the higher end 15 and 17-inch) that it says will increase graphics performance 3x. According to Engadget (as they understand it) the graphics switching will automatically switch between the GPU and Integrated graphics depending on what you are doing.
Thunderbolt (AKA Light Peak)
Thunderbolt is a new technology that has been developed by Intel. It’s intention seems to replace USB/Firewire/Diplay ports into an all in one port. Let me try to explain a little better. The Thunderbolt port provides bi-directional 10Gbps throughput and it a dual-port. This means that it can carry both PCI Express data and Display Port video. You can daisy chain up to 6 devices in a row. So how will this work? Well, say you have a monitor, a NAS, and an HD TV. You should be able to take a single cable out to a newer monitor with an HDMI output and a PCI-X output to a NAS, and you can connect all three though that cable. The Thunderbolt port has the same specifications as the existing Display Port that apple is using, so existing Display Port Adapters will work.
Thunderbolt has the backing of Intel, but for me this seems like a similar case to Firewire 800. Apple (among very few others) supported Firewire 800 in their machines but has chosen not to implement USB 3.0. But other than high end NAS devices and video equipment, no one has implemented Firewire 800 into anything else. So even though Firewire 800 is superior to USB 2.0, it is pretty much dead from a usefulness standpoint. So it will remain to be seen whether Thunderbolt is widely adopted.
Wired has a nice writeup explaining Thunderbolt here.
Conclusion
This update to the MacBook Pro line is a much bigger update than we have seen in the past, and the price point looks on par with previous models. If you were waiting to buy a new system, I think now is the time to act.
The Technology Bookshelf 