Apple's MacBook gets a fresh face, NVIDIA graphics, original drops to $999

Apple's taking all that new MacBook Pro love and shrinking it down to size for the all-new MacBook. The laptop includes those same NVIDIA 9400M graphics, Mini DisplayPort plug, new manufacturing method, backlit keyboard and fancy glass trackpad of its big sibling, but does it with a 13.3-inch LED-backlit screen and typically friendly MacBook pricepoints. The laptop is 0.5 pounds lighter than its plastic predecessor, 0.95-inches thick, and Apple's also claiming 5 hours of battery life here, but we'll have to wait and see how realistic that number is. The base model weighs in at $1299 with a 2GHz Core 2 Duo processor, while $1599 gets you 4GB of RAM and a 320GB HDD. There's also an SSD option if you're really looking to splurge. If none of the new speed or style appeals to you, Apple's also slashing its existing low-end MacBook to $999, which is still a bit steep if you ask us. Hit the jump for a breakdown of the configurations.

Gallery: Apple's new LED-backlit MacBook

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Gallery: LED MacBook Official Pictures

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2.0GHz MacBook (MB466LL/A) - $1,299

• 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 3MB L2 cache, 1066MHz System Bus
• 160GB 5400 rpm HDD

2.4GHz MacBook (MB467LL/A) - $1,599

• 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 3MB L2 cache, 1066MHz System Bus
• 250GB 5400 rpm HDD
• Backlit Keyboard

Shared Specs:

• Precision aluminum unibody enclosure, 12.78 x 8.94 x .95-inches, 4.5 pounds
  
• 13.3-inches LED-backlit display, 1280 x 800 resolution
  
• 8x Slot-loading SuperDrive
• 2GB 1066 MHz DDR3 memory
• Multi-Touch glass trackpad
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor
• Mini Display Port connector
• Built-in iSight camera, stereo speakers, microphone
• Optical digital input / analog line in/out
• Built-in AirPort Extreme WiFi
• 2 USB 2.0 ports
• Gigabit Ethernet Port
• Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard & iLife '08
• 5 Hour Battery life

In The Box:

• MacBook
• Display Cleaning cloth
• 60W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug, and power cord
• Lithium-polymer battery
• Install / restore DVDs
• Printed and electronic documentation

[Will @ Oct 14th 2008 1:41PM]

There's no article here yet

[Boards of Canada @ Oct 14th 2008 3:43PM]

then for 1000$ you get a 2.1ghz, 1gb, 120gb and Intel Gma X3100... wow, its a 400$ computer!

[Wii60 @ Oct 14th 2008 1:42PM]

Did they put a matte screen in it? $1000 is low enough for me to bite, but not with a glossy screen.

[Dan @ Oct 14th 2008 1:48PM]

Are you going to keep asking about the matte screen in every thread? When has the MacBook (not pro) ever had a matte screen option??

[Thi mam(kris120890) @ Oct 14th 2008 1:49PM]

Thats $999 for the macbooks already out it's 1299 for the new macbooks.

[phillip @ Oct 14th 2008 1:50PM]

I agree, the matte screen on my ibook g4 is keeping me from replacing with a new ibook. the new pro's dont look great to me and performance for gaming is not my priority.. I will be looking in the used market for a 15"-17" macbook pro

[diode3diode @ Oct 14th 2008 1:50PM]

I think they're mentioning lowering the price of the current Macbooks to $999 and not the price of this one.

[who? @ Oct 14th 2008 1:42PM]

My Black MacBook is outdated? Noooo!

[phreekmatik @ Oct 14th 2008 1:54PM]

Your black macbook has always sucked. you payed $200 for 90 extra GB of storage. only difference between a black $1500 macbook and a while $1300.

[Wii60 @ Oct 14th 2008 1:56PM]

The black macbook didn't show damage as easily as the white one. Probably the reason for the change.

[who? @ Oct 14th 2008 2:02PM]

@phreekmatik

Don't judge what you don't know:

I got it for $1049 refurbished on Apple's site (2GHz 2GB ram 200GB 7200RPM hard drive) about 17 months ago.

It was only $50 more than the white 2GHz (which was $999), and it had 80GB more storage, it was definitely worth it.

[who? @ Oct 14th 2008 2:12PM]

@Wii60

What are you talking about? They switched to all white (and the aluminum ones, of course), not black!

[Wii60 @ Oct 14th 2008 2:27PM]

@ who?

I'm saying that they switched away from black because it hid damage like scratches, etc.

Apple relies on a heavy turnaround from its users, if you sell a cheap $999 and make it so that the style-conscious users want to replace it in a year or two when it looks old, you need to make it white. They'll remember when it looked good at first. A scratch on a black macbook is practically invisible.

[who? @ Oct 14th 2008 5:20PM]

@Wii60

Then aluminum is a dumb choice for their entire line of computers (except for one model).

[wootman @ Oct 14th 2008 9:35PM]

Couldn't you have bought a white macbook refurbed for less?

[who? @ Oct 14th 2008 10:13PM]

@wootman

Read my entire post, go on now, you can do it.

[Zelatio @ Oct 14th 2008 1:44PM]

Did they really need a new post about each little thing in the keynote?

[Kris @ Oct 14th 2008 1:47PM]

You must be new here

[Tejas @ Oct 14th 2008 2:31PM]

Definitely new... Welcome to Engadget...!

[Matt Ferens @ Oct 14th 2008 1:44PM]

Am I the only one who thinks these look worse then the current MacBooks?

[Chin-Poh @ Oct 14th 2008 1:46PM]

Nope, I certainly agree with you.

[nerdtalker @ Oct 14th 2008 1:50PM]

I'm generally very jealous of the macbook designs and how clean they look, but the whole thick black outline around the screen thing throws me. It doesn't look elegant, it looks tacky and wasteful. I'd rather have a screen that takes up all that real estate than some black border, especially a glossy one which is invariably going to get scratched/blemished from the aluminum palmrest and chicklet keys.

Same applies to the MBP. Honestly, that one feature just unnerves me. Black outline... ugh.

[diode3diode @ Oct 14th 2008 1:51PM]

I concur.

[spass @ Oct 14th 2008 1:52PM]

Not just you, I second that.

What's the deal with the bezel, rounded corners and tapered edges?
Just do a simple brick! Less is more!

[THJ @ Oct 14th 2008 1:54PM]

The Black frame is a feature - when you sneeze, it's easier to spot the gobs of snot on a black bezel than a white or aluminum bezel.

[diode3diode @ Oct 14th 2008 2:07PM]

@THJ
Sneezing at your Macbook is like sneezing at someone you love. You just don't. So if you feel the urge, turn your head good sir.

[Joshua.JWilliams @ Oct 14th 2008 2:18PM]

Yeah, I'm not huge on the black border around the display as well. Again, the leaked images were spot on. I'm perfectly happy with my week old base line MacBook. Haha, atleast technically it's not totally obsolete as Apple is going to continue to sell it for a while.

I don't particularly like the two-tone black keyboard with aluminum palm rest.

[Andy @ Oct 14th 2008 2:34PM]

The screen looks exactly like the the HP I bought two years ago.

[OCEAN 'CLAK' 20th Account Happy @ Oct 14th 2008 2:50PM]

i agree i prefer the old ones to

[vvtopkar @ Oct 15th 2008 11:14PM]

I agree,
the picture may look pretty, but the actual pictures are hideous. Its a total piece of crap. Sigh... apple's truly skrewed themselves over this time....

[Patriks7 @ Oct 14th 2008 1:45PM]

OK now I want to see real life tests between the current Intel graphics vs the new NVIDIA.. once I see those I will decide if i should buy this beauty or not :p

[nerdtalker @ Oct 14th 2008 1:52PM]

For once, the keynote-posted benchmarks are real. Integrated intel graphics have been laughable in the PC community for a long time now, I'm frankly amazed that apple has been making do with the GMA graphics for so long in the macbooks.

Considering how Adobe CS4 is now hardware (CUDA) accelerated, it's gonna feel a lot faster.

[BMAiMod @ Oct 14th 2008 1:45PM]

No matte screen. The Macbooks never had a matte finish.

[Saad Rabia @ Oct 14th 2008 1:45PM]

Looky, looky, it's a MacBook Pro, but smaller!

[xeroz @ Oct 14th 2008 1:46PM]

OH NO I JUST UPGRADED MY MEMORY ON MY MAC BOOK AND ITS NOW OUTDATED!

[Todd Long @ Oct 14th 2008 1:46PM]

So lame...$1599 just to get the backlit keyboard, come on...

[farfisa @ Oct 14th 2008 1:47PM]

Hey, they used to charge $200 for "blackness," so this is actually a step up.


...and yes, I bought the black one... but it was on sale.

[Todd Long @ Oct 14th 2008 1:57PM]

So basically it's $300 for a backlit display...this should be standard on every model. Not much of a "step-up" by charging an extra $100 for something quite trivial.

[farfisa @ Oct 14th 2008 3:31PM]

Ha ha--right! The $1599 model also gets a 2.4 GHz processor, same as the base Macbook Pro--not sure why that's not in the article, but it was in the keynote slides.

[robbinsc @ Oct 14th 2008 1:46PM]

So much for the $800 MacBook...

[Dan @ Oct 14th 2008 1:49PM]

The rumor sites debunked the $899 macbook yesterday.

[m @ Oct 14th 2008 2:07PM]

if you consider that students get a $100 discount, that rumor is still mostly true. millions of students and teachers are eligible for it, and it's mostly students that buy the base model. it's good news.

[Calvin Anderson @ Oct 14th 2008 1:48PM]

WANT. Although, dammit, would be better if they made it the size of the 12" PB (along with the 12" screen)

[Adam @ Oct 14th 2008 1:48PM]

Well they raised the price A LOT IMO...

The Mac Book looks better than it did with some style in it, but just to expensive....

[picaso @ Oct 14th 2008 1:53PM]

It is an option, they are still keeping the original macbook black/white for a cheaper price. They jst gave everyone more options. At least that's what i seem to get out of it.

[jorvay @ Oct 14th 2008 2:01PM]

yes, but they only dropped the prices a bit. For a company that doesn't drop prices until model upgrades, rather than the more traditional market rate model for computers and components, it's a pretty small drop. Compare what you got in a non-mac laptop for $1200 when the Macbook came out. That $1200 non-mac is probably only about $750-800 now, yet the macbook only dropped to $1000.

[Meridimus @ Oct 15th 2008 7:12PM]

I thought Apple wanted to increase its appeal to the lower-end market, really what they've done here is intro'd higher priced macs in a state of economic recession. I just don't see so many people owning the new MacBook.

Also, taking a look at the product line-up now it looks so balls. Ipod touches next to ipod classics, new macbooks next to old macbooks, new mbp next to old mbp (17"). It just looks so turd, a mish-mash of poo if you will.

What I was really excited about was plonking down £500 on a mac laptop I would feel proud to own without feeling like I sold my ass to get it. I don't care for this line-up, I really don't. It's made me feel like a sour grape.

[gophur @ Oct 14th 2008 2:27PM]

Apple fails again!

It's tough being a fanboi when you see a company that can say Pro and 9400M in the same sentence. Huh? I wouldn't put a 9400m in a $400 computer for my mom. Utter fail. And let's not even get started on a $900 24" monitor. I guess my Mac days are over. Thank god for OSX on the Atom.

[iKurt @ Oct 14th 2008 1:49PM]

I think the $999 has the plastic casing... these $1299+ models have metal casing. Either way, I'm going to get the $1599 model one :)

[FallenCow @ Oct 14th 2008 1:49PM]

Might as well buy a mac book pro for those prices!