Apple Introduces Next Generation MacBook Pro with 15.4" Retina Display starting at $2199. It's only 0.71" thick and Apple claims they are "the very best computer that we've ever built."
Photographers will welcome the 2,880 by 1,880 pixels resolution along with next generation video and CPU power when editing their photos. The screen is now improved with deeper blacks and a higher angle of viewing. Glare has also been reduced by 75 percent.
The next-generation MacBook Pro runs exclusively on Intel's new Ivy Bridge quad-core Core i7 processors and can be configure with up to 16 gigabytes of RAM. Battery life still maintains up to 7 hours of usage under normal load along with a MacBook Air-like 30 days of standby time.
Here are the product highlights:

• 2.3GHz Intel Core i7 Quad-Core
  
• 8GB of DDR3 RAM
  
• 256GB Flash Storage
  
• nVIDIA GeForce GT 650M Graphics (1GB)
  
• 15.4" Widescreen LED-Backlit IPS Display
  
• 2880 x 1880 Native Resolution
  
• 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0
  
• Integrated Stereo Speakers
  
• FaceTime HD Camera, Dual Microphones
  
• Mac OS X 10.7 Lion

Can the screen be color-calibrated with the usual calibrators (e.g, X-Rite)?

Arun Gupta wrote:
Can the screen be color-calibrated with the usual calibrators (e.g, X-Rite)?

Very good question, would like to know this as well, since I heard this screen has an anti-reflective coating

Being a big Mac fan, I almost pre-ordered yesterday after reading the announcement despite its high cost when fully loaded. Certainly the power is there to replace desktop systems but I hesitated when I considered I would be using a 27" thunderbolt display as my main monitor so what benefit would the retina display be. For travel (editing and making presentations) and for watching movies etc, I can see but could use my IPad for that.

Please help me justify the expenditure.

Geoff

I'm in the same boat as gcuff. My MBP was stolen a month or so ago, and I was considering the new one with retina, but I'm just not sure how big of a difference it would make in my everyday experience vs saving the money and getting the thunderbolt display

Can the 27' Thunderbolt display work on the same resolution of 2880-by-1800?
I've got a 27' iMac (mid 2011) and the maximum resolution is 2560-by-1440.
If it can't then I see no point until they have an external display (as it's bigger size then its not a Retina Display) that can handle that New MacBook Pro resolution.

Gaby Lastman wrote:
Can the 27' Thunderbolt display work on the same resolution of 2880-by-1800?
I've got a 27' iMac (mid 2011) and the maximum resolution is 2560-by-1440.
If it can't then I see no point until they have an external display (as it's bigger size then its not a Retina Display) that can handle that New MacBook Pro resolution.

No, a monitor can't uprez. It's maxed out at it's native resolution. It downrezzes by interpolating.