Displays for 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro in production

27 August, 2012 - Paul Dixon
MacBook Pro 13

If, like me, you’ve looked longingly at the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display but have decided to hold out for a smaller and less expensive option, you may be interested to hear that production of displays for a 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro is reported to be under way.

CNET reports that NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim told them that 2560×1600 resolution displays are currently being manufactured by LGD (LG Display), Samsung, and Sharp, and that supply chain indicators suggest that they are for a 13-inch MacBook Pro, rather than a MacBook Air.

In addition, Shim expects the production volume to be significantly lager than that of the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display:

With 15.4 it’s production of a few hundred thousand units versus one to two million for the 13.3,” he said. That 13.3-inch production began in the third quarter.

There’s a pretty good reason why Apple would choose to go with such a high production volume – the combination of portability and price is likely to make a 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro have more mainstream appeal than its bigger brother.

CNET’s report follows the discovery of GeekBench results for a purported 13-inch MacBook Pro earlier this month.

Apple could launch the new machine as early as October.

Would you buy one?

About the author

Paul Dixon is the owner of Macsessed. He lives in Lancashire in the UK where he works as a web designer. You can find him on and Twitter.