The Genesis of Apple's MacBook Pro: A Revolutionary Laptop That Paved the Way for Computing History

This nondescript 12-year-old laptop is possibly one of the most important laptops of the last 15 to 20 years, though it was short-lived and deeply flawed. The first generation MacBook Pro paved the way to one of the strongest lineups in computing history. To understand its significance, we need to go back in time.

January 10th, 2006 marked a seismic shift in the Apple ecosystem as they made the move from PowerPC to Intel processors. This was the first generation MacBook that set off the fastest cycle of Mac upgrades in a single year that has ever happened. In 2006, the familiar lineup included PowerBooks with 12, 15, and 17-inch screens, as well as PowerMac's with 17 and 20-inch IMAX displays, and the Mac Mini.

The long respected PowerBook lineup was almost overnight replaced by the MacBook line. Apple decided to get rid of "Power" in their names because they wanted "mac" instead. The MacBook Pro kicked off a new era for Apple with its spec sheet that wowed audiences in 2006. It started with a 32-bit, 1.8 GHz Core Duo processor, half a gigabyte of RAM, an 80 GB 5400 rpm hard drive, and ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics with just 128 megabytes of VRAM. This may not be impressive today but it was miles ahead of the outgoing PowerBook due to its first dual-core processors.

The MacBook Pro also introduced new design elements such as hitting antennas into the hinge and a revolutionary MagSafe charger. These innovations were crucial for the success of the laptop. A built-in iSight camera, which had never been seen before in Mac laptops at that time, was also included. The Wow door Ian Sis led to a very cringy interaction between Phil Schiller and Steve Jobs as they demonstrated the amazing new technology. "Who could I call? Oh there's Phil. Where's Phil? I wonder there he is. I think I Phil how you doing pretty good? I'm out here in the audience. I get a brand new MacBook Pro with its built-in iSight camera it's a blast," Schiller said.

The design of the MacBook Pro was nearly identical to the PowerBook that preceded it, a design that dated back to 2003. Despite its age, the design has aged well even after 15 years and still looks sleek and fresh. The new technology wowed audiences with its exciting features.

However, the beginning of this new era for Apple wasn't without its drawbacks. Within days of the first models getting into the hands of eager customers, reports surfaced of Winfax airport problems, flickering displays especially at maximum brightness, and excessive heat plaguing the device by April. In response to these issues, Apple revised the MacBook Pro five times in the first two months of shipping. These changes were made to make the laptop more user-friendly.

The original MacBook Pro was obsolete pretty much immediately due to its 32-bit core duo processor being almost overnight superseded by the 64-bit Core Duo processors introduced in late 2006 in the MacBook and MacBook Pro lineup. The original Pro lost its support just four years later when OS X Lion nixed 32-bit processors, a move that marked another significant change for Apple's laptops.

Many people reminisce about the good old days of Apple when innovation was coming near monthly, but I believe that Apple's current slower pace has some advantages. When this MacBook Pro was just six years old, Apple introduced the retina MacBook Pro in 2012, which had Retina displays and quad-core i7 processors with SSD-only storage. The specs of this laptop were laughable compared to what it offered at launch.

Despite its short life and less-than-original design, the first generation MacBook Pro assured in a new era of computing that was significant for Apple's history.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis is Genesis this nondescript 12 year old laptop is possibly one of the most important laptops of the last 15 to 20 years though it was short-lived and deeply flawed the first generation MacBook Pro paved the way to one of these strongest lineups in computing history to start let's go back in time today we are introducing a new notebook computer that we are calling the MacBook Pro it's a new name On January 10th 2006 the Apple ecosystem began a seismic shift the move from PowerPC to Intel processors this MacBook was the first it also set off the fastest cycle of Mac upgrades in a single year that has ever happened 2006 started with a familiar lineup there were power books 12 15 and 17 inch and power Mac's as well as 17 and 20-inch IMAX and the Mac Mini by the end of 2006 not one of those systems remained unchanged and two of them were erased from existence altogether the long respected PowerBook lineup was almost overnight Chuck decide in favor of the MacBook line one which has dominated year after year ever since we're kind of done with power and because we want mac in the name of our products so MacBook Pro the MacBook kicked all of this off with a spec sheet that wowed audiences in 2006 it started with a 32-bit 1.8 3 gigahertz core duo half a gigabyte of RAM an 80 gigabyte 5400 rpm hard drive and ati mobility radeon x 1600 graphics with just 128 megabytes of VRAM this may not be impressive today but this was miles ahead of the outgoing PowerBook it was almost 5 times faster than the most powerful power book thanks to the first dual-core processors included in every generation MacBook there are going to be dual processors in every MacBook Air additionally Apple cleaned up the design they hit antennas in the hinge introduced the revolutionary MagSafe charger they also included a built-in iSight camera of firsts for Mac notebook this Wow door Ian siz back in 2006 and led to a very cringy interaction between Phil Schiller and Steve Jobs as they demonstrated the amazing new technology who could I call Oh there's Phil where's Phil I wonder there he is I think I Phil how you doing pretty good I'm out here in the audience I get a brand new MacBook Pro with its built-in iSight camera it's a blast they're still right there despite monumental shifts in the performance and hardware of the new MacBook Pro the design is nearly identical to the PowerBook that preceded it a design that dates back to 2003 despite its age I think the design has aged well even after 15 years it still looks sleek and fresh though the MacBook Pro wowed audiences with its exciting features the beginning of this new era of Apple wasn't without its drawbacks within days of the first models getting into the hands of eager customers reports of wining airport problems flickering displays especially at maximum brightness and excessive heat plagued the device by April Apple had revised the MacBook Pro five times an absolutely absurd amount of changes to make in the first two months of shipping in addition to its rocky launch the original MacBook Pro was obsolete pretty much immediately its 32-bit core duo was almost overnight superseded by the 64-bit core 2 duos introduced in late 2006 in the MacBook and MacBook Pro the original Pro lost its support in 2010 just four years into its life when OS 10 lion nixed 32-bit processors many people reminisce about the good old days of Apple when innovation was coming near monthly however I think Apple's current slower pace does have some advantages in 2012 when this MacBook Pro was just six years old Apple introduced the retina MacBook Pro just six years into its life we had Retina displays quad-core i7 processors and SSD only storage well this machine still had a half gigabyte of RAM and 128 megabytes of vram and 32-bit processors even in 2012 these specs were laughable a 2012 MacBook Pro on the other hand has aged quite well in the last six years and many people are perfectly fine with laptops even older than that despite its short life rocky start and less than original design the first generation MacBook Pro assured in a new era of computing and for that I think it deserves a spot in the computing Hall of Fame this computer really is one of the most significant computers Apple has ever made and for that it should be celebratedthis is Genesis this nondescript 12 year old laptop is possibly one of the most important laptops of the last 15 to 20 years though it was short-lived and deeply flawed the first generation MacBook Pro paved the way to one of these strongest lineups in computing history to start let's go back in time today we are introducing a new notebook computer that we are calling the MacBook Pro it's a new name On January 10th 2006 the Apple ecosystem began a seismic shift the move from PowerPC to Intel processors this MacBook was the first it also set off the fastest cycle of Mac upgrades in a single year that has ever happened 2006 started with a familiar lineup there were power books 12 15 and 17 inch and power Mac's as well as 17 and 20-inch IMAX and the Mac Mini by the end of 2006 not one of those systems remained unchanged and two of them were erased from existence altogether the long respected PowerBook lineup was almost overnight Chuck decide in favor of the MacBook line one which has dominated year after year ever since we're kind of done with power and because we want mac in the name of our products so MacBook Pro the MacBook kicked all of this off with a spec sheet that wowed audiences in 2006 it started with a 32-bit 1.8 3 gigahertz core duo half a gigabyte of RAM an 80 gigabyte 5400 rpm hard drive and ati mobility radeon x 1600 graphics with just 128 megabytes of VRAM this may not be impressive today but this was miles ahead of the outgoing PowerBook it was almost 5 times faster than the most powerful power book thanks to the first dual-core processors included in every generation MacBook there are going to be dual processors in every MacBook Air additionally Apple cleaned up the design they hit antennas in the hinge introduced the revolutionary MagSafe charger they also included a built-in iSight camera of firsts for Mac notebook this Wow door Ian siz back in 2006 and led to a very cringy interaction between Phil Schiller and Steve Jobs as they demonstrated the amazing new technology who could I call Oh there's Phil where's Phil I wonder there he is I think I Phil how you doing pretty good I'm out here in the audience I get a brand new MacBook Pro with its built-in iSight camera it's a blast they're still right there despite monumental shifts in the performance and hardware of the new MacBook Pro the design is nearly identical to the PowerBook that preceded it a design that dates back to 2003 despite its age I think the design has aged well even after 15 years it still looks sleek and fresh though the MacBook Pro wowed audiences with its exciting features the beginning of this new era of Apple wasn't without its drawbacks within days of the first models getting into the hands of eager customers reports of wining airport problems flickering displays especially at maximum brightness and excessive heat plagued the device by April Apple had revised the MacBook Pro five times an absolutely absurd amount of changes to make in the first two months of shipping in addition to its rocky launch the original MacBook Pro was obsolete pretty much immediately its 32-bit core duo was almost overnight superseded by the 64-bit core 2 duos introduced in late 2006 in the MacBook and MacBook Pro the original Pro lost its support in 2010 just four years into its life when OS 10 lion nixed 32-bit processors many people reminisce about the good old days of Apple when innovation was coming near monthly however I think Apple's current slower pace does have some advantages in 2012 when this MacBook Pro was just six years old Apple introduced the retina MacBook Pro just six years into its life we had Retina displays quad-core i7 processors and SSD only storage well this machine still had a half gigabyte of RAM and 128 megabytes of vram and 32-bit processors even in 2012 these specs were laughable a 2012 MacBook Pro on the other hand has aged quite well in the last six years and many people are perfectly fine with laptops even older than that despite its short life rocky start and less than original design the first generation MacBook Pro assured in a new era of computing and for that I think it deserves a spot in the computing Hall of Fame this computer really is one of the most significant computers Apple has ever made and for that it should be celebrated\n"