The MacBook Pro is a line of Macintosh portable computers introduced in January 2006 by Apple Inc., and now in its third generation. Replacing the PowerBook G4, the MacBook Pro was the second model, after the iMac, to be announced in the Apple–Intel transition. It is also the high-end model of the MacBook family and is currently produced with 13- and 15-inch screens, although a 17-inch version has been offered previously.
The first generation MacBook Pro appeared externally similar to the PowerBook G4, but used the Intel Core processors instead of PowerPC G4 chips. The 15-inch model was released in January 2006, a 17-inch model in April, both of which received several updates and Core 2 Duo processors later in the year.
The second model, known as the "unibody" model, has a more tapered design and a casing made from a single block of aluminum. It debuted in October 2008 as the 15-inch MacBook Pro and the 13-inch aluminum unibody MacBook. The following January brought the design to the 17-inch model, along with the built-in battery that joined the rest of the MacBook Pro line in June, including the 13-inch model which Apple absorbed into the MacBook Pro line. Subsequent updates brought upgraded Intel Core i5 and i7 processors and introduced Intel's Thunderbolt technology.
Apple Inc., formerly Apple Computer, Inc., is an multinational corporation headquartered in Cupertino, California that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software and personal computers. Its best-known hardware products are the Mac line of computers, the iPod music player, the iPhone smartphone, and the iPad tablet computer. Its software includes the OS X and iOS operating systems, the iTunes media browser, the Safari web browser, and the iLife and iWork creativity and production suites. The company was founded on April 1, 1976, and incorporated as Apple Computer, Inc. on January 3, 1977. The word "Computer" was removed from its name on January 9, 2007, reflecting its shifted focus towards consumer electronics after the introduction of the iPhone.
Apple is the world's second-largest information technology company by revenue after Samsung Electronics, and the world's third-largest mobile phone maker after Samsung and Nokia. Fortune magazine named Apple the most admired company in the United States in 2008, and in the world from 2008 to 2012. However, the company has received criticism for its contractors' labor practices, and for Apple's own environmental and business practices.