Apple improves microprocessors and battery life in surprise MacBook launch

And it's now available in rose gold!

Apple has announced a refresh of its MacBook line-up today, which will provide the popular 12-inch laptop with a performance and battery life boost. The announcement comes hot on the heels of widespread MacBook price cuts - a clear indicator that a new line was imminent.

The new MacBook uses Intel's 6th-generation Skylake processor, which should improve CPU and GPU performance. The upgrade also delivers an improvement in battery life to provide an extra hour compared with its predecessor.

Unfortunately, Apple has decided not to change one of the laptop's biggest shortcomings: the fact that it ships with just one USB Type-C port for connectivity.

In addition, the device has the same 12in Retina display, 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity and 13.1mm-thick frame as its predecessor.

There's good news for those who long for a pink MacBook, as Apple's latest model will be available to pick up in 'rose gold'.

"MacBook is the thinnest and lightest Mac we have ever made and it's our vision for the future of the notebook," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing.

He continued: "Customers are going to love this update to MacBook, with the latest processors, faster graphics, faster flash storage, longer battery life and a beautiful rose gold finish."

The laptop may have had the ultimate upgrade with the arrival of a pink model, but the price is the same as before. £1,049 will get you the 1.1GHz dual-core chip (2.2GHz Turbo), 8GB RAM and 256GB of SSD storage, while £1,299 will upgrade this to a 1.2GHz processor (2.7GHz Turbo) and 512MB storage. Configure-to-order options include a 1.3GHz dual-core Intel processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.1GHz.

Apple's new MacBook is available to order online now, and will be available in the shops from tomorrow.

The company has also made 8GB of memory standard across all configurations of the 13in MacBook Air.

The launch of Apple's new 12in MacBook follows the announcement that WWDC 2016 will kick off on 13 June. Apple is expected to unveil the next-generation OS X release, which is likely to arrive on the El Capitan-powered MacBook soon.