The late 2011 Apple MacBook Pro refresh comes just months after the range's last upgrade, in February.

While the early 2011 refresh of the 13-inch, 15-inch and 17-inch Apple laptops brought a radical overhaul, with the entire MacBook Pro range moving over to the new Sandy Bridge second generation Intel Core-i series processors, the latest revision - released in late October - is far more incremental.

The two new 15-inch Apple MacBook Pros get a slight increase in processor speed and upgraded discrete graphics. While they both retain quad core Intel Core i7 chips, the cheaper model is boosted from 2.0GHz to 2.2GHz, and the higher-end 15-inch model - as reviewed here - moves from 2.2GHz to 2.4GHz.

Graphics are also upgraded. The entry-level 15-inch model gets the AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics processor previously used in the high-end notebook, but with 512MB of GDDR5 memory instead of 256MB.

This more expensive 15-inch MacBook Pro moves up to an AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 1GB. Off-the-shelf storage remains the same, at 500GB and 750GB 5,400 rpm hard drives respectively, although the build-to-order option of a 500GB 7,200 rpm drive has been boosted to a 750GB model.

Naturally, much about the late 2011 15-inch MacBook Pro remains the same. It still has a 1,440 x 900-pixel LED-backlit glossy display, with custom order options for a high-resolution 1680 x 1050p glossy or matt anti-glare 15.4-inch screen.

Apple macbook pro late 2011 (15-inch) review

The built-in, non-user-changeable 77.5W lithium-polymer battery still gives up to seven hours of wireless web surfing, and lasts around three times as long as a standard battery before wearing out. Connectivity options are still two USB 2.0 ports, a single FireWire 800 port and a new, high-speed Thunderbolt port.

In a very welcome move, the prices of the late 2011 15-inch MacBook Pros is unchanged. The cheaper of the two, the 2.2GHz model, still costs £1,549, with the higher-end 2.4GHz model reviewed here costing £1,849.

Apple's 17-inch MacBook Pro late 2011 again has the same specifications as this higher-end 15-inch model, but with a bigger screen.