Apple updates MacBook Pro

Apple said on Tuesday its 13-inch, 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro notebooks were refreshed with more powerful Intel processors and new graphics chips from Nvidia.

The 13-inch model, which starts at $1,199, boasts up to 10 hours of battery life, Apple said.

The company said its new 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models, which start at $1,799 and $2,299 respectively, are up to 50 percent faster than their predecessors, with eight to nine hours of battery life.

Apple, which is set to announce quarterly results next week, is the No. 5 maker of personal computers in the United States, according to industry tracker IDC.

In the final quarter of 2009, Apple's computer shipments surged 33 percent to 3.36 million units.

Shares of Cupertino, California-based Apple were down 0.3 percent at $241.59 in morning trading on the Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Gabriel Madway, editing by Matthew Lewis)