Toshiba has announced its new Kira premium range, and with it, has unveiled its new Kirabook, a 13.3-inch Ultrabook with a native resolution of 2560-by-1440 pixels.

The Kirabook is touting Toshiba’s new PixelPure display, offering a pretty impressive 221 pixels-per-inch view, just a tiny bit lower than the Apple retina MacBook Pro’s 227ppi and the Google Chrome Pixel’s 239ppi.

Not out of characteristics with the Ultrabooks that are flooding the market, the Kirabook will be running Windows 8. As for pricing, it will ship with an Intel Core i5 processor with a non-touch display for $1,599. If you’re a person that would prefers a touchscreen instead, you can pick up a Core i5 model with a touchscreen for $1,799 or a Core i7 model with a touchscreen for $1,999. 

Toshiba has yet to go into every single technical specification, but does say all three models feature a 256GB SSD and 8GB of memory, plenty of power if you ask us. Harman Kardon will be embedding speakers into the Ultrabook. There is also a LED backlit keyboard.

Toshiba looks to primarily be taking on Apple’s MacBook Air with this device, as its weight sits at 2.6-pounds, versus the 2.96-pounds that encompasses the 13-inch MacBook Air. Unlike Thunderbolt that Apple includes, Toshiba will only be outputting to an extra screen through an HDMI output, at only 1920-by-1080 pixels. Thunderbolt offers a much wider range.

Toshiba will be making the Kirabook available for pre-order 3 May and will ship to the masses 12 May. Adobe’s Photoshop Elements 11 and Premier Elements 11 will be bundled with each model. UK specifics haven’t been detailed.

Toshiba is promising a support line for Kirabook owners that will be answered within 45 seconds and a two-year warranty that will provide paid overnight shipping on warranty claims.