From the Forums: Retina MacBook Opinions and Discussion

oneMadRssn said:

Instead, Apple releases a dilemma - it's asking people to sacrifice ports and much more cash for a retina display, lower weight, and thinness. Plus, adding insult to injury, Apple has removed an very popular and well regarded feature - magsafe. To say nothing of the lower battery life rating. I don't blame people for being pissed at this dilemma.

Before the choice between MBA and MBP was relatively simple. Now for people with aging MBAs, the choice between rMB and MBA is not only tough, but it's forces a sacrifice: retina or ports - one of those has to go if you want a slim and light mac, can't have both.

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Do you remember when the MBAs first came out? They had NO CD drive!!! Everyone was all up in arms about it. And it was $1,799!!! I believe the entry level MBP 15" was like $1,699 at the time. I remember because they came out around the time I was going to get a new computer and the dilemma you speak of was definitely there for me.

Can you name one thing the average person does often that cannot be done through wifi or bluetooth? Sure, I can hook my iPhone up to my computer to sync, but who does that anymore? Who would plug their computer into their TV using a wire? If people are still doing these things, then they need to get out of the 2000's!

Ports are getting less and less functional and are starting to define the thickness of laptops. I know its tough, but its time to let them go for the better.

And regards to magsafe... my 2006 MBP had it. That was 9 years ago. I will definitely miss it, but if it has to go for a good reason (like making my computer thinner), I am all for it.

Plutonius said:

Sounds like sour grapes. If the poster has the money and wants to buy the product, congrats on finding a product that meets their needs.

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Did you even read DrJohnnyN's posts? The sour grapes is referring to their attitude, rather than their bank balance ...

DrJohnnyN said:

What flaws do you see in the rMB?

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All of my "flaws" revolve around price vs. value. For a $1300 laptop (I will be kind and not call it a netbook), it has too few ports and a weak processor. Actually, when you consider what you probably need to read an SD card (the USB-C adapter at a minimum), its closer to $1400 for a laptop that, by the claims here, is designed for the average user who wants to check email and surf the internet.

Oh and another flaw? One port. Single point of failure.

Oh, but it is thinner and lighter. Seriously, if that is your driving motivation for this laptop, consider physical therapy and/or maybe a bit of exercise. The correct answer would have been putting a retina display in the MacBook Air, make it a little thinner & lighter (although unnecessary at this point), and maybe shave a port or two. but that wouldn't be sensational enough. So they designed this thing.

Don't get me wrong. It is a beautiful product aesthetically, and it has neat new features that I hope make their way to the Air and the Pro (new style key mechanisms have my interest), but nothing that justifies the price tag. They need to take $300 off the price, add another port OR (preferably) a new style Mag Safe, and bump the minimum processor to 1.3 for this one to "make sense" to most people.

redhawk87 said:

Do you remember when the MBAs first came out? They had NO CD drive!!! Everyone was all up in arms about it. And it was $1,799!!! I believe the entry level MBP 15" was like $1,699 at the time. I remember because they came out around the time I was going to get a new computer and the dilemma you speak of was definitely there for me.

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Yes, and before that Apple was the first to get rid of the floppy disk drive. I submit that lacking a disk drive is different from lacking an expansion port. A CD drive can only do one thing - read CDs. A USB port can do... almost anything.

redhawk87 said:

Can you name one thing the average person does often that cannot be done through wifi or bluetooth?

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Charge a battery. Not talking about the laptop battery, I mean using your laptop to charge an iPhone, GoPro, whatever. Having to carry separate chargers for the accessories most people have actually makes our bags thicker, not thinner.

redhawk87 said:

Sure, I can hook my iPhone up to my computer to sync, but who does that anymore?

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Apple requires you to do it for many things. First sync has to be over to a computer, before wifi syncing is enabled. Reinstalling iOS requires a USB connection to a computer. Charging the iPhone using your computer is very handy, especially on the go (at the airport) where power outlets are sparse.

redhawk87 said:

Who would plug their computer into their TV using a wire?

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Hundreds of thousands of corporate employees plug their laptops into their monitors at their office or cubicle every day, or into the projector/tv in conference rooms.

Indeed, to me this is the most glaring port omission. The rMB seems perfect for an office paper pusher like myself. All I use my office laptop for is Word, Excel, email, and internet. However, I walk all over the building and sometimes travel - so portability is important. However, being able to easily plug it into a monitor either in my office or at a guest office is also important.

Unfortunately, for some reason, most corporate monitor/conference room setups still have VGA/DVI. Many have mini displayport adapters available since Apple and Lenovo have both embraced that format. I suspect they will eventually have USB-C adapters too, but by then we will be on the 3rd revision of the rMB.

redhawk87 said:

Ports are getting less and less functional and are starting to define the thickness of laptops. I know its tough, but its time to let them go for the better.

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No, wrong, ports are getting more functional. Indeed, the rMB highlights this. Look at all you can do with a USB-C port - the possibilities are great. The question I ask is why only have one, or zero while charging?

I am willing to let older go for the better - this isn't better. I didn't complain about losing the serial port when USB came out (to say nothing of the parallel port... yuck). I didn't complain about losing a firewire port when USB3.0 came out. I am happy to embrace USB-C and forget about the rest. I like USB-C. I think the rMBA would be a perfect computer if it had 2 USB-C ports and Magsafe 2. It could have been just as thin with those.

redhawk87 said:

And regards to magsafe... my 2006 MBP had it. That was 9 years ago. I will definitely miss it, but if it has to go for a good reason (like making my computer thinner), I am all for it.

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Look up the recent MBA teardowns on ifixit. Look at the Magsafe2 board. It is thin - very thin. It would not have made the rMB thicker.

Plutonius said:

Sounds like sour grapes. If the poster has the money and wants to buy the product, congrats on finding a product that meets their needs.

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No, it's not that. It's about being obnoxious about it.

redhawk87 said:

Can you name one thing the average person does often that cannot be done through wifi or bluetooth?

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1. Charge a phone or other small electronic
2. Retrieve pictures from an SD card
3. Plug in a thumb drive

None of these are possible for the average user. Yes there are "wireless" SD cards, but they are not prolific (and cost additional dollars). Wireless thumb drives? Not that I know of although I don't rule it out.

Point is, the average person would need to make some (not insignificant) changes to how they interact with their laptop in order to make this new machine work.

Does anyone know when the reviews of the new MacBook will be out?

Thelazyone said:

Does anyone know when the reviews of the new MacBook will be out?

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Yes, after it is released

I use the ports so rarely on my rMBP 15, I can get along with the $79 dongle and one port. Occasional flash drive file transfer is about all I use the ports for. If you have stuff plugged in all the time, obviously the rMB is not ideal. I do have a 5K iMac for the "serious" stuff though.

rekhyt said:

It's tempting, but... I really want to see what the redesigned MacBook Pro (2015) will look like.

If I'm so impressed by the new MacBook 12" now, then I think I'm going to be absolutely astounded when the MacBook Pro 14" comes out.

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Why are you making up a product line? I highly doubt they will combine the 13 and 15 inch MBPs. They're very different machines at very different price points. They combined the MBAs because they both had the same specs and the only thing that differentiated them was screen size.

QCassidy352 said:

This is exactly right. The Air is and has been a terrific ultraportable with only one serious drawback - a subpar screen. Instead of updating the air with a retina screen or even a 1080 ips screen, which would have made it an almost perfect ultraportable, they introduced a new line with its own flaws while not addressing the glaring flaw of the air line. So two flawed lines when they could've had one excellent one.

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The Air is dead. Your choice in the next year or so will be a retina Macbook or retina Macbook Pro. The Air was superfluous as it wasn't much different than the MBP 13. Get used to it.

If you want 20 different wires coming out of your portable machine get a MBP. The new Macbook is everything the original air was supposed to be. An ultraportable at the expense of pro features. If you don't like it then it's not for you.

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oneMadRssn said:

As someone who is one for 1 gold and 1 space gray one (as you have bragged in every MB thread), you clearly don't care about the flaws.

However, try to see it through the eyes of someone with an ~5 year old Mac laptop that is looking to upgrade. They're probably coming from a 13" cMBP or a MBA, circa 2010 (the two Mac laptop lines without discreet graphics, considered most portable back then). Most importantly, they want it to fit into their existing workflow without disruption, then improve their workflow. They're hoping to be able to use their existing accessories: various thunderbolt to hdmi/dvi/vga adapters, mouse, external hard drive, thumbdrive, etc. until those accessories are no longer needed. They also want a retina display. They want improved battery life. The ones coming from a cMBP want it to be lighter.

As it stands now, neither the rMB nor the MBA fulfills their wants.

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The retina MBP does fulfill their wants. Why would someone who had a pro be looking to upgrade to an ultraportable and expect all the functions their old pro machine had ?

Nicky G said:

This is a machine for students with light needs, and business people who need a travel machine that doesn't need to do much more than web, email, and maybe a few other relatively lightweight apps. Who need a machine that is more productive than an iPad (said as a happy iPad owner).

If this is not your use case, don't get one, and shut up already. For Jose of us who u see stand this machine, TRUST ME, it's perfect. And yes, obviously each new release of it will get better. I can afford to get the new one each year. Heh, yeah, I'm the business person, not the student. ;-)

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Thank you for this!

I am starting graduate school in the summer. I have a 15" rMBP that's docked at home to an external monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers.

I just received a Teaching Assistantship position. So, in addition to three night classes, I will attend my assigned day class and have 20 hours a week of office hours to assist undergraduate students. I will be moving around all day long. Plus, as an undergrad I took an iPad and keyboard because I just typed notes as the professor spoke. In grad school I'm taking classes such as Contemporary Issue in taxation and other research-based classes. An iPad isn't going to cut it will iOS' infuriating little bugs and limitations (no auto correct with a Bluetooth keyboard!? Really!?).

I can certainly take my 15" rMBP around will me all day from room to room. It's not THAT heavy or big, but it is cumbersome. Plus, I'll have to constantly undock it, adjust window sizes and placements, etc.

The rMB would be perfect for me! A thin and light laptop that I can carry around anywhere. Full OS X, keyboard, etc. I'll keep the USB adaptor in my backpack (*GASP*), but that's not a huge deal. This systems seems ideal for me.

My MacBook Pro will handle my heavy duty work woth LR, VMWare, etc. This Mac will handle my web browsing, email, document, spreadsheet, and other TA duties with ease.

Lastly, I don't like to take my rMBP everywhere because it IS my main system. Carrying that around all the time increases the risk something could happen to it. This new MacBook is the ideal mobile machine for me. And before someone says the MBA is better, I stare at text and numbers all day, the retina screen makes a big difference.

EDIT: oh yeah! The other thing is, of course the MB will get better next year, but grad school starts now! I don't want to wait 12 months when I'll be almost done. :/

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DrJohnnyN said:

Ugly screen. Outdated design. Doesn't come in gold.

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One for office, one for home.
My office and home are large and having an ultraportable will be perfect. Carrying around a laptop that's over 2.03lbs is so 2014.

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Obscene amount of money? Overpriced? You're kidding, right?

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Ah, yes. The picture is from 2010 when I first joined MR. I should update the picture with the new $100s that's been released since then. Maybe I'll throw in a couple of the $1,000 notes I also acquired from the 1920's.

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I defended you in another thread, but now you're getting a little pompous. Maybe you don't mean to be, but just because you have wealth doesn't mean you flaunt it behind the anonymous Internet. It could make people feel bad who aren't as well off as you and only a cruel person (which I don't think you are) would enjoy that.

This computer will do just fine for its intended audience. The light users, word documents, Netflix, banking, internet browsing. Nobody is buying this laptop so they can run CAD on it....

nutmac said:

I don't think Apple will be merging 13" and 15" MBPs into 14" form factor. And I suspect 15" MBP will be a spec bump with Broadwell and Torce Touch trackpad. The real significant update may be its Skylake successor with Thunderbolt 3.

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That's what I'm hoping for.

Rumours of many laptop manufacturers (probably including Apple, since Apple and Intel have a pretty tight relationship. Intel gave Apple access to Apple-only Intel processors for the first MacBook Air back then.) skipping Broadwell and going for Skylake instead.

Remember that the MacBook 12" was supposed to launch in 2014, but was delayed due to Broadwell. According to the timetable, the rMB 12" launch was supposed to happen in 2014, followed by the redesigned MBP 14"/15" in 2015.

Nicky G said:

No doubt. But Macs have a good resale value after one year. More like an iPad or iPhone, I plan to update this laptop annually, or at most every other year. Usually I keep laptops for 3-4 years. My 2012 rMBP still treats me well as my primary machine. But for a travel machine, I'm willing to pay the early adopter fee, then another $500/year to always have he latest version, assuming I'm reselling the older one. This definitely isn't the right calculus for everyone, but for me it works fine.

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I appreciate you laying the groundwork ($) to motivate Apple to give us the true MBA successor next year. Early adopters are often underappreciated for if it wasn't for them, people buying the following year wouldn't benefit from the significant improvements that second generation models often get as people get past the new design and pay more attention to features/performance that they need. Sorry if I sound a little insincere, but sometimes I have this feeling that companies are holding something back on 1st gen. models, not for technical reasons, but for some "other reason." I might get the first gen. Apple Watch this year, but I'll definitely wait for the second USB Type-C port, a 720p webcam and better performance from the next generation retina MB.

Anyway, enjoy your retina MB.

oneMadRssn said:

I suspect the reason there has been so much animosity towards this Macbook (a bit from me as well) is because they were hoping for a different product. Most people were hoping for a redesigned Macbook Air with a Retina display, but same class of CPU, same ports, same battery life.

Instead, Apple releases a dilemma - it's asking people to sacrifice ports and much more cash for a retina display, lower weight, and thinness. Plus, adding insult to injury, Apple has removed an very popular and well regarded feature - magsafe. To say nothing of the lower battery life rating. I don't blame people for being pissed at this dilemma.

Before the choice between MBA and MBP was relatively simple. Now for people with aging MBAs, the choice between rMB and MBA is not only tough, but it's forces a sacrifice: retina or ports - one of those has to go if you want a slim and light mac, can't have both.

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I think that's a brilliant summary. Which is another way of saying "that's what I think, too."

Each time I watch Armando Ferreira's parody about the new MacBook; it gets funnier! He done a great job of how top Apple management operates. LOL!

jcmeyer5 said:

1. Charge a phone or other small electronic
2. Retrieve pictures from an SD card
3. Plug in a thumb drive

None of these are possible for the average user. Yes there are "wireless" SD cards, but they are not prolific (and cost additional dollars). Wireless thumb drives? Not that I know of although I don't rule it out.

Point is, the average person would need to make some (not insignificant) changes to how they interact with their laptop in order to make this new machine work.

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The only time I find thumb drives handy is if I am going to a place of business and need to give the person working a copy of something or have them print it off. In that case they would not be using an ultraportable computer. In all other cases, use Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud, etc.

You have to realize that this computer is ahead of its time with regards to getting rid of ports. The average user will not be buying this computer TODAY. Given its high price tag, most people buying this are people who always buy the latest and greatest the second they come out and can afford to do so. The person buying the computer probably already has a wireless SD card or would not hesitate to buy one because he/she thinks they are cool.

The point I was trying to make is that the current trend is everything going wireless. Maybe wireless sd cards are hard to find right now, but what about in 2 years?

DrJohnnyN said:

Perfect for my needs. If you don't like the new rMB, don't buy one.

Will order 1 gold and 1 space gray for in-store pickup on the 10th. Can't wait to enjoy my new Macs in a few days.

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I agree, This is nothing but Apple perfection. With drop box ,Sugar Sync, and the like, Bluetooth, for keyboards,mice, who needs more. I am 67, can't wait to learn this new Keyboard. I run my business with a 2008 MBP in Clamshell mode,ALL of this is going, to be replaced by one laptop, that fits my needs. My total computer needs, served by one uber light ,cutting edge lappie. Some hate the keyboard,the CPU, or even Apples vision for the future. Move on I say, if you young folks, can't move on with Apple , or bother to learn something new , (the Keyboard),or realize what is involved with "cutting edge", maybe you should buy a MS product, and be happy.With you,without you, Apple is moving on, if you don't want to, goodbye!

Cheffy Dave said:

I agree, This is nothing but Apple perfection. With drop box ,Sugar Sync, and the like, Bluetooth, for keyboards,mice, who needs more. I am 67, can't wait to learn this new Keyboard. I run my business with a 2008 MBP in Clamshell mode,ALL of this is going, to be replaced by one laptop, that fits my needs. My total computer needs, served by one uber light ,cutting edge lappie. Some hate the keyboard,the CPU, or even Apples vision for the future. Move on I say, if you young folks, can't move on with Apple , or bother to learn something new , (the Keyboard),or realize what is involved with "cutting edge", maybe you should buy a MS product, and be happy.With you,without you, Apple is moving on, if you don't want to, goodbye!

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Yeah! Everyone who doesn't like what you like should get over it or leave. Dissenting opinions need not apply! /s

Gotta say, the force click and haptic feedback is works actually pretty good