I
iFanboy
Guest
Original poster
Upgraded from: Feb 2009 15.4" MacBook Pro Unibody, 2.53Ghz Core 2 Duo, 8GB Ram, 256GB SSD
Build Quality
This thing is SOLID and FIRM. I feel like there is no "give" anywhere. For example, my old MBP had taller keyboard keys, but they now feel "loose" and "less responsive" when compared with these keys that are both shallower but feel like they are screwed into place somehow? I can type faster and its more responsive to type on this keyboard. Excellent.
The aluminium feels a little bit smoother in parts also, and the trackpad has a much wider clickable range. I felt as though my old MBP could only click properly at the bottom of the trackpad sometimes.
Attention to detail is incredible. 10/10 here.
Screen (Sponsored by DAT SCREEN inc)
As someone who did NOT go to the apple store or see one before ordering, trust me when I say you have NO idea how awesome this screen is until you have actually seen one.
It's basically perfect. Text is crisper than a printed page. There is NO fuzzyness anywhere. If I go back to my old MBP now and compare side by side I have no idea how I didn't get eyestrain before. Everything on my old mac (1440x900) is slightly out of focus if I look at it now. It's actually annoying.
I have this wallpaper, and the design on his t-shirt is clear as if I was looking right at it, to give you an indication http://images.apple.com/aperture/images/aperture_retina_screenshot.jpg
I won't lie though, apps that aren't retina optimised are annoying, but NOT EVEN CLOSE to being "unusable" as has been reported. That's nonsense, they just look slightly out of focus. I just opened word and it was irritating/annoying to look at, but I could still read and use everything without issue and without it causing an problems whatsoever. I was close to cancelling my pre-order when I saw the reports, but it was nonsense. Non-retina apps look much better than I have been led to believe.
I can read the text clearly on the TextEdit icon
Performance
LAG? LAG? LOL! NO.
Start up time, seconds, shut down time, instant, program opening time, instant.
Scrolling is EXACTLY the same as on my old MBP. No lag whatsoever. I just swiped three fingers up and down repeatedly and couldn't reproduce even a HINT of lag.
This thing is also designed for silent running. I haven't heard a peep out of it. My old MBP would be annoying fan happy with a youtube video. This just scoffs and delivers awesome performance.
Conclusion
11/10. This is currently the best notebook computer available today. Don't disagree, you would be wrong.
That's pretty much all I can think of right now for a layperson review. I haven't touched gaming for example because that's been covered extensively in other places.
Happy to take questions
Build Quality
This thing is SOLID and FIRM. I feel like there is no "give" anywhere. For example, my old MBP had taller keyboard keys, but they now feel "loose" and "less responsive" when compared with these keys that are both shallower but feel like they are screwed into place somehow? I can type faster and its more responsive to type on this keyboard. Excellent.
The aluminium feels a little bit smoother in parts also, and the trackpad has a much wider clickable range. I felt as though my old MBP could only click properly at the bottom of the trackpad sometimes.
Attention to detail is incredible. 10/10 here.
Screen (Sponsored by DAT SCREEN inc)
As someone who did NOT go to the apple store or see one before ordering, trust me when I say you have NO idea how awesome this screen is until you have actually seen one.
It's basically perfect. Text is crisper than a printed page. There is NO fuzzyness anywhere. If I go back to my old MBP now and compare side by side I have no idea how I didn't get eyestrain before. Everything on my old mac (1440x900) is slightly out of focus if I look at it now. It's actually annoying.
I have this wallpaper, and the design on his t-shirt is clear as if I was looking right at it, to give you an indication http://images.apple.com/aperture/images/aperture_retina_screenshot.jpg
I won't lie though, apps that aren't retina optimised are annoying, but NOT EVEN CLOSE to being "unusable" as has been reported. That's nonsense, they just look slightly out of focus. I just opened word and it was irritating/annoying to look at, but I could still read and use everything without issue and without it causing an problems whatsoever. I was close to cancelling my pre-order when I saw the reports, but it was nonsense. Non-retina apps look much better than I have been led to believe.
I can read the text clearly on the TextEdit icon
Performance
LAG? LAG? LOL! NO.
Start up time, seconds, shut down time, instant, program opening time, instant.
Scrolling is EXACTLY the same as on my old MBP. No lag whatsoever. I just swiped three fingers up and down repeatedly and couldn't reproduce even a HINT of lag.
This thing is also designed for silent running. I haven't heard a peep out of it. My old MBP would be annoying fan happy with a youtube video. This just scoffs and delivers awesome performance.
Conclusion
11/10. This is currently the best notebook computer available today. Don't disagree, you would be wrong.
That's pretty much all I can think of right now for a layperson review. I haven't touched gaming for example because that's been covered extensively in other places.
Happy to take questions