Why I'll order the new retina macbook

[tutux]

As many of us, i'm not the last to complain so i wanted to share the reason why I'm waiting to receive my new retina macbook.

For those who remember, In 90's laptops were really a sacrifice. Few examples:
Power: cpu were one generation late and very slow compared to what was available on desktop. Now we almost forgot what it means to have a slow pc (my 2006 macbook pro rev a is still performing well with a ssd...).
Screen: who remember the revolution with actives matrix screen? Color screens?
Pointer/mouse: no comment about trackballs
Battery: who remember the nimh batteries? The one you had to really take to 0 to avoid the memory effect and kill it within a month? I'm not even talking about the 1h battery life... On the datasheet
Hard drives: smaller and SLOWER (1gen behind desktop)
Memory : 3 times the price or desktop memory, and often propriatary...
Weight: uhuhuh 3.5kg... Plus charger... 4kg yahoo!


And i forget certainly other items...

So basically when i was young my ideal laptop was the macbook retina. You know, like : draw me your dream:
First the screen: wow we are now at a level where our eyes won't see a difference if we enhance it (pixels/colors/...). Retina screens (and retina apples management compred to windows) are the first screen to reach the "i don't need better" level.
Second (for me) the fanless design: we managed to move forward in term of power that now... We don't even need to refresh it... Wow!
Weight: apple broke the 1kg barrier: yess
Power: we have what we need to do the day to day activities (only the creative guys who need to play with photo/video editing will be limited. We can now spend the effort to other things that power (slim/fanless/...) wow thanks moore's law
Trackpoint: fun to see how a company who want to push in a direction can spend energy to find smart ways to enhance something which is certainly seen as an accessory question for lot of others manufacturer.
Audio: stupid point but even on a small laptop we get quite audio... Cool!




So for me, this new macbook, when i saw the keynote it was: yeah, they did it, i want it!

Maybe you will throw rocks on me, but maybe i'm not the only one to see it as a "step in the personnal computing".

 

[Asthmatic Kitty]

great post - i think a lot of the macbook detractors have kind of bypassed some of the design elements to complain about technical limitations - when in actual fact these days most laptops are far more powerful than the average consumer needs.

what i love about the macbook is its efficiency. not a millimetre in the enclosure is empty without there being a purpose - you look at how close the keyboard and trackpad get to the edge of the case, and it really strikes you that this is apple's philosophy of what a laptop should fundamentally be. high quality but extremely portable. none of this touchscreen crap or detachable keyboard. bared down to its essentials.

mine hasn't arrived yet, and i have concerns that the screen might be a bit small, or the keyboard a bit unwieldy. but because the philosophy of the laptop meshes with what i think a laptop should be, i will probably be able to forgive those limitations (if they turn out to be limitations at all).

 

[kingofwale]

the major difference is... Other companies have shown that you don't HAVE to sacrifice ports or speed to create a machine like rMB.

look at XPS 13, even thinner bazel, and 15 hours of battery life (on non-touchscreen, of course, rMB is also touchless). Also full ports.

As attractive as rMB is at first glance, owning it hasn't been the easiest to say the least.


*current owner of rMB 1.2gbz version*

 

[tillsbury]

The Dell is more expensive though, larger, and with a poor trackpad. And half the SSD capacity. Not to mention its operating system

No difficulty choosing here.

 

[Mattymoocow]

having owned a rMB for the last 3 weeks, I think that it has been a awesome replacement for my 2012 15" rMBP.

• It is so light and portable.
• The screen is stunning
• The keyboard is awesome to type on, it just gets better and better the more you type on it.
• It is powerful enough for what I do it.
• I run a Windows 7 x64 Work VM under Parallels, it works a treat.
• The trackpad as expected is fantastic to use.

The only issue I have with a problem with is the single USB-C port.
It's not a show stopper, its just a pain. Doing a time machine backup to a USB mechanical HDD. The battery almost run out doing the backup, it got down to 5% and I couldn't do anything about it.

I'm really hoping that someone makes a replacement AC power pack with built-in ports - ethernet, DP, USB-C, USB-A, HDMI. Then it would be amazing!

Before the rMB came out, I always thought that my 2012 rMBP looked modern and elegant. It's interesting walking into a store that has all of the MacBooks on display. The current 13 & 15" MBP's and 11 & 13" MBA look so outdated compared to the rMB.

 

[maflynn]

great post - i think a lot of the macbook detractors have kind of bypassed some of the design elements to complain about technical limitations

I love the design but I have to say apple choice in only having a single port is ludicrous.
I'm not fan of Dell, but this image sums up my feeling, that apple in their zeal to make the thinnest laptop ever sacrifised too much function to adopt a form that fits their philosophy

 

[Asthmatic Kitty]

I love the design but I have to say apple choice in only having a single port is ludicrous.
I'm not fan of Dell, but this image sums up my feeling, that apple in their zeal to make the thinnest laptop ever sacrifised too much function to adopt a form that fits their philosophy

But for many people, myself included, only having one port isn't an issue at all. I can count on one hand the number of times in the last year I've plugged anything other than magsafe into my laptop. so how can the decision be "ludicrous"?

Sure, they could've included another port to make a bunch of people happy, in the process making the case bigger (which they'd then put more battery in, increasing the battery life but making it heavier) - but that didn't fit with the philosophy; a philosophy which, as far as i can see, hasn't been compromised in any way. and there's something beautiful about that. i bet steve would've loved this thing!

 

[mattopotamus]

I love the design but I have to say apple choice in only having a single port is ludicrous.
I'm not fan of Dell, but this image sums up my feeling, that apple in their zeal to make the thinnest laptop ever sacrifised too much function to adopt a form that fits their philosophy
Image

I have no idea where they got those battery claims. I work from 6am to around 4:30pm, and it gets me through the entire day with about 6% left.

...they must have used chrome.

 

[maflynn]

so how can the decision be "ludicrous"?

Because it restricts what you can do, while you may not need a USB port, Many other folks do.

From what I can see on the interwebs, one of the biggest complaints (aside from the price) of the rMB is the fact it only comes with a single port, used for both data and power.

 

[Asthmatic Kitty]

Because it restricts what you can do, while you may not need a USB port, Many other folks do.

From what I can see on the interwebs, one of the biggest complaints (aside from the price) of the rMB is the fact it only comes with a single port, used for both data and power.

if a huge number of people are fine with a single port - nay, would PREFER only having one port if it makes the laptop thinner/lighter - then the decision cannot be 'ludicrous'.

for the people who need more than one port, BUY A DIFFERENT LAPTOP. how many times does this have to be said. apple give you quite a few options!

regular schmoes (who usually don't need more than one port) aren't the ones writing the product reviews, and whinging on forums. of course a bunch of nerds are going to complain about one port/underpowered CPU, they push their machines a lot harder than the general public.

 

[Skylitfly]

the major difference is... Other companies have shown that you don't HAVE to sacrifice ports or speed to create a machine like rMB.

look at XPS 13, even thinner bazel, and 15 hours of battery life (on non-touchscreen, of course, rMB is also touchless). Also full ports.

As attractive as rMB is at first glance, owning it hasn't been the easiest to say the least.


*current owner of rMB 1.2gbz version*

Well... XPS 13 is thicker and heavier. It also has worse trackpad and arguably worse keyboard. I would also claim that rMB has better display no matter which screen specification you choose to your XPS 13.

Oh... and rMB is just gorgeous.

Also, Apple kind of had to sacrifice on ports to achieve the shape the rMB is. Only way it could have full size ports would be if it wasn't wedge shaped and so contour from the sides of the chassis.

Personally I couldn't care less about ports. I have barely used them on my 15" rMBP.

 

[ixxx69]

if a huge number of people are fine with a single port - nay, would PREFER only having one port if it makes the laptop thinner/lighter - then the decision cannot be 'ludicrous'.

for the people who need more than one port, BUY A DIFFERENT LAPTOP. how many times does this have to be said. apple give you quite a few options!

regular schmoes (who usually don't need more than one port) aren't the ones writing the product reviews, and whinging on forums. of course a bunch of nerds are going to complain about one port/underpowered CPU, they push their machines a lot harder than the general public.

Oh stop it already with the "ludicrous" - it was an expression of opinion, not a verifiable fact.

And unfortunately, Apple does not provide quite a few options. If you consider a non-retina Mac a non-starter (I think it's ludicrous to purchase a non-retina display in 2015), then it's either the MB with one port or the MBP which is an order of magnitude heavier (relatively speaking). And you have no idea whether adding a second port would have resulted in a perceptible difference in weight or thinness.

As has been pointed out so many times, if Apple had, along with the MBr introduction, also added a retina option to the current MBA, we wouldn't be having so many of these endless debates. But that's not the way Apple works.

(and FTR, I'm looking forward to my new MB... on backorder).

 

[MyopicPaideia]

Because it restricts what you can do, while you may not need a USB port, Many other folks do.

From what I can see on the interwebs, one of the biggest complaints (aside from the price) of the rMB is the fact it only comes with a single port, used for both data and power.

Don't necessarily disagree, but it is fair to say that the vast majority of those one port complaints are coming from people who don't actually own the machine, and also don't intend to.

Mine is supposed to come the 20th, so I will see!

 

[ixxx69]

Don't necessarily disagree, but it is fair to say that the vast majority of those one port complaints are coming from people who don't actually own the machine, and also don't intend to.

Mine is supposed to come the 20th, so I will see!

That kind of seems like circular logic. The real question is how many of those people would purchase it if it did have more ports (without significantly changing its present design).

 

[MyopicPaideia]

That kind of seems like circular logic. The real question is how many of those people would purchase it if it did have more ports (without significantly changing its present design).

Yours is a fair enough point, but also entirely hypothetical and based on a supposition. The same circular logic argument could be applied there...

My point is that the whole port thing is being harped on about by people that by and large haven't even used and lived with it, let alone tried it out for a week or two. There is nothing circular about that.

I've got an idea about having one adapter about the size of an Apple TB/Ethernet adapter, that might be interesting, but I'll report back on that once I have tried everything out...we'll see in a couple of weeks!

 

[Asthmatic Kitty]

Oh stop it already with the "ludicrous" - it was an expression of opinion, not a verifiable fact.

And unfortunately, Apple does not provide quite a few options. If you consider a non-retina Mac a non-starter (I think it's ludicrous to purchase a non-retina display in 2015), then it's either the MB with one port or the MBP which is an order of magnitude heavier (relatively speaking). And you have no idea whether adding a second port would have resulted in a perceptible difference in weight or thinness.

As has been pointed out so many times, if Apple had, along with the MBr introduction, also added a retina option to the current MBA, we wouldn't be having so many of these endless debates. But that's not the way Apple works.

(and FTR, I'm looking forward to my new MB... on backorder).

Yeah, maybe Apple should just offer us 167 different laptop combinations like Dell. Then everyone could find one that they like.

If they added a retina screen to the Air it would've got lousy battery life, and then everyone would've complained that there's no laptop they can buy with over 10 hours of battery life.

No one seemed to be complaining about there only being the Air and the MBP before the MB was introduced - now suddenly the Air is no longer an option, and everyone's whinging that there's not enough choice.

Ludicrous.

 

[troubleonline]

But for many people, myself included, only having one port isn't an issue at all. I can count on one hand the number of times in the last year I've plugged anything other than magsafe into my laptop. so how can the decision be "ludicrous"?

Ditto.........it may even be 1 finger for me!

 

[rekhyt]

The first version always seems to have some defect that is addressed in the second version:

MacBook Air 2010: No keyboard backlighting.
MacBook Air 2011: Keyboard backlighting.

iPad 3: Retina screen, but poor iGPU.
iPad 4: Retina screen, improved iGPU.

MacBook Pro 2012: Retina screen, laggy.
MacBook Pro 2013/14: Retina screen, improved UX responsiveness.

Apple Watch 2015: Poor battery life, not waterproof, not enough sensors.
Apple Watch v2 (2016/17): Improved battery life, waterproof, more sensors.

iPhone: Significant change to smartphones industry. No 3G, however.
iPhone 3G: 3G support.

iPhone 3G: Slow.
iPhone 3GS: Fast(er).

iPhone 4: Retina screen, but antennae problems.
iPhone 4S: Problem solved.

iPhone 5: New design, but black version prone to scratches.
iPhone 5S: 'Space grey' version to mask scratches.

 

[tutux]

After receiving it, I can post a bit of my feedback and tell that I did not made a mistake!


I'll skip the keyboard ( hard to come back to the previous one), screen (as retina as others ), touchpad (no difference if you don't know it), size and weight. It's all good, and no surprise here

1/ The battery life!!!
I won't spend time to explain why my previous macbook pro 15 had very poor battery life, but with this one, I can do whatever I have to do, and use it for a day!!!!!!!!!
I assume my spotify/mail/safari/excel/word/lync/skype/calendar usage place my 15" rmpb into power mode and drain the battery super fast (~2h -2h30)
I unplugged the macbook at 11, used it lets say 6h, and still 35%... I finally got a laptop with an ipad autonomy!

Side info: 1:30 (or less) to charge it with the provided power adapter, macbook sleep mode
7% per hour with an Ipad charger, macbook sleep mode (will redo this test as iCloud was syncing)

2/ Not enough power???
I got 1.2G version (because was scared by first comparison VS 1.1)... And to be honest once you are sure all setup is done like:
- spotlight indexation
- filevault encryption
- installations and updates
- install 10.10.4

It's as smooth as my 15' rmbp (except videoconferencing due to the camera and lack of power to encore 1080p live, obviously). PS: I used Retina Display Manager to move to 1680*1050 resolution

I just ran cinebench R15 for fun and got 220.. Don't know how bad it is.
But for my usage this power is enough for me! I don't notice lag (and I have a late 2013 rmbp 15/17/dedicated gpu)


PS: it's incredibly cool (again with similar usage compared to the 15' rmbp)


3/ Not enough ports???
First of all, for a V1 with a brand new port, it's a shame to not ship it with at least a USB-c USB adapter, really.

I got a VGA and a HDMI adapter from apple (HDMI for home and VGA to travel with for work). I was not intensive USB user when out of office. At office, I use it for my dock which is now plugged to the VGA/Hdmi adapter (will see which one will travel with me at the end).

I'll certainly end up with no port at all for my meetings and send all over wireless when needed. And buy a small adapter from anger when available

4/ Sound!!!
what incredible quality for this computer size.... really, good surprise!


Side effect:
-iCloud usage because it's a 2nd computer.... need to sync my files all the way. I don't know what to do with my photos... I will see. Got a 200G iCloud account (coming from 20G)
-accessories: I'm looking for the smallest power adapter, and won't buy another one from apple.
I'll certainly buy few more accessories just to be sure that I don't need them.



Would I recommend it?
Yes , just buy the HDMI adapter and you'll never be stucked!
PS: I wrote emails and listened spotify + this feedback during the last hour (luminosity 50%, sound 50%): 6% took off from the battery: I'm in love!!!

 

[Wallabe]

Someone mentioned filevault is unnecessary on this laptop because the drive is soldered into the board, so you won't really have to worry about someone taking it out and copying your data. Just make sure you have a good account password.

If you turn this off, your machine will be even smoother.

 

[tutux]

Someone mentioned filevault is unnecessary on this laptop because the drive is soldered into the board, so you won't really have to worry about someone taking it out and copying your data. Just make sure you have a good account password.

If you turn this off, your machine will be even smoother.

Macbook supports the target mode. If you plug it to another computer it'll be seen as a usb drive... Without encryption you're screwed.

 

[Queen6]

Macbook supports the target mode. If you plug it to another computer it'll be seen as a usb drive... Without encryption you're screwed.

Not if the firmware password is set, nobody will be reading anyones data, anytime soon

Apple Inc.
"Setting a firmware password in OS X prevents your Mac from starting up from any device other than the built in hard drive. Locking your Mac from Find My Mac also sets a firmware password that you'll then need to enter in order to use your Mac."

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204455

You will most definitely not be screwed, save your CPU cycles

Q-6

 

[JoePa2624]

After receiving it, I can post a bit of my feedback and tell that I did not made a mistake!


I'll skip the keyboard ( hard to come back to the previous one), screen (as retina as others ), touchpad (no difference if you don't know it), size and weight. It's all good, and no surprise here

1/ The battery life!!!
I won't spend time to explain why my previous macbook pro 15 had very poor battery life, but with this one, I can do whatever I have to do, and use it for a day!!!!!!!!!
I assume my spotify/mail/safari/excel/word/lync/skype/calendar usage place my 15" rmpb into power mode and drain the battery super fast (~2h -2h30)
I unplugged the macbook at 11, used it lets say 6h, and still 35%... I finally got a laptop with an ipad autonomy!

Side info: 1:30 (or less) to charge it with the provided power adapter, macbook sleep mode
7% per hour with an Ipad charger, macbook sleep mode (will redo this test as iCloud was syncing)

2/ Not enough power???
I got 1.2G version (because was scared by first comparison VS 1.1)... And to be honest once you are sure all setup is done like:
- spotlight indexation
- filevault encryption
- installations and updates
- install 10.10.4

It's as smooth as my 15' rmbp (except videoconferencing due to the camera and lack of power to encore 1080p live, obviously). PS: I used Retina Display Manager to move to 1680*1050 resolution

I just ran cinebench R15 for fun and got 220.. Don't know how bad it is.
But for my usage this power is enough for me! I don't notice lag (and I have a late 2013 rmbp 15/17/dedicated gpu)


PS: it's incredibly cool (again with similar usage compared to the 15' rmbp)


3/ Not enough ports???
First of all, for a V1 with a brand new port, it's a shame to not ship it with at least a USB-c USB adapter, really.

I got a VGA and a HDMI adapter from apple (HDMI for home and VGA to travel with for work). I was not intensive USB user when out of office. At office, I use it for my dock which is now plugged to the VGA/Hdmi adapter (will see which one will travel with me at the end).

I'll certainly end up with no port at all for my meetings and send all over wireless when needed. And buy a small adapter from anger when available

4/ Sound!!!
what incredible quality for this computer size.... really, good surprise!


Side effect:
-iCloud usage because it's a 2nd computer.... need to sync my files all the way. I don't know what to do with my photos... I will see. Got a 200G iCloud account (coming from 20G)
-accessories: I'm looking for the smallest power adapter, and won't buy another one from apple.
I'll certainly buy few more accessories just to be sure that I don't need them.



Would I recommend it?
Yes , just buy the HDMI adapter and you'll never be stucked!
PS: I wrote emails and listened spotify + this feedback during the last hour (luminosity 50%, sound 50%): 6% took off from the battery: I'm in love!!!

Agree almost entirely.

 

[Queen6]

Someone mentioned filevault is unnecessary on this laptop because the drive is soldered into the board, so you won't really have to worry about someone taking it out and copying your data. Just make sure you have a good account password.

If you turn this off, your machine will be even smoother.

Correct, equally you should apply the Firmware Password to prevent any external access to the system

Q-6

 

[tutux]

Correct, equally you should apply the Firmware Password to prevent any external access to the system

Q-6

Not if the firmware password is set, nobody will be reading anyones data, anytime soon

Apple Inc.
"Setting a firmware password in OS X prevents your Mac from starting up from any device other than the built in hard drive. Locking your Mac from Find My Mac also sets a firmware password that you'll then need to enter in order to use your Mac."

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204455

You will most definitely not be screwed, save your CPU cycles

Q-6

thanks for the info!