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12-Inch Retina MacBook Receives Mixed Reviews From Early Adopters
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Try storing, accessing and modifying 6 TB of data every day and backing it all up at the same time. The cloud and wireless solutions are not suitable for serious work. Try using peripherals like graphics tablets that have their own proprietary dongles and don't work over WiFi or Bluetooth. Anyone who draws digitally will have one of these and it will be plugged in 24/7, so you don't want an adapter hanging out of your computer all the time.
The one port thing REALLY limits the audience of this thing. Sure, it will force manufacturers to change their habits and soon it won't be a problem. But as always, with the 1st gen product, you're going to make compromises.
For example, Bluetooth sucks due to lag. WiFi sucks due to the need of a network to connect to, or you have to make your own ad-hoc network. There is nothing else that allows you to wirelessly connect a low-lag, high speed, high-data device. There is no wireless technology that can replace wires yet, so you shouldn't remove wires until that's the case.
Yes, Apple is laughing all the way to the bank.
Tim Cook: "Maybe we underpriced the 12 look how many suckers .I mean customers accepted the pricing "
Flash forward to December 2015.
Flash .Apple announces the rMB 12s. Super fantastic Apple logo now lights up, price increased by $200.
My point is that MBA and MB have equal prices and target the same users. The "premium" price in the MB is just because the entry level MB specifications (256 - 8GB) doesn't compare w the entry level MBA specs (128 - 4GB).
I have no problems at all with my new RMB. I am having an awesome time with this, and am happy to say that this has replaced my iPad!
This is the best portable device Apple has made. Not to mention it looks absolutely gorgeous and stunning. I enjoy looking at her, everything from the new backlit keys to the new sexy keyboard, the new form factor, just everything about this thing is drop dead sexy!
I can't stop staring and touching! I'm madly in love!
This is the best portable device Apple has made.
Not to mention it looks absolutely gorgeous and stunning. I enjoy looking at her, everything from the new backlit keys to the new sexy keyboard, the new form factor, just everything about this thing is drop dead sexy! I can't stop staring and touching! I'm madly in love!
Yep. I was holding off upgrading cause I thought this computer would be just that. But I'm not buying a laptop with a tablet processor.
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You definitely shouldn't even have ever considered this computer then, or an Air for that matter.
Thanks, I haven't thought about that design trickery in awhile. Like putting weights inside car doors.placing weights Inside of many consumer products to fool buyers into thinking it was well built. Not saying your feeling is wrong at all,just about how marketing savvy designers exploited that perception.
No actually it isn't. The iPad is running iOS which is more limited then OS X. The display on the rMB is larger, and thus displays more information. There's more ram on the rMBP and the default storage is superior.
So how many people who say they have an issue with this device actualy own one or have used one for more than 10 minutes in a store? For those who need more power and ports there is the rMBP. For those that have a limited budget the Airs still exist.
To be fair, if there was a 4GB RAM 128GB SSD configuration, it probably would be priced at $999. This based on the 11" MBA at $899 and the 13" MBA at $999 with this base configuration.
At 8GB RAM 256GB SSD, you get:
11" MBA: $1,199
13" MBA: $1,299
12" MB: $1,299
13" MBP: $1,499
I think this is where the confusion and frustration with pricing comes from. If Apple took away 4GB RAM 128GB SSD options from all their other laptops this would be the starting prices of the laptop lines.
Now, I'm not defending the new MB at all - respect everyone's reasons for not liking it besides the price issue, which I feel is misplaced.
Looking at this pricing, it is actually pretty reasonable - you sacrifice ports and a more traditional Core i processor for fanless design, the best screen on an Apple laptop (according to independent testing and reviews) and extreme portability (>75% weight savings over the 13" MBP!!).
With that as a back drop, I don't think we will see a price drop for the MB unless it goes down in RAM or SSD size in its base configuration with the next revision. There really isn't much room for that here, and it doesn't seem likely they will do that. Pricing is actually impressive considering they will be amortising the R&D for this machine's new form factor and implementations of new technology off in the price presumably.
I own it, I kind of like it. Anyone here who is complaining about "pricing" and "suckers" doesn't get the point, or can't afford it. It is not a necessary machine. The MBA and rMBP are BOTH very cost effective alternatives. You get the rMB because you want it, or want the absolute lightest/thinnest. Apple is NOT screwing anyone or making you buy this when they provide alternatives. Get over it. Don't like it, don't buy it. Simple.
Having said that I don't think it's a spot on hit. Like others I would have much rather had a MBA 11 with a retina display. Small, light enough and fully useful. The "thinness" was not worth the speed hit and the loss of thunderbolt and MagSafe.
If they update the MBA 11 I'll jump right back, EVEN at a premium price over this. I may still even go back to the 11 MBA that this replaced.
Seems like you want to compare the MB to an iMac then - and even then 6TB daily means you are going to have external cables going everywhere anyway?
Don't think anyone said the MB was a great solution to be used as a sole/primary machine?
That said, check out @LandingZoneDock on Twitter - if you want a desktop dock for an Apple Laptop, they've got what you need - and they are coming out with one for the new MB
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I agree with the TB thing - I would have liked the MB to support USB 3.1 Gen 2 with its 10GB/sec bandwidth instead of the 5GB/sec with the Gen 1.
I only say this because of situations where one might want to dock this machine with something like this.
With 5GB/sec you could be getting bottlenecks on external HDD peripherals while driving higher resolution external monitors and the like.
I say just include the adapter as part of the default sale (no additional charge) and leave the design as is. Get s better processor and all is well.
retina MBA may not be technically possible without sacrifices
Many people seem to think it is a simple matter to simply replace the existing MBA screen with retina, and say "job done".
It seems quite likely that both battery life and graphical performance would be severely impacted by such a much, without changing other aspects of the design - notably battery capacity.
I would expect a hypothetical rMBA 13 to have maybe 6-7 hours battery life, and possibly even a fair bit of UI lag.
I think it highly unlikely that Apple would detract from the MBA's reputation for good battery life at the same time as raising its price to cover the cost of the retina display.
It would simply be an inferior, albeit slightly lighter and thinner, version of the rMBP 13. It would also be a rather unimaginative move - just updating the same old model and form factor that's been around since 2008.
Instead we get something that looks like "the future" even if it is lacking in some features.
At least people are talking about the rMB! There's no such thing as bad publicity.
Many people seem to think it is a simple matter to simply replace the existing MBA screen with retina, and say "job done".
It seems quite likely that both battery life and graphical performance would be severely impacted by such a much, without changing other aspects of the design - notably battery capacity.
I would expect a hypothetical rMBA 13 to have maybe 6-7 hours battery life, and possibly even a fair bit of UI lag.
I think it highly unlikely that Apple would detract from the MBA's reputation for good battery life at the same time as raising its price to cover the cost of the retina display.
It would simply be an inferior, albeit slightly lighter and thinner, version of the rMBP 13. It would also be a rather unimaginative move - just updating the same old model and form factor that's been around since 2008.
Instead we get something that looks like "the future" even if it is lacking in some features.
At least people are talking about the rMB! There's no such thing as bad publicity.
You and a whole bunch of other people. Sure, we've all hoped for a design refresh, like thinner bezel and such, but not at the sacrifice of so much CPU power and ports.
And that's why Apple is now the top definition of "form over function".
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Form+over+Function
LOL, you used my post & argument and "forget" to quote me
nevermind I still agree w you (me) Err, from what I have read a "retina" display *IS* an IPS display (i.e. uses In-Plane Switching technology). "Retina" is just a marketing term to describe a certain level of resolution.
LOL, you used my post & argument and "forget" to quote me
Ha ha ha - sorry, I haven't read the whole thread
That's what occurred for the MacBook Air, I forget what the first gen was priced at but Apple did decrease the price.
For some reason though, I'm not so sure they'll do that this time, there seems to be a lot more positive energy and demand for this, then the gen 1 MBA.
I totally love mine. It is exactly what I wanted it to be. It isn't my only Mac, but it is my only laptop. It is as portable as an iPad with the ability to use all the Mac apps that I need on the go. I absolutely love the new keyboard. I prefer it to all others and would love it if they made the bluetooth keyboards for the Mac the same.
Yes, Apple is laughing all the way to the bank.
Tim Cook: "Maybe we underpriced the 12 look how many suckers .I mean customers accepted the pricing "
Flash forward to December 2015.
Flash .Apple announces the rMB 12s. Super fantastic Apple logo now lights up, price increased by $200.
Super weird that you are so hung up on the price when it has been shown to you that it is exactly in line with ALL other Apple laptops with the same memory and storage specs.
Plus the fact that there really isn't room for that this time - look at all other Apple Laptops with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD's.
This won't price drop much at all unless Apple offers it in a 4GB RAM 128GB SSD configuration.
It's a very young port, but an open standard. More diverse and affordable solutions are coming.
This was a problem for me during migration, but only then. The more of your data you already have "in the cloud", the easier the migration is. Mine would have been a breeze if I used iTunes Match, everything else was either a small local transfer or a post-setup internet download in the background.
Don't bother, this (biased) "story" isn't about anything but providing the entitled spoiled children who don't understand tech products a thread in which to spout their superiority via complaining about Apple and a new product with a 4-6 week backlog so that rational, reasonable voices like yours will come and argue with them.