Eh, I disagree with the conclusion of the author. Apple should really focus on getting the price down to MBA levels. You're paying more for less performance, a smaller screen, and less ports. You gain a lighter chassis and a retina display. However, Apple is competing against itself here. It needs to be a better VALUE than the MBA if they ever want to replace the MBA with the rMB.
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12-Inch Retina MacBook Receives Mixed Reviews From Early Adopters
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I don't think it will take 2 years for USB-C to catch on. With Apple being an early adopter, and so many companies chasing Apple, we'll see USB-C spread like wildfire now.
Yes, 2 USB-C ports, like the Chromebook, would have been better. USB-C will catch on, and so in a year or so we will see more devices. It's too bad USB didn't start out in this form factor. We'd never have had the myriad attempts at "smaller" USB ports (mini-USB, micro-USB, various types of proprietary micro-USB 3.0 ports).
I think that says a lot where Apple can dictate how you *will* change the way you use a laptop and that you can no longer just plug in a flash drive or such without having an adapter cable handy. Is there a problem with having multiple ports and not having to carry around a bag of adapters?
But you're right, in a few years, Apple will have brainwashed everyone into getting used to needing a pricey adapter to connect anything.
It will be, but not immediately. It makes no sense for Apple to "mainstream" the MacBook right now. As evidenced by the short supply, it's not as if they have the manufacturing capacity at the moment. Plus Core M is due for major improvements when Skylake comes out at the end of the year. Like the first iterations of the MacBook Air, this is aimed at road warriors until Apple figures out what works, and what needs changing.
You mean like Thunderbolt and Firewire?
Hopefully, though, you are right. But for it to be mainstream, like USB 3.0 is now, prices for 3.1 devices need to be the same as (or close to) USB 3.1.
Have people forgetten that the MBA was $1799 when it first launched? Did anyone really expect this to launch at $999? In what universe?
If your decision to keep it depends on the availability of USB adaptors then you probably haven’t given it enough thought. You need to be comfortable using this without adaptors, regardless of their existence.
I thought the same about FireWire when Apple introduced the first aluminium MacBook in 2008, which I bought and still use. I thought I could always use my old Windows laptop for transferring videos from my camcorder (could only be done over FireWire), but it was just such a hassle to transfer large files and converting them to a format that Mac supported. As such I never got to enjoy iMovie. Of course Apple put FireWire back in the first revision, but I still regret that I didn’t wait for a couple of months until early design shortcomings were addressed.
I am also simply not impressed with this MacBook when compared to the competition. It isn’t the thinnest available laptop right now and competitors even offer more performance. In addition they have plenty of ports and Windows itself has become much less performance-heavy over the years, something which I cannot say about OS X anymore. As someone said above, it’s more a daring proof of concept right now.
I thought the same about FireWire when Apple introduced the first aluminium MacBook in 2008, which I bought and still use. I thought I could always use my old Windows laptop for transferring videos from my camcorder (could only be done over FireWire), but it was just such a hassle to transfer large files and converting them to a format that Mac supported. As such I never got to enjoy iMovie. Of course Apple put FireWire back in the first revision, but I still regret that I didn’t wait for a couple of months until early design shortcomings were addressed.
I am also simply not impressed with this MacBook when compared to the competition. It isn’t the thinnest available laptop right now and competitors even offer more performance. In addition they have plenty of ports and Windows itself has become much less performance-heavy over the years, something which I cannot say about OS X anymore. As someone said above, it’s more a daring proof of concept right now.
I just got the 1.3ghz one yesterday and I love it. My priorities were lightweight and retina screen. I do basic office tasks on it and watch videos, nothing very taxing a the CPU. I have a 15" rMBP at home for all of my intensive tasks, but this one suits me perfectly for taking to work. Only downside right now is that the keyboard takes some getting used to. I'm waiting on buying the $80 hub from apple in hopes that better & cheaper solutions will come out soon.
Probably fed up with seeing people put stickers on their laptops on TV to avoid product placement, that and strategically placed PostIt notes.
I would have been more interested if it had a second port.
The weight difference and retina screen compared with an MBA isn't enough.
What I want is an MBA with a retina screen.
The weight difference and retina screen compared with an MBA isn't enough.
What I want is an MBA with a retina screen.
no ports = dealbreaker for me
I'm not real big into christmas tree arrangements for cables. The loss of the magnetic power supply coupler is also a major negative - can't tell you how many times my kids would have pulled off the laptop, or on a train/plane it would have gone flying if not for the coupler design.
Having a single outlet may be aesthetically pleasing, but the resultant mess of cables for real world use isn't.
I'm not real big into christmas tree arrangements for cables. The loss of the magnetic power supply coupler is also a major negative - can't tell you how many times my kids would have pulled off the laptop, or on a train/plane it would have gone flying if not for the coupler design.
Having a single outlet may be aesthetically pleasing, but the resultant mess of cables for real world use isn't.
over designed
I fully agree with the poster that said all we wanted was a Macbook Air with a Retina display. Exactly this. I don't think people needed a thinner machine that is missing core functionality/ports/speed
That is what the Air is for - a lightweight machine that sacrifices some performance for speed and agility.
I think they did this so that they can make the following lineup changes.
In 2016 we should see
- A little growing up of the Retina Macbook (and hopefully a price drop to $999 so that with proper storage, it can be sub $1400)
- Merge of Macbook Air with Retina MbPro - a machine that is slightly heavier and thicker than the current Air but has a stronger processor, faster storage, plenty of ports
- Retirement of the current Macbook Pro 13 (non retina) - This is the best damn value for dollar machine in the lineup, its designed for the mac customer that does not have an unlimited budget - but if so, then who is going to buy the Retina Macbook?
I fully agree with the poster that said all we wanted was a Macbook Air with a Retina display. Exactly this. I don't think people needed a thinner machine that is missing core functionality/ports/speed
That is what the Air is for - a lightweight machine that sacrifices some performance for speed and agility.
I think they did this so that they can make the following lineup changes.
In 2016 we should see
- A little growing up of the Retina Macbook (and hopefully a price drop to $999 so that with proper storage, it can be sub $1400)
- Merge of Macbook Air with Retina MbPro - a machine that is slightly heavier and thicker than the current Air but has a stronger processor, faster storage, plenty of ports
- Retirement of the current Macbook Pro 13 (non retina) - This is the best damn value for dollar machine in the lineup, its designed for the mac customer that does not have an unlimited budget - but if so, then who is going to buy the Retina Macbook?
I think most of the issues with this machine will be fixed with time and a few versions.
Except for the awful keyboard. It is flatout terrible, and that's going to require Apple to have the balls to rethink the entire concept. I hope they've got the self awareness to do it.
Except for the awful keyboard. It is flatout terrible, and that's going to require Apple to have the balls to rethink the entire concept. I hope they've got the self awareness to do it.
This. A thousand times.
For all we know, this is effectively the Retina MBA, but Apple didn't want to just slap a better display on the existing model.
For having played with display models for all of less than 5 minutes, the rMB is a little marvel - it's so insanely thin, technologically speaking it's amazing, but it's also pointless and too big a compromise with the current innards and lack of ports.
There are already USB-C flash drives and we'll see more devices within a few years.
Read the message boards from 2008. People asked if there was such a problem with including an internal DVDdrive and not having to carry around an external drive. Now it's almost impossible to find a notebook with one. As for adapters, people said the same thing when Apple removed Ethernet and FireWire ports from the MacBook Pro. PC makers tend to stick with legacy ports for too long. That's why VGA is still around.
Apple knows the MacBook isn't for everyone just yet. That's why they still sell the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. But eventually the MacBook will replace the MacBook Air.
Sure. How many netbooks have a 2204x1440 display and an HD5300 GPU? The 1.3GHz MacBook matches the MacBook Air in terms of speed.
Why would they do that when it appears plenty of people like it? Threre's the MBP for those who need more key travel.
My local BestBuy actually had a pretty nice display with all of the current Macbook offerings. There's no doubt that this is a stunner of a machine. My favorite is Space Gray. It really looks stunning compared to the sea of (frankly now boring) rest of the Macbook line.
I picked it up from the table. It was definitely very light. Not quite as light as the feeling as I get with my SP3 without the keyboard cover, but close. As usual, Apple has balanced the machine really well too. Something that many PC manufacturers cannot get right. Feels great picking it up.
But. I do think a proper Retina Macbook Air would have hit the sweet spot. Maybe keep this one in the lab until the time was right for it to come out. Right now, it just seems too compromised as a real useful machine for its price point.
We have to remember, there was literally nothing like the Macbook Air when it first came out. Yes it was pricey, but in that form factor there was nothing like it.
In contrast, the new Macbook is slimmer than the Macbook Air, but it isn't really category defining like the original Air was. I remember seeing Jobs do the demo with the manila envelop and it really hit home how radically different this was from anything you could get.
Remember, there weren't iPads at the time, and there weren't "Ultrabooks" either.
I have grown more and more fond of my Surface Pro 3. It seems like there might have been an opportunity for Apple to make a truly affordable Macbook by going the Atom route like MS did with the Surface (non-pro) 3. Maybe something a little cheaper but still well built. The Atom and the Core M are not hugely far apart in performance terms.
It would have captured the spirit of the older Macbooks.
I picked it up from the table. It was definitely very light. Not quite as light as the feeling as I get with my SP3 without the keyboard cover, but close. As usual, Apple has balanced the machine really well too. Something that many PC manufacturers cannot get right. Feels great picking it up.
But. I do think a proper Retina Macbook Air would have hit the sweet spot. Maybe keep this one in the lab until the time was right for it to come out. Right now, it just seems too compromised as a real useful machine for its price point.
We have to remember, there was literally nothing like the Macbook Air when it first came out. Yes it was pricey, but in that form factor there was nothing like it.
In contrast, the new Macbook is slimmer than the Macbook Air, but it isn't really category defining like the original Air was. I remember seeing Jobs do the demo with the manila envelop and it really hit home how radically different this was from anything you could get.
Remember, there weren't iPads at the time, and there weren't "Ultrabooks" either.
I have grown more and more fond of my Surface Pro 3. It seems like there might have been an opportunity for Apple to make a truly affordable Macbook by going the Atom route like MS did with the Surface (non-pro) 3. Maybe something a little cheaper but still well built. The Atom and the Core M are not hugely far apart in performance terms.
It would have captured the spirit of the older Macbooks.
Pointless for who? From some MacBook forum posts it sure seems like it's not pointless for everyone.
The 13"rMBP is essentially the Retina MacBook Air. It actually has a smaller footprint than the 13" MBA. Why is this so hard to grasp? Apple couldn't add a Retina display to the Air without making the battery thicker, in which case they'd have ended up pretty much where the 13" rMBP is today.
You do know the newest MBA has a superior GPU, right? That matters a lot as more and more things are being pushed to that instead of straight CPU.
You need a rMBP, not a rMB.
The rMB is a great device, but I think of it as an accessory to the iPhone, not as a stand alone laptop like the rMBP or the MBA.
And yes, I agree with everyone else that Apple should have updated the screen on the MBA.
There were people who defended the terrible keyboard on the original Macbook Air here too, but Apple wisely decided they were wrong.