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12-Inch Retina MacBook Receives Mixed Reviews From Early Adopters

TEBnewyork said:
So, if there were a direct connection with the MB's USB -c and ports on the back of a display would some of the whining on this thread go away?
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Some of it... but still, on the road, if someone hands you a memory stick or you want to charge your phone, you're scrabbling for your adapter and having to unplug your charger.

What would stop all the port-related whining is if version 2 comes out and they manage to squeeze a second USB-C port in there somewhere. The problem is with the double-whammy of a new type of port... and only having one of them.

I've been holding off on getting another display for a while as even $799 for a refurb makes me nervous after so long with no updates.
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...well don't buy a TB Display if you're eyeing a rMB because there's no way a rMB can drive a TBD. A LED Cinema Display (with the MiniDisplayPort input) would be a safer bet, although I don't see an adaptor for that yet (but it should be possible).
 
iLilana said:
they could have used MBA guts with this shiny new shell and screen and called it a day. The increase in cost for the lower end computer seems silly to me. One port... silly. Dongle... unnecessary. This is not a good computer. It made more sense to just make an iPad that ran yosemite.
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No, they couldn't. They'd have to put in a fan to use the MBA "guts" and that would leave less room for a battery. It would probably last about 4 hours, and people would be up in arms about how the MacBook has such poor battery life. The Core i5/i7 chip in the MBA uses 3 times as much power as the Core M.

Intel charges $281 for the Core M. That's more than what they charge for the Core i5/i7. The MacBook is fine for what it is meant for. Eventually the cost will come down as Core M becomes mainstream, but that day isn't here yet.
 
theluggage said:
Some of it... but still, on the road, if someone hands you a memory stick or you want to charge your phone, you're scrabbling for your adapter and having to unplug your charger.

What would stop all the port-related whining is if version 2 comes out and they manage to squeeze a second USB-C port in there somewhere. The problem is with the double-whammy of a new type of port... and only having one of them.
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So, when someone hands you that stick that isn't yet USB-c you still go for your adapter....you just don't have to unplug the power cord.

Just get the multi-port adapter (yes you can say ugh $80) leave it attached to your charger and nothing else needed.
 
iLilana said:
they could have used MBA guts with this shiny new shell and screen and called it a day. The increase in cost for the lower end computer seems silly to me. One port... silly. Dongle... unnecessary. This is not a good computer. It made more sense to just make an iPad that ran yosemite.
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Not to mention the fact that the sizes of the logic boards are in no way comparable. Didn't you see the size difference in Apples's presentation
 
Michael Goff said:
I think the rMB is supposed to compete with the 13", otherwise they'd have made the price lower. :\
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But - honest question for you - surely the retina screen is worth the $100 increment? It would be for me. I recognize that there are some people who just don't like how the retina displays behave with OS X right now, but in that case you wouldn't be looking at any of the retina laptops.
 
newellj said:
But - honest question for you - surely the retina screen is worth the $100 increment? It would be for me. I recognize that there are some people who just don't like how the retina displays behave with OS X right now, but in that case you wouldn't be looking at any of the retina laptops.
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Maybe by this time next year? Like you said, Retina doesn't play well with OS X right now.
 
bobob said:
I'm comparing apples to apples - - a 13" MBA vs a 13" MBP.
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drsmithy said:
Yes, but why are you comparing them to the new MacBook when the 11" MBA is its obvious alternative ?
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I made no such comparison.

Here is the complete sequence of posts that I was participating in:

theluggage said:
what a lot of people here are really saying is that "what works" would be an Air with a retina display, which Apple has chosen not to offer.
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bobob said:
The MBP is the MBA with an extra half pound of battery to drive the retina screen.
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drsmithy said:
No it's not. An 11" MBA is substantially smaller than a 13" rMBP.
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bobob said:
I'm comparing apples to apples - - a 13" MBA vs a 13" MBP...

macbook-pro-vs-macbook-air-size-weight1.jpg
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djbuu said:
You're kidding right? Your posts keep getting more and more absurd. Retina doesn't play nice in OSX? Whaaaat?
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I don't experience that myself, but if you hang out in the Yosemite forum there are a lot of people who do. I mention that only because even if I disagree with some of what is being posted, the retina UI issues do seem to be a genuine problem in some cases - I don't think the complaint is crazy or bad faith.
 
newellj said:
I don't experience that myself, but if you hang out in the Yosemite forum there are a lot of people who do. I mention that only because even if I disagree with some of what is being posted, the retina UI issues do seem to be a genuine problem in some cases - I don't think the complaint is crazy or bad faith.
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This is the inherent problem with Internet forums. The concentration of people who have issues is very high because the people who don't have issues typically aren't seeking help from Internet forums. As a result, people think small issues are rampant.

Add in the fact that forum posters in general are insanely picky and paranoid about the product they are talking about.

It sounds completely sensationalized and blow out of proportion.
 
djbuu said:
You're kidding right? Your posts keep getting more and more absurd. Retina doesn't play nice in OSX? Whaaaat?
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I've explained what I mean, and so have others. The fact that you don't want to acknowledge issues as being real means nothing.
 
TEBnewyork said:
So, when someone hands you that stick that isn't yet USB-c you still go for your adapter....you just don't have to unplug the power cord.

Just get the multi-port adapter (yes you can say ugh $80) leave it attached to your charger and nothing else needed.
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That'd work in the short-term, though people could run into another problem later on when USB-C peripherals start coming out: The adapter still only has one type-C, and you can't adapt them back to A.
 
Michael Goff said:
I think the rMB is supposed to compete with the 13", otherwise they'd have made the price lower. :\
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From a form factor perspective the 11" is the obvious competitor.

----------
bobob said:
I made no such comparison.

Here is the complete sequence of posts that I was participating in:
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Your inference is that he meant the 13" MBA.

With that said, I have no idea if he meant the 13", but the obvious competitor to the rMB is the 11" MBA. Comparing the 13" makes no sense given it's significantly larger (and, as you note, near identical to the 13" rMBP) physical footprint.

Why anyone is comparing the rMB to the 13" MBA is beyond me. They're different classes of machine (Ultraportable vs small laptop). To be honest, I must admit I've never understood the point of the 13" MBA at all.

I certainly know the only thing I wanted was a Retina display on my 11" MBA.
 
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I wonder why's there so much complaining about the USB-C port solution. Yes, it is a compromise, but I don't see it as being as crucial as many people claim. The computer is still perfectly suitable for those that don't need all the peripherals. rMB seems expensive for what it is, but for a one that values design or light/tiny form factor it could still be worth the money.

If you can't manage with the single port then I'd say it's better to spend your money elsewhere. It shouldn't be so complicated.

Instead of going for second USB-C port for the next generation, wouldn't it be better to go for wireless charging and free the single port for other usage that way?
 
Count me in the "those who love it" column. Ultra portability is my key requirement. I haven't found the trade-offs to be a very big deal, in fact I haven't actually experienced anything I'd consider a trade-off except for the single USB-C port. But even that has been very minor, the only thing I plug in with any sort of regularity is a hard drive for my Time Machine backup. Plug it in, do my business, and disconnect. I can see where this computer isn't for some though.

And for those who are complaining about availability of adapters, where are you looking? I ordered mine from Apple for $19.99 via the Apple Store app and had it the very next day.
 
Bananas Ananas said:
If you can't manage with the single port then I'd say it's better to spend your money elsewhere. It shouldn't be so complicated.
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It's not complicated at all. Lots of us were exceptionally happy with our 11" MBAs and just wanted a better screen. We think a marginally smaller form factor is nice, but not worth the functionality tradeoff.

Hence our frustration with the rMB (most of which, as I mentioned elsewhere, would probably have been taken care of if they'd built a port expander into the power brick).
 
Bananas Ananas said:
...If you can't manage with the single port then I'd say it's better to spend your money elsewhere. It shouldn't be so complicated...
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Like it is not complicated to manage more than one port. And by the way, it is not about "managing", it is about the lack.

Wait a minute, seems it is complicated as you can't get in stores the $79 accessory that replaces all the MacBook ports.
 
djbuu said:
This is the inherent problem with Internet forums. The concentration of people who have issues is very high because the people who don't have issues typically aren't seeking help from Internet forums. As a result, people think small issues are rampant.

Add in the fact that forum posters in general are insanely picky and paranoid about the product they are talking about.

It sounds completely sensationalized and blow out of proportion.
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Exactly this - it always amazes me when people don't seem to get that. I think it even has a name - negativity bias.

With regards the new MB - I am looking at replacing an aging MBP from 2008, and had always assumed I would get the 15" rMBP. But thinking about it, back in 08 it was my main machine for work. But now I have a 27" iMac, and actually portability is much more of an issue. A lighter more portable laptop that is never going to be needed for much grunt work makes me think the 15 MBP would be overkill.

I've had a quick play on the new MB now and it is stunning - so much so that I'm now seriously considering it as the best option. If its mainly going to be used as a secondary work machine for me to take out to meetings with clients (I do web design), maybe let me have some time out of the office (I work from home) over a coffee and getting bit of light work done, and general email / web surfing etc by my wife at home, then it would probably be fine.

Sure - a big part of my head still says to go for the 13" rMBP, but if:

1. Its not going to be a main machine, so will rarely be called upon for much heavy grunt work
2. I would mostly use it to take out to meetings, often in London so a bit of a trek away
3. Around the house it will mainly get used for general email / internet, bit of Word / Excel.

Then the MB would absolutely fit the bill - its probably too easy to get hung up on specs rather than take a step back and think what its purpose is.

And who is to say that weight and portability aren't specs anyway? Just as someone could say that its a no brainer to buy the MBP because it is more powerful, someone else could equally say that its a no brainer to buy the MB because it is so much more portable, especially if it is powerful enough to boot.

So if you get extra power you don't need, but lose portability, then that's a net loss.

Just as sacrificing power you do need, for portability you don't value would be a net loss.

Or something - and yes, I realise I'm probably a little guilty of trying to convince myself that the new MB is worth a serious look.
 
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