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12-Inch Retina MacBook Receives Mixed Reviews From Early Adopters

the8thark said:
Less hardware issues, better optimised OS for it, better price etc etc.
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you mean the cpu or? i must say for me that in general use my 2014 imac running 10.9 dosent feel faster than my 2010 imac running 10.6.8. the finder seems slower if anything. obviously if i do something intensive there is a huge difference.

obviously the price will go down in 2-3 years.

twoodcc said:
this could be a nice macbook if they can get faster performance with it, and of course more ports.
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so you want a more feature full mb or a lighter and thinner mbp?
 
numlock said:
you mean the cpu or? i must say for me that in general use my 2014 imac running 10.9 dosent feel faster than my 2010 imac running 10.6.8. the finder seems slower if anything. obviously if i do something intensive there is a huge difference.

obviously the price will go down in 2-3 years.



so you want a more feature full mb or a lighter and thinner mbp?
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The speed difference likely comes from the SSD.
 
DavidTheExpert said:
I'm not surprised that the reviews are mixed. It seems like an incredible little machine. It's powerful and it's sexy. But they really compromised on a lot of important features.
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I agree. This is a case of function following form and that's backwards. I feel they did the same thing with the iPad Air 2 with its extreme thinness which lead to various issues caused by that thinness.

Oh well. If I were in the market for a laptop, a refurbished Pro or an MBA is the right choice. Save money and get a better machine giving up a few ounces of weight. Big freegin deal.
 
My sympathies go out to those who really, really wanted an 11" retina MacBook Air and are disappointed with the new 12" retina MacBook. Apple has always had a fairly limited range of products, so there will always be a few customers who fall through the cracks. However, until your dream machine is finally built by Apple, the work-around is really not that onerous.

The 12" retina MacBook with the addition of Apple's USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter offers pretty much the same functionality of the hypothetical 11" retina MacBook Air.

The weight of the 12" retina MacBook (2.03 lbs) + the weight of the USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter (0.13 lbs) = 2.16 lbs which is less than the weight of the current 11" MacBook Air (2.38 lbs) which would certainly have had to increase to include the bigger battery needed to drive the retina screen. Plus you get a 12.5% larger screen with a better aspect ratio.

We can only speculate about the cost of the hypothetical 11" retina MacBook Air, but it would also certainly have had to increase from it's current $1199 for it's 8GB/256Gb configuration. In comparison, the similarily spec'd 12" retina MacBook costs $179 more at $1378 ($1299 + $79 for the adapter), but of course, most of us haven't chosen Macs for their low, low upfront cost. ;)
 
johngordon said:
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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This is a sort of tricky and personal calculation. For many people, the difference between the Core M rMB and the i5 rMBP may never be noticed because either (1) they aren't doing those tasks on their computer or (2) they would generally perform those tasks on a desktop rather than a laptop. I had a rMB for 13 days and ultimately returned it, but I am convinced that I am in group (2), where the extra power available due to the fan cooling is only very rarely going to be needed. There are people for whom Core M just won't work at this time. Laptop gamers come to mind immediately, but there are probably others.
 
mi7chy said:
Lenovo LaVie Z just made Macbook 12" obsolete.

Lighter 1.87#
More powerful i7-5500U CPU
Optimally sized 13.3" 2560x1440 multitouch display
Keyboard looks like it has more travel unlike the horrible membrane like Macbook keyboard
Built in USB 3.0 x 2 and HDMI ports so no dongle needed

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/lavie/lavie-z/
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It's not making anything obsolete with old school USB 3.0 ports. Type-C isn't some propriatary connector that Apple cooked up; it's part of the USB 3.1 standard, and as such the unquestionable successor to the classic USB type-A host connector. It's just annoying that this MacBook only has one of them.
 
APlotdevice said:
It's not making anything obsolete with old school USB 3.0 ports. Type-C isn't some propriatary connector that Apple cooked up; it's part of the USB 3.1 standard, and as such the unquestionable successor to the classic USB type-A host connector. It's just annoying that this MacBook only has one of them.
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This is an interesting argument, i.e. the Lenovo LaVie Z with Intel Core i7-5500U Processor, 13.3" 2560x1440 multitouch display, 2 x USB 3.0, 1x HDMI-out, SD card reader, 720p HD Webcam is not better than (or making obsolete, as you wish) the rMB because it has one superior Type-C port...
 
mi7chy said:
Lenovo LaVie Z just made Macbook 12" obsolete.

Lighter 1.87#
More powerful i7-5500U CPU
Optimally sized 13.3" 2560x1440 multitouch display
Keyboard looks like it has more travel unlike the horrible membrane like Macbook keyboard
Built in USB 3.0 x 2 and HDMI ports so no dongle needed
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  • Price: $1499 for i5 w 4GB/128GB base configuration vs 12" MacBook at $1299 for Core M w 8GB/256GBbase configuration
  • Size: 12.56" x 8.35" x 0.67" vs 12" MacBook at 11.04" x 7.74" x 0.52"
  • Battery: 29.6 Wh vs 12" MacBook at 39.7Wh
 
bobob said:
  • Price: $1499 for i5 w 4GB/128GB base configuration vs 12" MacBook at $1299 for Core M w 8GB/256GBbase configuration
  • Size: 12.56" x 8.35" x 0.67" vs 12" MacBook at 11.04" x 7.74" x 0.52"
  • Battery: 29.6 Wh vs 12" MacBook at 39.7Wh
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The 1499 USD priced Lenovo LaVie Z consists of Intel Core i7-5500U Processor( 2.40GHz 1600MHz 4MB), 8.0GB LPDDR3-1600 LPDDR3 1600 MHz and 256GB:

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/lavie/lavie-z/
 
Michael Goff said:
I thought the new iMac came with a fusion drive?
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sorry apparently it is late 2013 although i got it late last summer and for some reason thought it was early 2014. heres is the everymac link

the retina one seems to be the only one that has the fusion drive as a default.
 
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Ulenspiegel said:
This is an interesting argument, i.e. the Lenovo LaVie Z with Intel Core i7-5500U Processor, 13.3" 2560x1440 multitouch display, 2 x USB 3.0, 1x HDMI-out, SD card reader, 720p HD Webcam is not better than (or making obsolete, as you wish) the rMB because it has one superior Type-C port...
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Apple itself has more powerful notebooks than the rMB in the same price range. So specs aren't a good argument in this case.

BTW, I question whether multitouch displays on laptops, as opposed to laptops which can convert into an actual tablet, will continue to be a thing after Windows 10 comes out. It seems like it's mostly there to compensate for W8's shortcomings.
 
Ulenspiegel said:
The price quoted is the price in the lenovo shop where no other models with other specifications are available. At least at the moment.
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Okay, so if you can get the Lenovo at the price, it's the same for the two machines, so let's return to the key differences in the specs:

bobob said:
  • Size: 12.56" x 8.35" x 0.67" vs 12" MacBook at 11.04" x 7.74" x 0.52"
  • Battery: 29.6 Wh vs 12" MacBook at 39.7Wh
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bobob said:
Okay, so if you can get the Lenovo at the price, it's the same for the two machines, so let's return to the key differences in the specs:
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bobob, you really think that the key differences are in size (1.5", 0.61" and 0.15") and battery life (1-2 hours) and not the following:

Intel HD Graphics 5300 vs Intel HD Graphic 5500
2304x1440 display vs 2560x1440 multitouch display
Intel Core M processor vs Intel Core i7-5500U processor
1xUSB-C port vs 2 x USB 3.0, 1x HDMI-out, SD card reader
480p FaceTime camera vs 720p HD webcam.

If you consider this minimal size difference of utmost importance, then maybe the 2.03 pounds (rMB) vs 1.87 lbs (Lenovo LaVie Z) is also an essential distinction in weight.
 
Ulenspiegel said:
The original post of mi7chy compared the Lenovo LaVie Z with the rMB. So, let's stay on this track, though if better specifications "are not a good argument", then what else? Shall we compare the colours?
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I'm comparing technology. The Lenovo is certainly powerful, but it's all rather conventional. In contrast the Retina Macbook incorporates a host of new technologies. The product itself doesn't really appeal to me... too many compromises... but I do see it as a testbed for better things to come.
 
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