12" Macbook - Disappointment and Hope

[theusualsuspect]

I don't think that's true.

Usage is different. charging you leave it somewhere and let it do its thing.

laptop sits where you use it so you keep it plugged in often and when go mobile,d disconnect.

same with fragility. if you drop a phone with a case on a carpet, might be alright. a fragile screen with a big drop and thinner, maybe not..

That's the point Apple is trying to make with this new macbook - usage is different now.

Keep it plugged in at the desk when you're working, you probably don't need to worry about it falling there. But you don't have to look for an outlet anymore when you're on the go. There's no need to plug the laptop in at the kitchen table and string the power cord to the wall - there's plenty of battery life now.

 

[symphara]

Upgrade to a thin light laptop with the power you need and the screen you want the rMBP is your answer...

It's not portable enough - my wife got one (a 13") from work about a month ago, I tried it and it's just too thick and heavy to carry everywhere (I travel a lot).

I was waiting for a retina Air, but now perhaps the new XPS 13, if they ever make one with Ubuntu...

 

[joeblow7777]

Leaving it plugged in is not good for the battery. The best state for the battery is for it to be somewhere in the 20-90% range. If you stay within that range, number of cycles is almost immaterial. Deep discharge is worse for the battery than keeping it charged, however.

Note this is how cars like the Prius manage tens of thousands or more cycles on their battery. They only allow the battery to use the mid range. It never discharges, and never fully charges.

I find that simply minimizing cycles works quite well, as it's not always practical to keep your battery in that middle range. Keeping it plugged in isn't really "bad" for the battery per se, as long as the battery gets some usage from time to time. You're right that frequent full discharges will wear the battery faster, which is probably going to happen more with a notebook that can't be charged without using its one and only port.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Really???

It's not portable enough - my wife got one (a 13") from work about a month ago, I tried it and it's just too thick and heavy to carry everywhere (I travel a lot).

I was waiting for a retina Air, but now perhaps the new XPS 13, if they ever make one with Ubuntu...

Not portable enough for what??? I have one it is smaller than the 13 inch air and only 1/2 pound heavier so the equivqalent of an air and a hamburger. Never had any issue carrying it around much as I have no issues carrying an air and eating a hamburger...

 

[NewbieCanada]

It's a bit narrower and a bit deeper. The screen is 16:10 instead of 16:9 (which, IMO, is awesome). You can compare them side by side on Apple's website.

Link for comparison:

http://www.apple.com/mac/compare/results/?product1=macbook&product2=macbook-air-11

 

[bjet767]

Ok I've been reading all the negative comments about the new Macbook (It's no longer an 'Air'" and I think many just want to complain.

First the revealed version is almost exactly (if not exactly) what has been leaked for almost 6 months. Super thin, one port, retina 12 inch display, the gold color option and the M processor (sounds almost like a "class M car"). So why then are you all so mad and disappointed?

I will probably buy one to replace my 2014 11" for more than one reason, but here is what I like about it.

1. The one port is because consumers have already, despite verbal complaints, proven they rarely use any attached devices. I rarely use the 11" with another device plugged in.

2. The adapter cord is perfect, I can use my old USB device(s), the current Air already requires adapters for the use of an external monitor right now,

3. I can actually use other chargers (meaning one) rather than pack two, one USB 5 volt and the MBA brick charger.

4. The Wireless and bluetooth are what almost all foreign locations now use for internet access. Even the Hotel I stay at every week in Germany has dropped the LAN cable each room had in favor of wireless.

5. The ram is now a standard of 8 gig. This should make most of the intensive operations run at least as fast as my 11" does now with 4 gig (I have rendered Final Cut Pro X quite well on my 11").

6. I often run at least 4 programs at once so 8 gig will work well.

7. The screen will/should make a huge difference.

8. The 5300 graphics is slightly slower than 5000 in the 11" I own, but coding has been added to natively decode more standard versions of video compression. The advantage is standard video will run equally as well if not better at lower power consumption. The negative is gamers will not be able to run their games any better than older (2014) versions.

My only concern is will I be able to run xCode and send apps to my iOS devices without a cable? I would bet Apple all ready has addressed this and I just don't know it yet.

The color choices? Will I buy a gold one so others will know immediately that I have the newest Apple product? Maybe not, gold versions tend to be a bit, "look at me," but having an Apple MBA at the coffee shop is part of being the cool crowd anyway.

Yes it will be a big hit and make a lot of money.

 

[RightMACatU]

...

5. The ram is now a standard of 8 gig. ...

Amen!
No more discussion threads on "should I get 4 or 8GB?"

 

[Meister]

Amen!
No more discussion threads on "should I get 4 or 8GB?"

You do realize that the Air still comes with 4gb and so does the mini.
The RAM threads will never end

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5. The ram is now a standard of 8 gig. This should make most of the intensive operations run at least as fast as my 11" does now with 4 gig (I have rendered Final Cut Pro X quite well on my 11").

You do realize that memory has nothing to do with rendering speeds and that the m core cpu is pretty weak for that?

 

[symphara]

Not portable enough for what??? I have one it is smaller than the 13 inch air and only 1/2 pound heavier so the equivqalent of an air and a hamburger. Never had any issue carrying it around much as I have no issues carrying an air and eating a hamburger...

Not portable enough for me, obviously. Looking at the specs, my 13" Air weighs 2.38 pounds, and my wife's new 13" Pro (obviously, the model just before the one they only announced) has 3.46 pounds, so it's not only 1/2 pound heavier. To me it feels much heavier, and much thicker too. As I said, I compared them directly and I know which one I'd carry all day long and which one I wouldn't. And I see the new 13" Pro being even heavier at 3.48lb.

Honestly I just want a laptop around 1Kg, not 1.5Kg. I liked the Air very much for that, it had everything except for a good display. I am flabbergasted by Apple's decision to replace the line, instead of making it perfect, especially with such an easy fix.

 

[Meister]

1. The one port is because consumers have already, despite verbal complaints, proven they rarely use any attached devices. I rarely use the 11" with another device plugged in.

2. The adapter cord is perfect, I can use my old USB device(s), the current Air already requires adapters for the use of an external monitor right now,

The charging port looks like a disaster. Why do you think they introduced the magsafe in the first place?
Also, folks might not use ethernet anymore, but usb devices, especially thumb drives are extremely common. So are sd cards for photographers.

 

[newellj]

The charging port looks like a disaster. Why do you think they introduced the magsafe in the first place?
Also, folks might not use ethernet anymore, but usb devices, especially thumb drives are extremely common. So are sd cards for photographers.

My guess is that Apple thinks your media library and backup should be accessed wirelessly, and with a Core M this machine is highly unlikely to work for anyone who's doing even moderately serious photo or video editing - and everyone else will get their photos off the camera onto the rMB by wifi - at least that seems to be what Apple expects.

 

[symphara]

First the revealed version is almost exactly (if not exactly) what has been leaked for almost 6 months. Super thin, one port, retina 12 inch display, the gold color option and the M processor (sounds almost like a "class M car"). So why then are you all so mad and disappointed?

I think some people (me included) would have liked a Retina Air. Same form-factor, similar ports, a Broadwell Core i7 CPU option and a high-resolution display.

I have nothing against the new super-light laptop, it looks amazing, but it's just not suitable at all for me:

(1) the Core-M CPU is too slow, I think it's slower or in the same ballpark as my current Air i7
(2) the screen is a bit too small at 12"
(3) no SD card slot, which I use frequently, and I just don't want to carry another adapter
(4) charging port shared with USB (I frequently charge my phone with the laptop plugged in, I frequently use a USB mouse when the laptop is plugged in etc). I haven't yet seen a laptop - and I've had a few - that doesn't dim the display and throttle the CPU when not plugged in, and probably this one does too, so to actually work on it you probably have to have it plugged in more often than not.
(5) no MagSafe
(6) requires additional adapters to plug into a monitor etc

Either one of (1), (3) and (4) is a deal-breaker. The rest are just very annoying. So I'm sure the new MacBook looks lovely, but I think too many compromises have been made for portability, and thus I just have no use for one.

 

[motrek]

...
(4) charging port shared with USB (I frequently charge my phone with the laptop plugged in, I frequently use a USB mouse when the laptop is plugged in etc). I haven't yet seen a laptop - and I've had a few - that doesn't dim the display and throttle the CPU when not plugged in, and probably this one does too, so to actually work on it you probably have to have it plugged in more often than not.
...

I assume there will be many companies selling combination chargers and hubs, i.e., you plug the hub into the wall, phone into the hub, laptop into the hub, and then your laptop and phone both charge and communicate no problem.

 

[ixxx69]

Also, folks might not use ethernet anymore, but usb devices, especially thumb drives are extremely common.

So true. I was in a client's office a couple of weeks ago. He had a Windows laptop. He wanted to give me a large file that was too large to email. Dropbox was way beyond him. He wasn't going to let me log onto their corporate network. As it was, it took 5 minutes of him fiddling around with the thumb drive.

1. The one port is because consumers have already, despite verbal complaints, proven they rarely use any attached devices. I rarely use the 11" with another device plugged in.

I'm in lots of strangers houses all the time as part of my work, and in 20+ years, I have yet to see a computer setup that looks like the advert photos of a laptop sitting all by itself on a spotless work desk. They ALL have various hubs and such hanging off of them. I think it's more likely that you're the rare exception. Now maybe the new rMB isn't meant to be used like traditional laptops - maybe Apple is after the tweeners (somewhere between an iPad and a MBA), but let's not kid ourselves that users rarely attach devices.

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I think some people (me included) would have liked a Retina Air. Same form-factor, similar ports, a Broadwell Core i7 CPU option and a high-resolution display...

Exactly. The new rMB is really cool in its own way - I'll probably get one. But I think the huge groundswell of disappointment is that what most MBA users wanted was a retina MBA. Most MBA users like the compromise between size/weight/performance/ports. They just wanted the same package with a great retina screen. Too bad Apple didn't do both a rMBA and the new rMB.

 

[symphara]

I assume there will be many companies selling combination chargers and hubs, i.e., you plug the hub into the wall, phone into the hub, laptop into the hub, and then your laptop and phone both charge and communicate no problem.

Yes, that makes sense. Given the price of this new MacBook, it's amazing that you have to buy so many more things to go with it. In any case, instead of carrying a super-light-weight laptop and a bag-load of hubs and adapters, I'd rather take a slightly heavier one, but with the proper ports...

Seriously, even if the Core M wasn't a deal breaker, I don't see myself rummaging on the plane/bus/train for the SD adapter to plug in the USB adapter etc.

This new laptop is for other people, with other preferences and use patterns.

 

[Meister]

My guess is that Apple thinks your media library and backup should be accessed wirelessly,

Makes sense. I already keep all my entertainment media on my mac min anyway, but this doesn't solve the magsafe problem. For myself the magsafe is one of the wonders of a mac. I broke my two previous laptops, because someone tripped over the wire. I will not buy a 1.5k laptop without a ****ing magsafe on it! I am really surprised that noone is shocked about this.

----------

and with a Core M this machine is highly unlikely to work for anyone who's doing even moderately serious photo or video editing - and everyone else will get their photos off the camera onto the rMB by wifi - at least that seems to be what Apple expects.

Adobe Lightroom is not ressource intensive and with the retina display the rMB makes a lot of sense for photographers. Is the core m really that weak?
What professional DSLR tethers raws via wifi?

 

[bjet767]

Response:

The charging port is a disaster, why did they use the mag safe to start with?

Answer: The market has spoken, iPhones, iPads and all the other tablets and laptops do not have magsafe ports and proven people will live well without them. Now how do the tech people make the device thinner? One do all port.

"I'm in lots of strangers houses all the time as part of my work, and in 20+ years, I have yet to see a computer setup that looks like the advert photos of a laptop sitting all by itself on a spotless work desk. "

I'm sitting in a coffe shop right now typing this and many people have their laptops and tablets; the laptop people have chargers plugged in and one has a thumb drive. Not one tablet has a charger plugged in. Hmmmm... this isn't a primary home computer is it.

My desktop (2012 i7 mini, 16 gig, two drives internal) has a huge monitor, a dvd read and write drive, Air Extreme hub, and a USB hub attached. What's your point?

"Core M this machine is highly unlikely to work for anyone who's doing even moderately serious photo or video editing "

Well I know at least one wedding photographer who uses their iPad as the initial device to review photos and the works from their MBP to finalize the video and photo work. The 12" MB is not the pro and not sold as such.

"Given the price of this new MacBook, it's amazing that you have to buy so many more things to go with it."

Ok on the road I need just one adapter for the new USBC.
Today I carry more, at minimum two chargers (iPad and MBA) and the USB LAN port (which I hardly use anymore because of the wireless availability).

Now as mentioned above the mini is another story. Lot's of add-ons for desktop use., I even use an audio device to send sound to and from devices to the mini. Oh and no camera on the mini, another plug in device.

"So true. I was in a client's office a couple of weeks ago. He had a Windows laptop. He wanted to give me a large file that was too large to email."

I was in our office and wanted to send a Word Doc to one of our managers. She had a new iPad Air 2 (company provided BTW) and I instantly "Air Dropped" the document to her, and another's iPad. Amazing new (or old idea revamped) seamless tech!

 

[motrek]

Yes, that makes sense. Given the price of this new MacBook, it's amazing that you have to buy so many more things to go with it. In any case, instead of carrying a super-light-weight laptop and a bag-load of hubs and adapters, I'd rather take a slightly heavier one, but with the proper ports...

Seriously, even if the Core M wasn't a deal breaker, I don't see myself rummaging on the plane/bus/train for the SD adapter to plug in the USB adapter etc.

This new laptop is for other people, with other preferences and use patterns.

On the face of it, I agree. I often have a couple things plugged into my MBA.

Then again, I usually have the MBA's proprietary charger plugged in and it would make little practical difference if I plugged an external hard drive into the laptop itself or into the charging brick.

And the MBA's charging brick is pretty enormous compared to the little USB wall chargers you'll be able to carry around instead to charge the new MacBook.

So, pros and cons I guess. If somebody gave me a new MacBook I wouldn't complain. But I won't be buying one myself either, at least for a while.

 

[Mainsail]

I don't have anything against the new Macbook, except maybe the price. When the MBA was introduced, it was pricey too, but over time it has dropped below the magical $1,000 price point and migrated to be Apples everyday consumer laptop. I suspect the same will happen to the new Macbook. By that time, the MBA will be gone. I am very happy with my current 2014 MBA, so I will probably wait a couple of iterations before jumping over to the new MacBook.

As a more pressing challenge, my son will be going to university this fall and needs to replace his original Macbook. I doubt he will get the new Macbook, since it lacks versatility. This is not a showstopper for me, but for a student, it could be an annoyance. Rather, he will probably get the MBA or the rMBP for school.

 

[symphara]

So, pros and cons I guess. If somebody gave me a new MacBook I wouldn't complain. But I won't be buying one myself either, at least for a while.

Certainly, I am far from arguing that nobody has a use for it. Quite the contrary.

If someone would give me a new MacBook I'd be very appreciative, and then promptly sell it

Otherwise, I have no intention of buying one. The new XPS 13 seem to tick all the boxes, except I need a Unix on it. I'd have preferred a new Air, but Apple doesn't want my money.

 

[~~Hello~~]

Certainly, I am far from arguing that nobody has a use for it. Quite the contrary.

If someone would give me a new MacBook I'd be very appreciative, and then promptly sell it

Otherwise, I have no intention of buying one. The new XPS 13 seem to tick all the boxes, except I need a Unix on it. I'd have preferred a new Air, but Apple doesn't want my money.

There's an Ubuntu developer edition of the xps 13 coming out. Know thats not Unix but not close enough.

 

[NathanA]

Originally, the Air was an expensive compromise machine that was ultra-portable and ultra-expensive but ultra-non-performant.

I think that "ultra-non-performant" is a slight exaggeration. Certainly in 2011, once you could get an i7 and a SSD in a MacBook Air, the performance was very good, the portability stellar, and the price still under 2k, which was reasonable in my opinion.

I said "originally", as in 2008. I don't think I will find anyone who would argue against the claim that the original MacBook Air was a dog, performance-wise.

-- Nathan

 

[Udi]

I'm probably a rare specimen, but having owned every MBA since 2010 inclusive, it's the only one I kept. I used its successors for various periods of time before selling them on, but still have the old 2010 Ultimate (still running SL, which thankfully still supports my workflows, and is still my favourite strain of OSX).

None of the models that came after it offered the same graphics performance practically as the nVidia chip, while benchmarks seemed to say they did, in reality framerates were shocking (even on the HD5000, the last MBA I bought and sold - no doubt partially due to the TDP).

Over the years OSX became slower and clunkier, and the MBA became less focused on performance, more on battery life, and now more on form factor. I'm all for slimmer laptops and more battery life, but we've seen actual downgrades in performance at least 3 times now.

If they put the same amount of development into maximising performance within the current 13" form factor (retina screen, dedicated graphics, CPU and cooling system with ample TDP) it would have been excellent.

Instead we have this.

 

[symphara]

I said "originally", as in 2008. I don't think I will find anyone who would argue against the claim that the original MacBook Air was a dog, performance-wise.

In October 2007 I got a ThinkPad T61p with a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo T7700. I think it was the fastest ThinkPad at the time and one of the fastest laptops out there.

The original Air came out shortly after, in January 2008, and you could get a lower voltage P7700 clocked at 1.8GHz, but with a SSD, which was an awesome option. Otherwise I'm pretty sure it was the same CPU technology, and certainly memory (DDR2 667) and bus speed (800).

So it wasn't quite on par with the state of the art but certainly I don't think it was a dog, performance wise. I tried it at the time and really liked it, but I had just bought a laptop.

 

[mutsaers-vr.nl]

Nonsense, the rMBP13" is only slightly bigger the the new 12" and even smaller than the MBA13". Nobody complained about the portability of the latter !!

It's not portable enough - my wife got one (a 13") from work about a month ago, I tried it and it's just too thick and heavy to carry everywhere (I travel a lot).

I was waiting for a retina Air, but now perhaps the new XPS 13, if they ever make one with Ubuntu...