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13-Inch Retina MacBook Pro Said to Carry 'Unprecedented' Battery Design, Same Port Layout as 15-Inch Model
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What do reviewers know about graphics pipelines and how they operate ? People like Anand know how to stare at Geekbench and 3Dmarks numbers, but I wouldn't trust them to understand how Quartz Extreme blends multiple CALayers, does hidden surface removal before commiting all the changes to the final back buffer prior to waiting for a vsync to swap to the front.
Plenty of others have commented that somehow, HiDPI struggles on a Intel HD 4000 and even on the dedicated GPU. They all point to the GPU, while forgetting there is no such problem when powering equivalent number of pixels on non-HiDPI mode.
Again, how do you explain a nVidia 9400m powering a 30" ACD and its internal monitor ? It's the same number of pixels or really close to, but a GPU 4 years older!
No, something is amiss with HiDPI mode in OS X. I'm sure Apple is working on optimizing it, but somehow, part of the problem is probably that they aren't using the GPU at all to perform some of the required scaling.
I say why the HDMI port at this point.
Selfishly I already have a Thunderbolt to HDMI adapter that I got from Monoprice for $10ish.
Secondly Apple has pretty much eschewed the HDMI port before this year save for the Mini which was positioned as a sort of htpc.
Third, Apple's own display doesn't have an HDMI port.
Fourth, Thunderbolt's purpose is one wire for everything - video, ethernet, usb, ...etc. Apple's own display takes advantage of this by having one wire for everything but power. And now you have 2 TB ports and could have 3 even without HDMI.
Fifth, AppleTV. IT is essentially wireless HDMI at this point. Yes maybe not for games, but for many of the reasons any home user hooks up their laptop to their tv it is. STreaming music or video or photos etc it is perfect.
Last, ethernet port. Why this instead of ethernet? Why change the adapter we need except to sell more adapters. I guess that is Apple like though.
The only pro for a HDMI port is that, doh, every hdtv has HDMI. But at this point, between not supporting it for so long and new technology usurping hdmi and with MBP owners of the last few years already owning an HDMI adapter if they needed one then it makes little sense. 3rd party adapters are cheap and work perfect in my experience.
Apple is usually looking forward. With the inclusion of the HDMI port on their laptops I can't help but feel they are looking a little bit backward.
Selfishly I already have a Thunderbolt to HDMI adapter that I got from Monoprice for $10ish.
Secondly Apple has pretty much eschewed the HDMI port before this year save for the Mini which was positioned as a sort of htpc.
Third, Apple's own display doesn't have an HDMI port.
Fourth, Thunderbolt's purpose is one wire for everything - video, ethernet, usb, ...etc. Apple's own display takes advantage of this by having one wire for everything but power. And now you have 2 TB ports and could have 3 even without HDMI.
Fifth, AppleTV. IT is essentially wireless HDMI at this point. Yes maybe not for games, but for many of the reasons any home user hooks up their laptop to their tv it is. STreaming music or video or photos etc it is perfect.
Last, ethernet port. Why this instead of ethernet? Why change the adapter we need except to sell more adapters. I guess that is Apple like though.
The only pro for a HDMI port is that, doh, every hdtv has HDMI. But at this point, between not supporting it for so long and new technology usurping hdmi and with MBP owners of the last few years already owning an HDMI adapter if they needed one then it makes little sense. 3rd party adapters are cheap and work perfect in my experience.
Apple is usually looking forward. With the inclusion of the HDMI port on their laptops I can't help but feel they are looking a little bit backward.
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Yeah but that pro of "every TV has hdmi" basically outweighs any cons you can throw at it.
I tried to hook up an Air to a TV ... tried minidisplayport to vga as I had an adaptor; no dice. Then I looked up what could be done with hdmi ... and found that any cable for hdmi to minidisplayport is deemed to be illegal by the hdmi people ... so, one is screwed? Having an hdmi just solves a lot of issues, and it is what the rest of the world is used to now, and TB risks being just another FW.
I tried to hook up an Air to a TV ... tried minidisplayport to vga as I had an adaptor; no dice. Then I looked up what could be done with hdmi ... and found that any cable for hdmi to minidisplayport is deemed to be illegal by the hdmi people ... so, one is screwed? Having an hdmi just solves a lot of issues, and it is what the rest of the world is used to now, and TB risks being just another FW.
You are completely wrong here. Apple makes a miniDP to HDMI adapter, and you can also buy cables that have miniDP on one end and HDMI on the other for a few dollars.
http://www.amazon.com/Mini-DisplayPort-HDMI-Adapter-Cable/dp/B003OC6LWM
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Probably gonna pass if no dGPU... sad 
So it's either keeping my 2011 13" MBA and upgrade the storage, or go for a refurb 15" rMBP... Main issue with the rMBP path is the size and weight. I don't know if I can get used to the extra bulk having been using a 13" MBA all this time....
So it's either keeping my 2011 13" MBA and upgrade the storage, or go for a refurb 15" rMBP... Main issue with the rMBP path is the size and weight. I don't know if I can get used to the extra bulk having been using a 13" MBA all this time....
I hear ya, but your thinking is outdated. You haven't tried an HDMI adapter and don't have TB. There are no issues. And haven't been for the last few MBP models that supported these.
The Monoprice $10 TB to HDMI adapter has worked perfect for me. And since TB can can carry HDMI etc then it will never be just another FW.
And as I said why now? Your thinking better applies to 2 years ago pre-TB. HDMI made sense then. But now much less so. ADapters are out and cheap. TB seems to carry HDMI perfectly fine. Apple doesn't support BR still. And laptops are getting thinner. HDMI is a big port. TB takes up less space. Wireless HDMI solutions are entering the mainstream. And ATV makes using a HDMI cable for many a thing of the past. Plus Apple only has a TB display whose connectivity seems like a blueprint for cheaper displays in the future as it becomes more affordable. It seems unApple-like.
Another reason: MBAs seems don't have HDMI ports and seem too thin to get one.
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There are several other Mac-based options for "3D gamers". Why should this particular model be saddled with a heat-generating, battery-draining chipset that is unnecessary for the majority of users?
Graphics on a PC are much better then a console. How portable is a console? Not very.
The lack of Firewire may be one thing, but including an HDMI on the 13"?
This is a former Mac, and always have been, that was never aimed at the Pro market, never been that powerful
Now, it looks like Apple Apples saying "we can now do this" so now, we will soon have an option, we could get the current 15-inch (non-Retina), or go for the smaller form factor with *exactly* the same ports,
Why only Retina-based laptops have HDMI and the 15-inch Macbook Pro (non-Retina 2.3 Gig) must rely on an "arapter" Apple is using to make a bit if extra cash.
All Macbooks have ivy bridge, so if they can do with it on the 13-inch, why can't they bring it to the non-15, if the logic board is exactly the same?
The idea of "no room", has gone out the window. It centenally does't make sense now.
No Technical reason either. Maybe, "because we need space to drive Retina ..." ?
This is a former Mac, and always have been, that was never aimed at the Pro market, never been that powerful
Now, it looks like Apple Apples saying "we can now do this" so now, we will soon have an option, we could get the current 15-inch (non-Retina), or go for the smaller form factor with *exactly* the same ports,
Why only Retina-based laptops have HDMI and the 15-inch Macbook Pro (non-Retina 2.3 Gig) must rely on an "arapter" Apple is using to make a bit if extra cash.
All Macbooks have ivy bridge, so if they can do with it on the 13-inch, why can't they bring it to the non-15, if the logic board is exactly the same?
The idea of "no room", has gone out the window. It centenally does't make sense now.
No Technical reason either. Maybe, "because we need space to drive Retina ..." ?
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And it wasn't on the five iterations of 13" MacBook Pro that have existed before it? It's the way the 13" MacBook Pro has always been.
Glued to the top-case making it non-servicable, just like on the 15".
The integrated graphics in the current rMBP definitely struggles to drive all those pixels at times. I know I'm not the only one to notice it. Several podcasters on 5by5.tv have said the same. So if integrated is your only option with this, good luck.
Okay, guys, for the zillionth time, 2880x1800 < 1280x800 + 2 x (2560x1440); the Intel HD 4000 is plenty capable on its lonesome to drive the 15" rMBP's display let alone the 13" rMBP. The fact that it struggles in practice has NOTHING to do with hardware and EVERYTHING to do with software. Be it the OS or the drivers, I couldn't tell you. But it's definitely a software issue as that IGP is capable of smoothly outputting the number of pixels just fine. GPUs don't care about how densely packed your pixels are. That being said, software sure as **** does!
All of you really ought to do some research before you say such incorrect things!
It would require maintaining the current thickness. Apple would rather a thin 13" MacBook Pro than a 13" MacBook Pro with discrete graphics. Only a small percentage of users even buying a 13" MacBook Pro know what discrete graphics are anyway.
Neither! Software!
Won't happen! Apple will want to make the machine thinner before it cares about giving you those features. And as things currently stand with Ivy Bridge, you can't provide those features while increasing thinness.
Mountain Lion brought a marginal improvement, but I suspect the problem may be with drivers more than with OS design. It's not like Intel and NVIDIA are currently having to allow for HiDPI on any other shipping product.
Haswell is the new architechture. Broadwell is the die-shrink. Just as Sandy Bridge was the new architecture and Ivy Bridge was the die-shrink.
For your needs, the Intel HD 4000 will be plenty sufficient. The only people for whom it will be less than favorable will be those wanting to play a game newer than three years old (barring StarCraft II and probably Diablo III), and those doing serious 3-D/video work.
Apple doesn't make such a cable. They differ you to buy one made by Moshi. What you have linked there is neither made by Moshi nor Apple. Good day, sir!
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Heh, and it is very Apple-like to leave a couple of years ago in the dust
. In my life, HDMI is far more relevant now than it was a couple of years ago; I have a TV with it and have also bought one for my mother and one for my father, and a Dell with it ... with no connection issues; it is only the minidisplayport that causes issues, and I would rather not have to bother with another cable or adapter - that is just too Apple-like for me now.As for the other reply to mine about HDMI - I know the cables are available, but that doesn't stop the ruling of their being illegal ... one kind of came before the other there. In any case my main reaction was to find it amusing - this port business be insane
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Will it be allowed on planes
?
I was trying to be fair and objective.
Obviously the average consumer and especially those targeted by the 13" aren't Thunderbolt users. IMHO, it is mindless to put two of these ports on these computers. If and when the tech becomes widespread, these current machines will be obsolete. USB 3 is far more useful and practical for the vast majority and will be for at least a few years. And I'm being generous again. Like I said in an earlier post, you cannot expect a rumors site about future technology not to post leaked material about said technology. This isn't the first time MacRumors has done it and surely this won't be the last.
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It can power two 27" Monitors from the Thunderbolts, and another from the HDMI port, for a grand total of four displays.
Sorry, since Linux can't really run in HiDPI, that only leaves Windows. But I do think people talking about the "laggy" graphics on retina displays do it when talking about OS X. What non-Apple software are you talking about ?
Or are you confusing the application level with the display server ? Quartz is Apple software, all applications run on top of it, it is the display server in OS X.