This is purely me riffing ... but it would make the most sense to me for Apple to keep the retina screens exclusive for their Pro notebooks and have the Air notebooks retain their normal screens. It would be a way to differentiate the product lines even more. Plus, the Air won't be able to handle a retina screen properly until a year or two down the road.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
13inch Retina speculation
- Thread starter Sahee
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
This is purely me riffing ... but it would make the most sense to me for Apple to keep the retina screens exclusive for their Pro notebooks and have the Air notebooks retain their normal screens. It would be a way to differentiate the product lines even more. Plus, the Air won't be able to handle a retina screen properly until a year or two down the road.
Agreed, although I think it would be 1680x1050, just one step down from the list of scaled resolutions for the RMBP 15" (according to Anandtech these are 1024 x 640, 1280 x 800, 1440 x 900, 1680 x 1050 and 1920 x 1200). I wonder if they will go as low as 1024x640 for a "larger text" resolution, though. I also think that you should consider that the scaled resolutions (all except the pixel-doubling "best for retina") are more demanding on the GPU. If the rumored RMBP 13" doesn't have a discrete GPU, Apple could choose not to provide any scaled resolutions (other than 1280x800).
Also, I don't know what the posting guidelines say, but I don't think it's cool to copy my bullet list into your first post, verbatim, without mentioning it in any way.
This is exactly why I feel I was sold on a lie (albeit a lie I made up in my head) that Thunderbolt was going to make life wonderful for 13" MBPs with Thunderbolt. I sold my 2009 13" and bought the 2011 model only to discover that Thunderbolt devices are STILL selling at massive premiums and there isn't really a viable external graphics card yet (despite the attempts). That's why I sold it on and am now in the queue for the rMBP!
Entry-level 15" rMBP with 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM retails at $2200. Entry-level 15" MBP with 256GB SSD and 4GB RAM retails at $2300 ($100 more!)
Since Entry-level 13" MBP with 256GB SSD and 4GB RAM retails at $1700, it is reasonable to expect $1600 for entry-evel 13" rMBP with 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM for $1600.
I can't imagine cutting 2" off the size dropping the price as much as many of you are suggesting.
There's no way a 13" MacBook Pro Retina would be less than $1599, and even at that price I think they'd be sacrificing features vs. the 15". I wouldn't surprised to see $1799.
There's no way a 13" MacBook Pro Retina would be less than $1599, and even at that price I think they'd be sacrificing features vs. the 15". I wouldn't surprised to see $1799.
several thoughts
Hi,
I've been thinking a lot about this machine. It would be the only notebook larger than the 11" that I'd consider as I will most likely start traveling quite a bit starting in a month or so. Here's a few thoughts about it:
For me, the base model would be ideal. I would survive for a long time with 8GB/256GB and the price is okay for such a setup (100 more than an MBA 11" with 8/256 !). If the battery life is as good as with the 15", it's definitely a bonus. The only thing that I dislike is that the weight + adapter will be around 2kg. That's a lot to lug around when traveling extensively.
Peter.
Hi,
I've been thinking a lot about this machine. It would be the only notebook larger than the 11" that I'd consider as I will most likely start traveling quite a bit starting in a month or so. Here's a few thoughts about it:
- Considering the size of the 15" rMBP vs MBP, then the 13" rMBP would have the same footprint, but be 18mm thick as well. Weight would be around 1600gr. Pricing for an 8GB/256GB SSD setup would be 1730. For comparison: base 15" rMBP 2300, 15" MBP with 8GB/256GB SSD 2500, 13" MBP with 8GB/256GB SSD is 1900.
- Putting two pages of A4 text on the 13" screen would be legible. The pages would be about half-size. For each centimeter of the page, there would be about 50 pixels, plenty to display the text clearly. I'm assuming 2560x1600 resolution here. The main advantage for me over an 11" display is the extra vertical space: on the 16:9 11", I need to scroll for everything.
- I would not be surprised if Apple dropped the HDMI port & SD card slot, quoting space reasons. Same for the discrete GPU, because the HD4000 is plenty. It would make life easier for the users (no need to install gfxCardStatus). Obviously, the HD4000 is slower than the GT650 for games, 3D and OpenCL, but for driving Retina displays + external ones, the HD4000 will be more than sufficient. Particularly with the speed improvements in ML.
For me, the base model would be ideal. I would survive for a long time with 8GB/256GB and the price is okay for such a setup (100 more than an MBA 11" with 8/256 !). If the battery life is as good as with the 15", it's definitely a bonus. The only thing that I dislike is that the weight + adapter will be around 2kg. That's a lot to lug around when traveling extensively.
Peter.
Am I wrong to be picturing a roid raging Air, minus the tapered off design? I can't see it running well without a GPU. The CPU would obviously be on par with the current 13" Pro, if not slightly better clock-wise. I also see the SSD being smaller than 256GB on the base model. I could see 128GB. Ports, cooling set up, and the speakers from the 15" would carry over. And yeah, I would expect the price to be between the $1500-$1800 before upgrades.
That doesn't seem likely with the way things are now. It would be awesome, and expensive. Which is kind of what did in the original. So I don't see it happening.
Bingo. And no, I don't believe the people on here are representative of the majority of Mac owners. Majority of the Macs I saw at school were 13" white MBs and MBPs. Airs seemed more popular with the girls that just wanted to carry their laptop in their purses. Granted, that is a heavily skewed population, but I'd argue Apple sells a crap ton of laptops to the college crowd, possibly more than any other demographic now.
I'm sure a 13" retina model will sell well with that demographic. They're not power users looking for quad-core processors and gaming-capable GPUs in most cases. They want to go on facebook and do their homework, but they still want something with high enough specs to last 4 years. That isn't exactly the Air. At least not for everyone. The Air will continue to sell well just because it is so compact and it is now the cheapest model Apple sells. So I don't think a MBPr would cannibalize the Air or vice versa. They're meant for different consumers.
That doesn't seem likely with the way things are now. It would be awesome, and expensive. Which is kind of what did in the original. So I don't see it happening.
Well, I see your point but I do think there is room for a 13" retina pro, although I don't have any hard facts to back it. I'm not sure the people reading this forum is representative for people buying Macs. For example, I don't know anyone who owns a 15" Mac, but I know many who have the 13" MBP or MBA. I have also heard that the MBP 13" sells better than the MBP 15". To many, the 15" form factor seems too big. I agree that all MacBooks will have the retina screen eventually, but putting it into the Air now (or soon) would notably increase its price.*
So, to me there is a clear "need" for a 13" RMBP, to you there is not. We will see quite soon what happens (if anything).
* Well, if they just add a retina screen to the Air as an option, it might work, but it doesn't seem "Apple-like".
Bingo. And no, I don't believe the people on here are representative of the majority of Mac owners. Majority of the Macs I saw at school were 13" white MBs and MBPs. Airs seemed more popular with the girls that just wanted to carry their laptop in their purses. Granted, that is a heavily skewed population, but I'd argue Apple sells a crap ton of laptops to the college crowd, possibly more than any other demographic now.
I'm sure a 13" retina model will sell well with that demographic. They're not power users looking for quad-core processors and gaming-capable GPUs in most cases. They want to go on facebook and do their homework, but they still want something with high enough specs to last 4 years. That isn't exactly the Air. At least not for everyone. The Air will continue to sell well just because it is so compact and it is now the cheapest model Apple sells. So I don't think a MBPr would cannibalize the Air or vice versa. They're meant for different consumers.
Last edited:
There are a lot of things that would bring down the costs:
- A smaller screen would mean higher yields given the same DPI/process
- No dGPU
- Dual-core, and they don't need to limit it to i7s
- Could go with just one Thunderbolt port
- Battery would be smaller
- They could offer a smaller SSD, either 128 or a "custom" 160gb or whatever (of course they're all custom)
Besides the screen (unlike to cost Apple any more than $100 over a 'regular' screen), the battery, and a floor or 8gb memory it'd basically be a 13" Macbook Air. If anything the CPU will probably cost less (I assume Intel charges a premium for ULV parts?)
I think the pricing will depend on whether Apple intends this to be a volume device, or whether they plan to soak early adopters as with the 15". If it's the former definitely expect smaller SSDs and i3s. I'd expect to see it starting at ~$1.6k, possibly even 1.5
Last edited:
I just want to note here that different people have different ideas of what is better when it comes to size. "$300 for 15" screen, quad-core and possibly a discrete GPU" might be worth it if you prefer a 15" screen to a 13" (or if you don't care about the size). For some people, including me, the 15" is too large to carry around and I don't want that form factor. When I want a large screen, I plug my laptop into an external screen. When I'm on the go, I prefer the smaller form factor of the 13". The quad-core and a discrete GPU are not enough for me to counteract the disadvantage of a larger laptop.
While I agree that the 15" form is a deterrent for many people, I also think that the high price of the 15" is another deterrent, and an even bigger one at that.
But with these retinas, they're all a pretty high price and I don't see how pricing a 13" at only $300 less (w/ edu discount) makes a huge impact. An entry air or 13" MBP easily be had for $1100 where as a 15" will run you at least $1700. We clearly aren't talking about the entry level college purchases that drives a large portion of Apple's sales.
My point in short, we're looking at a different field of consumers than the hipster college students with the neat Apple devices. The 13" inchers do make up a majority of the sales, but not at the price points we're talking.
Agreed. Even when it becomes technically feasible to include retina displays in the Air line in a year or two, I think that they will keep it a feature of the Pro line.
I think they would rather drop the Air's price by another $100 than include a retina display. Eventually the non-retina MBPs will fade away, leaving the Air as the entry-level Macbook for the masses and the Pro line as the powerful mobile machines. Retina display would be a good differentiation there.
