How rugged is the rMB ?

[MyMcMac]

I currently use a Thinkpad T440s which fell down several times from all kind of heights and it looks mostly totally like new. At one drop down one bit of the steel was squeetched a bit at one corner but it dropped from 1.70 meter down on exactly that angle on the hard floor.

The iPads I used were not that forgiving. How rugged is the new rMB and which military standard does it have for ruggedness (if any)? Is there hard case available from apple or any other known company that protects the notebook from drops?

 

[Queen6]

Same as any other recent Mac Notebook, don't drop it or you will likely be very unhappy and be facing a significant repair bill.

This something I wish Apple would look at, and offer a composite case option. Aluminium feels great and offers superb structural stability, equally it`s prone to come off very badly if impacted by an object or worse dropped. As Apple is a consumer based manufacturer and left the professional market several years ago they have little to no interest in seeing the needs of a few who would prefer or require more rugged hardware.

Rugged cases may follow, equally it`s will be a niche market, so don't expect a large selection to choose from.

Q-6

 

[MyMcMac]

My current T440s uses hybrid carbon-fiber reinforced plastic for the display lid and magnesium alloy for its body. With the black rubberized surface it feels very classy and scratches are not visible at all.

I wonder if the rMB also uses magnesium alloy, in that case it should be also resistant to drops on hard surface like the thinkpads with their military specifications. But it also depends on the build quality and if the rMB is designed to be a real portable machine meaning drops are part of the notebook life cycle.

 

[pasadena]

From my days working with Thinkpads (they were still IBM), they are indestructible. I don't think any macbook (or any other laptop for that matter) can come close.

Perhaps especially not this one.

 

[Queen6]

My current T440s uses hybrid carbon-fiber reinforced plastic for the display lid and magnesium alloy for its body. With the black rubberized surface it feels very classy and scratches are not visible at all.

I wonder if the rMB also uses magnesium alloy, in that case it should be also resistant to drops on hard surface like the thinkpads with their military specifications. But it also depends on the build quality and if the rMB is designed to be a real portable machine meaning drops are part of the notebook life cycle.

I`ve had my fair share of ThinkPad`s and they are truly durable machines and take a lot of abuse in their stride.

Far as I am aware Apple solely uses aluminium for the case and relies on the integrity of the unibody for the Notebook`s strength and rigidity which does work extremely well, equally they don't "drop" well just search for images on the web and it`s very obvious.

The lower mass of the new MacBook may help, all the same if it hits a hard surface from a fall the aluminium unibody will likely deform under impact.