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2nd gen rMB...

Eggtastic

Eggtastic

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 9, 2009
1,066
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NJ
I've searched and used the buyers guide the best I could for this so I apologize if this is a recurring question being asked. I have been using an 11" 2011 MBA for what will be 5 years coming up this summer. Its been great, still is great, but the battery life is utter crap. 3 hours or less of moderate usage is unacceptable. I figure now is the time to sell this on CL and make whatever money I can to put towards the rMB.

Here is the thing, its a new product and apparently a niche product by what others are saying. I was hoping for the 2nd gen to have some minor upgrades come around this spring, and then make the move in the summer to buy. How likely do you all think this is with skylake?

The current gen would actually be great for me, but I feel the iSight camera needs to be improved (although I never use it), and the one port thing seems to be an issue (again, new 3rd party dongles are coming out so I guess thats not an issue), but if skylake can improve battery life from it supposed 9 hours, then thats what is worth it for me.

In the end, this rMB is a thing of beauty and something I will be getting this summer.
 
I don't expect any substantial differences from a 2nd-gen Skylake refresh.. A bump in processing and graphics performance is all that I expect. The battery life, number of ports and iSight camera aren't likely to change.

You will essentially be getting the same machine, but slightly faster.

[edit] OK, possibly a small price decrease as well
 
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I expect a price drop of £100 for the new rMB and a 720p iSight camera and i'm sure that they will have updated the keyboard and batteries that were causing teething problems. I'm convinced that as a MK2 it will be a lot better :)
 
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i think now you can wait and it will be ashamed if you are not.
you get better iGPU, probably 10% cpu improvements, probably will start from 1100$ and maybe 720p, 10h wifi web and 11h video playback, and maybe second usb-c
 
I'm using a 6700k in my gaming rig, great chip. But I know Skylakes focus was in improving performance in the low end, so I'm hoping to see noticeable improvements.
 
It's fine the way it is. seems all the people complaining and wanting more changes don't even have one. It's like those restaurant reviews where the commenter hasn't even been there but chimes in to say i'll bet the food is great.
 
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Nychot said:
It's fine the way it is. seems all the people complaining and wanting more changes don't even have one. It's like those restaurant reviews where the commenter hasn't even been there but chimes in to say i'll bet the food is great.
Click to expand...

I noticed this too!

Before I bought one - I expected it to barely be functional with Safari.

But I haven't had any issues.
 
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Nychot said:
It's fine the way it is. seems all the people complaining and wanting more changes don't even have one. It's like those restaurant reviews where the commenter hasn't even been there but chimes in to say i'll bet the food is great.
Click to expand...
Yes its only the people that don't own one that are complaining, everyone who owns one seems to really like it, i absolutely love mine. You don't realise how good the rMB is until you own one, its Apples best laptop to date.
 
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Eggtastic said:
I've searched and used the buyers guide the best I could for this so I apologize if this is a recurring question being asked. I have been using an 11" 2011 MBA for what will be 5 years coming up this summer. Its been great, still is great, but the battery life is utter crap. 3 hours or less of moderate usage is unacceptable. I figure now is the time to sell this on CL and make whatever money I can to put towards the rMB.

Here is the thing, its a new product and apparently a niche product by what others are saying. I was hoping for the 2nd gen to have some minor upgrades come around this spring, and then make the move in the summer to buy. How likely do you all think this is with skylake?

The current gen would actually be great for me, but I feel the iSight camera needs to be improved (although I never use it), and the one port thing seems to be an issue (again, new 3rd party dongles are coming out so I guess thats not an issue), but if skylake can improve battery life from it supposed 9 hours, then thats what is worth it for me.

In the end, this rMB is a thing of beauty and something I will be getting this summer.
Click to expand...

Apple won't update or upgrade the RMB until 2017 at the earliest.

What Skylake offers the RMB doesn't need. It already has class-leading all-day battery life. It eschews processing horsepower for portability. Apple won't gain or lose a sale over this processor so they have zero incentive to move it forward, especially with so much work to do on the ancient Pro and Air lines. Much bigger fish to fry at the high and low end over there. And people forget how slow the RMB rollout was in 2015, announced in March but not in critical mass in all stores until August, that's only 4 months ago. The RMB is just getting started.

Since you say the current product would be great for you, I suggest rather highly that you not deprive yourself of the experience here in December waiting for a Skylake unicorn that will never come. Jump in today, you'll love it. Whatever upgrades come in 2017 you'll worry about then.

BJ
 
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Z3man said:
Yes its only the people that don't own one that are complaining, everyone who owns one seems to really like it, i absolutely love mine. You don't realise how good the rMB is until you own one, its Apples best laptop to date.
Click to expand...

Reading the reviews about this being some kind of niche product for a future me, but not something regular folks would buy, I fully expected to walk out of the store with a 13" MBP, but as soon as I actually used it, I realized that it was far better suited for my situation (outside the office more than inside of it). I'm thrilled with it. So are my colleagues. Sometimes, I think the reviewers get caught up in the echo chamber and don't have enough time or lack sufficient imagination to gain perspective on stuff.

Is it perfect? No. The adapter thing was a minor irritation at first, but so was having the headphone jack on the bottom of my iPhone. I've gotten used to the trade off, especially after half a dozen international flights this year where the tiny footprint, light weight, beautiful screen, and strong battery life came in handy. I can't think of anything I'd change on it.
 
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The only thing i would change is the headphone port for some sort of mini magsafe connector, but that is just my personal preference, i am sure there are a lot of people out there that use the headphone port.

Other than the it is the perfect laptop for me, though i do worry a bit as i use it in the home plugged into the charger quite a lot and do worry it might get knocked one day, then i would be devastated.
 
Z3man said:
The only thing i would change is the headphone port for some sort of mini magsafe connector, but that is just my personal preference, i am sure there are a lot of people out there that use the headphone port.

Other than the it is the perfect laptop for me, though i do worry a bit as i use it in the home plugged into the charger quite a lot and do worry it might get knocked one day, then i would be devastated.
Click to expand...

I use the headphone port on a daily basis, though I could pipe it through Bluetooth if necessary. I don't have it plugged in a lot, and never somewhere that it could get tripped over or anything, but for my peace of mind, I'd be pleased to see some kind of magsafe thing. I'm not sure how it would work, but that sure was a really nice innovation by Apple.
 
boltjames said:
Apple won't update or upgrade the RMB until 2017 at the earliest.

What Skylake offers the RMB doesn't need. It already has class-leading all-day battery life. It eschews processing horsepower for portability. Apple won't gain or lose a sale over this processor so they have zero incentive to move it forward, especially with so much work to do on the ancient Pro and Air lines. Much bigger fish to fry at the high and low end over there. And people forget how slow the RMB rollout was in 2015, announced in March but not in critical mass in all stores until August, that's only 4 months ago. The RMB is just getting started.

Since you say the current product would be great for you, I suggest rather highly that you not deprive yourself of the experience here in December waiting for a Skylake unicorn that will never come. Jump in today, you'll love it. Whatever upgrades come in 2017 you'll worry about then.

BJ
Click to expand...
of course, Apple will update the rMB in 2016. What Skylake offers the rMB does need. It will improve the already best battery life. It will improve the processing horsepower for an even better experience. That the laptop was in critical mass in store in August is an invalid argument. The rMB is receiving price drops everywhere which means that a/ the initial price was too high and b/ a sure sign a new model is coming.

It would be very shortsighted to believe Apple will not update the rMB in 2016 if there is an appropriate technology available. if they don't, the rMB will lose its tag 'new' and the sales will drop which, believe it or not, Apple does not want.

Still, no one of us know what's cooking in Apple's kitchen and Boltjames' prediction is equally believable as mine. Fact is, if you need it now, buy it now, if you can wait - wait. Beautiful machine as it is, I'd rather wait for the second gen even if it comes in 2017. Surely there will be Windows counterparts running Skylake by then which will be worth consideration.
 
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Z3man said:
Yes its only the people that don't own one that are complaining, everyone who owns one seems to really like it, i absolutely love mine. You don't realise how good the rMB is until you own one, its Apples best laptop to date.
Click to expand...

I "like" mine but I wouldn't have liked it as much if I paid full retail for it. I don't think it's worth $1300 but as a sub $1000 machine (I paid $937 after taxes) it's pretty solid.
 
Z3man said:
The only thing i would change is the headphone port for some sort of mini magsafe connector, but that is just my personal preference, i am sure there are a lot of people out there that use the headphone port.

Other than the it is the perfect laptop for me, though i do worry a bit as i use it in the home plugged into the charger quite a lot and do worry it might get knocked one day, then i would be devastated.
Click to expand...

If it's a mini Magsafe... though could probably fit both that and a Headphone jack... There is still some room on the sides to fit something that is as small as a headphone jack. next to the where the headphone jack is now... and you could put a mini magsafe charger there. Probably best to flip that and the USB C port since all the charging ports have always been on the left for Macbooks.
 
MrXiro said:
If it's a mini Magsafe... though could probably fit both that and a Headphone jack... There is still some room on the sides to fit something that is as small as a headphone jack
Click to expand...

There is not going to be any "mini MagSafe" added. Come on now. If Apple wanted rMB charged via MagSafe - they would have designed it into the original machine.

Apple has made a conscious decision to omit MagSafe in rMB, and have it charged via unified USB-C port. Not dissimilar to how iPad is charged via Lightning. I don't see this changing.
 
MrXiro said:
I "like" mine but I wouldn't have liked it as much if I paid full retail for it. I don't think it's worth $1300 but as a sub $1000 machine (I paid $937 after taxes) it's pretty solid.
Click to expand...
I know what you mean, as much as i love mine i wouldn't want to pay full price.

Here in the uk they are £1050.00, but if you can buy through the education store they are £902.00, which is what i did so happy with the price. Buying through the education store you also get 3 years applecare which is usually a £199.00 upgrade, so it's a bit of a bargain really.
 
ctyrider said:
There is not going to be any "mini MagSafe" added. Come on now. If Apple wanted rMB charged via MagSafe - they would have designed it into the original machine.

Apple has made a conscious decision to omit MagSafe in rMB, and have it charged via unified USB-C port. Not dissimilar to how iPad is charged via Lightning. I don't see this changing.
Click to expand...

Can't you let Z3Man have his hypothetical situation? Man you're a buzzkill.
 
Amazing Ox Space Monkey said:
of course, Apple will update the rMB in 2016. What Skylake offers the rMB does need. It will improve the already best battery life. It will improve the processing horsepower for an even better experience. That the laptop was in critical mass in store in August is an invalid argument. The rMB is receiving price drops everywhere which means that a/ the initial price was too high and b/ a sure sign a new model is coming.

It would be very shortsighted to believe Apple will not update the rMB in 2016 if there is an appropriate technology available. if they don't, the rMB will lose its tag 'new' and the sales will drop which, believe it or not, Apple does not want.

Still, no one of us know what's cooking in Apple's kitchen and Boltjames' prediction is equally believable as mine. Fact is, if you need it now, buy it now, if you can wait - wait. Beautiful machine as it is, I'd rather wait for the second gen even if it comes in 2017. Surely there will be Windows counterparts running Skylake by then which will be worth consideration.
Click to expand...

I agree with this. Why would Apple wait an entire year when there's chips out now - chips that are already being used in Windows laptops and tablets. I'm guessing March '16 for a quiet refresh.
Will have my money ready.
 
MrXiro said:
I "like" mine but I wouldn't have liked it as much if I paid full retail for it. I don't think it's worth $1300 but as a sub $1000 machine (I paid $937 after taxes) it's pretty solid.
Click to expand...

I'll always always be jealous of the prices you Americans pay for hardware. Swap the dollar sign for a pound sign and you'll get an idea of what we pay.
 
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SCOLANATOR said:
Why would Apple wait an entire year when there's chips out now - chips that are already being used in Windows laptops and tablets.
Click to expand...
Don´t the current Windows notebooks have a lot of issues with sleep mode due to Skylake? The current m3 SP4 only has a better iGPU.
 
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