Hey y'all! I just wanted to give my thoughts on the rmb. I think it's an amazing little machine and well worth the $1299 price tag. I was in the market for a MacBook Air just a few months ago. An 11" MacBook Air with 8GB's of ram and a 256GB flash drive costs $1199. A 13" MacBook Air similarly spec'd out costs $1299. Am I missing something as to why there is so much negativity towards this little beauty? I would say the form factor, IPS retina display, and space gray color option more than make up for the $100 extra added cost and for the MacBook's lack of ports. I really do think this is the best designed laptop Apple has ever made. It's a joy to use and perfect for a student in college. Does anybody else feel the same way I do?
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.
Anybody else feel the same way I do?
- Thread starter Jetcat3
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I'm in love. The screen is perfect. The new keyboard makes me want to type better, the speakers are so loud, and it doesn't make a sound.
First i have to say that i ordered one so i'm not neutral.
But this model is not only retina... It plays with new rules for personnal computers based on the cloud.
Premium but:
-Only one port... Even for me as an enthousiast i have tonsay thats a challenge. Mainly because devices are not ready. Two ports to be able to plug simple devices at the same time as power would have been nice.
- cpu is weak compared to what we can get on any i5 laptop
- no accessories in box. I think if the hdmi adapter was in thebox lot of complaint would jave been avoided. It's the first time that a first gen is not shipped with any accessories.
-keyboard is different... And change leads to complaints
But this model is not only retina... It plays with new rules for personnal computers based on the cloud.
Premium but:
-Only one port... Even for me as an enthousiast i have tonsay thats a challenge. Mainly because devices are not ready. Two ports to be able to plug simple devices at the same time as power would have been nice.
- cpu is weak compared to what we can get on any i5 laptop
- no accessories in box. I think if the hdmi adapter was in thebox lot of complaint would jave been avoided. It's the first time that a first gen is not shipped with any accessories.
-keyboard is different... And change leads to complaints
My rMB is actually a little pricier than my wife's rMBP 13.3 which has more ports, the same gorgeous screen and weighs about a 1lb and change more. But, using the rMB the past few weeks has showed me how amazing this little guy is. It's more than enough for every day computing. Those using processor intensive apps probably are better suited for an i5 or i7 like the MBA. But for the majority of people who don't edit videos, or play graphics intense games, this is the perfect beast.
I think the negativity is because this is also a divisive product. There's so much pulled out of this, and so many people here wanted the 12" MBP from 10 or so years ago that they are understandably let down. I for one as a former owner of the 12" MBP and an MBA from 2008 and a user of my wife's rMBP 13.3 have realized that this machine was never designed to be a replacement for any of those. I describe this product as the perfect blend of 3 devices as shown in the graphic below.
Yes we had to give up ports, but many are going to the cloud and I for one haven't missed the ports entirely. Yes we had to give up some power, but the amount of power that the i5/7s have was wasted on my typical usage. This machine provides 100% of the power I need, and I use every ounce of it.
We gained an iPad like device with a keyboard running os X.
Attachments
I have a rMB and love it. Most of the hate comes from the fact the processor compares to those of the 2011 airs.
Definitely wish it had more ports but I actually love the keyboard! I freaked out when I first started using mine earlier today because I thought I wouldn't be able to get used to it but after less than an hour it started feeling normal to me.
Simple, jealousy ... it's like in elementary school when you liked a girl, you teased her. It's because you're secretly in love. Anyone who talks crap about the Macbook is secretly in love with it
Thanks for the reply's guys. I agree with what everyone has said. Concerning the Intel Core M performing as an i7 from 2011. How fast would the Intel 1.1 ghz core M be if it was only pushing 1366 x 768? It's pushing 3.3x the pixels. In that respect, I think the Core M is more in line with a 2012 or 2013 Macbook Air.
Tbh I do notice lag here and there and it's annoying. I'll give it another day or two for things to settle down and see if anything changes. I have been downloading and installing a lot of things.
I do not think the new MB is the "best laptop Apple ever made" but is at a good cost point for those who do not need a higher performance laptop.
I am glad you love yours!
I am glad you love yours!
I had the same problem the first few days of owning the rMB as well; the lag was pretty bad and I almost returned it. After the 2nd or 3rd day, everything was fine and it has worked out very well since then. There's a few bouts of lag here and there, but not as bad as the first few days when I used it.
I read an encouraging post (https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/21230377/) that OS X 10.10.4 (currently beta) seems to have fixed more of the UI lag issues. Something to look forward to.
I really want to try the beta, but I have to have a stable build being my only computer.
The MBr is a $1300 iPad with a keyboard.
Apple sure can get away with some S***, charging that much. But hey, they know the zombies will buy it. Until its costs under $800 I'll not touch it. Happy with my 2014 MBA 11", Mac mini, and MBP 15" 2010. It's mind boggling to me that people are actually spending $1300 minimum plus tax (or more) for essentially an IPad with a keyboard (ad a not very great kb at that.). My Samsung 12.2 tablet is faster, has an equal screen and works like a pro with a samsung bluetooth keyboard and mouse.
Apple sure can get away with some S***, charging that much. But hey, they know the zombies will buy it. Until its costs under $800 I'll not touch it. Happy with my 2014 MBA 11", Mac mini, and MBP 15" 2010. It's mind boggling to me that people are actually spending $1300 minimum plus tax (or more) for essentially an IPad with a keyboard (ad a not very great kb at that.). My Samsung 12.2 tablet is faster, has an equal screen and works like a pro with a samsung bluetooth keyboard and mouse.
Ok, I will. Mid 2011 MacBook Air with an Intel core i7-2677M clocked at 1.8 ghz benchmarks at 2377 single core. Retina MacBook at 1.1 ghz benchmarks at 2331. Am I missing something here? The Intel core M is not puny. Nevermind the fact it's pushing 3.3x the pixels.
The Core M is actually a pretty amazing processor. At it's peak, it can put out as much as the Core i5 in the MacBook Air, yet it uses 1/3 the power.
@ruggles99, you do realize that Samsung also sells notebooks with the "puny" Core M for about the same price as the MacBook, don't you? Why don't they sell them for $299 like the Galaxy Tab?
I definitely agree with you. I think it's up there when all things are considered though. Thank you very much!
Hey mattopotamus, I remember the videos you put up showing the lag, so is it a lot better now with the same use case? 4 spaces open? And if you don't mind, what model did you have and what do you have now? Sorry for all the questions, I just feel like you call it as you see it.
I love mine! I've got the 1.2/512 running the 10.10.4 developer beta and it runs quiet, smooth and quick. The only slowdown I ever see is during window resizing. 10.10.4 didn't effect speed so much for me, but battery life does seem better. I honestly couldn't be happier with it. To me, this is Apple's best laptop. (I don't care about ports--I only ever use one at a time, and the keyboard is wonderful!)
I have had a total of 3 rMB's all the base 1.1/256. The first one was "OK". There was noticeable lag to the point of being annoying. The second one was atrocious, and is what I made videos of. This most recent one is buttery smooth by comparison to the first two. There is very slight studder, but what I see is the same as the Air/rMBP.
All 3 were fully set up with FV2 and all applications/processes fully completed. I have no idea why they would be so drastically difference. I can only think it has to do with quality control and possibly overheating on the first two. It almost felt like the originals were being throttled way too early and it was causing immense lag.
I will post a video later today of the new rMB just so you can see how different it actually is from the prior video. This one is silver and the other two were Space Gray, but I cannot see that being a factor.