Apple Announces 12-Inch Retina MacBook With Revamped Trackpad, Starting at $1,299

[toke lahti]

Maybe you missed that the rest of the new laptops were upgraded to Thunderbolt 2?

Looks like there are/were problems with TB3 and they decided to start from the speed of lowest TB.
Airs first had 5Gb TB. Now this rMB has 5Gb usb3.1 "Gen 1". Next macbook probably has real 3.1 speed i.e.. 10Gb. That's the speed of original "full" TB1.

Then it gets interesting. Will they just put more 10Gb typeC ports or combine them with TB2/TB3 ports or dedicated dp1.3 ports?

Will Apple ever release another display to cope all these display options? Can ATD work just connected to mDP port of a computer?

 

[trip1ex]

I am very underwhelmed by this new MacBook offering.

• Unrealistic pricing compared to Air & Pro

B

NOt sure how the price is unrealistic compared to the MBAs. Equip a 13" MBA with 8gb ram and 256gb ssd and you're at $1299. Same as this.

 

[consumeritis]

So looking at this new MacBook:

• The Core M 5Y71 in the faster model might be weedy for a modern CPU but it's still probably going to be about twice as fast as the Core 2 Duo L9600 in my current machine, which is a 2010 Air.
• Lack of MagSafe is annoying, but on the other hand I already need a mini-DisplayPort to HDMI dongle for my Cintiq, and I have never used my SD card slot.
• It's £20 cheaper than the refreshed 13" Macbook Air with the same RAM (8Gb) and flash (512Gb).
• It has a Retina screen and it weighs 2lbs!

My 2010 Air is anaemic compared to modern computers, but it's still going strong with no lag or noticeable lack of horsepower. In fact it's still so good I'm not sure I can justify an upgrade. But this new MacBook is so very tempting - I thought I would hate the machine after seeing the leaks, but actually I can't wait to try it out in a store.

As laptops like this one become more popular, developers will need to stop targeting the bleeding edge of processor/GPU power and make sure their apps scale down to more modest machines. iOS developers manage to write apps for low-power CPUs without lag. I know it won't happen, and games will continue to have 'minimum' specs asking for a GTX 980 but it is stupid how much faster processors get and how much slower the same software ends up running on them.

 

[ScepticMatt]

My comments, if someone bothers to read them:

USB-C: A very good idea. USB-C has 4 high speed lane pairs that can be configured to be almost anything,
including DisplayPort, HDMI, Ethernet or Lightning. Plus dedicated USB 2.0 lanes and power.
The main issue here is that there is only one. Is it really that hard to have one on each side?

Adapter cost: Not an issue, we will see cheap adapters soon as USB is non-proprietary.
Doesn't solve the fact that there is only one port, though.

Core-M: Fanless yes, but also powerless. Forget doing something besides web-browsing, and even that could feel sluggish with the retina screen. It's a glorified Netbook. Why couldn't they just make an MacBook Air with Broadwell-U and Retina screen?

Price: Starting at €1449? You got to be kidding me.

USB 3.1 is 10 Gbps. Apple quotes the USB type C port as being 3.1 but at 5 Gbps. What?

It uses USB 3.0.

No fans? How will it not cook itself if you choose to do anything intensive. Like gaming?

Bwahaha

 

[dampfnudel]

They should have just updated the Air with retina display and new specs. No need for another type of macbook.

No, it was time for the wide bezel to go. It's 2015, not 2010.

 

[Max(IT)]

No fans? How will it not cook itself if you choose to do anything intensive. Like gaming? I'll stick to my Pro ty.

And do you think this device has gaming in mind ?

 

[petvas]

This is the perfect laptop for people who want the lightest and best looking device. I am sold. I don't care if the cpu is not the best. I am sure it will be more than enough for most computing stuff that people do on a daily basis.
This is the device I have been looking for. Much better to spend money on it instead of the Apple Watch.

 

[X-X]

A retina screen and a 480p camera ...hahaha... that's a joke in itself.


If the front camera in every decent phone is multiple times better than the camera in your 1500.- dollar notebook, something is really wrong.


Apple has become a parody of itself. (We invented a new kind of gold)

 

[teknishn]

What is it with everyone and ports? I am a power user and Sr IT Systems Engineer.... and I don't give a **** about a crap load of ports. In fact I prefer not to have both sides of my rig littered with them, and the design compromised for something I will barely need if ever. I have a primary rig that has ports I need for stuff like SD slots for programming the cards for my Raspberry Pi rigs. However I could also buy a $10-15 SD reader that could plug into usb adapter for this new Macbook should it be necessary.

I will be buying this rig the very second I can for doing remote admin from my couch and around town. I want ultra portability and retina display. This thing is only a single lb more than an iPad. Shut up and take my money.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

This completely turned me off from wanting one of these. 8GB is the new 4GB; I can't have more than a browser and Preview open without maxing it out these days.

I cannot understand how people still think you need 8Gb of ram minimum on a Mac.

Because people do not have even a basic understanding of how caching, buffers and RAM management work in a modern Unix/Linux operating system. If the RAM is there the system will use it.

 

[larmende]

A retina screen and a 480p camera ...hahaha... that's a joke in itself.


If the front camera in every decent phone is multiple times better than the camera in your 1500.- dollar notebook, something is really wrong.


Apple has become a parody of itself.

You aren't really supposed to take it out for photo excursions or use it to shot HD video films.


I think I stick with planning to upgrade to a rMBP 13''. Couple of nice additions there which weren't even expected today.

 

[teknishn]

This is the perfect laptop for people who want the lightest and best looking device. I am sold. I don't care if the cpu is not the best. I am sure it will be more than enough for most computing stuff that people do on a daily basis.
This is the device I have been looking for. Much better to spend money on it instead of the Apple Watch.

I hear that.....My biggest disappointment today is that I can't order it right now. This is exactly what Ive been waiting for.

Ive got a 5k Retina iMac on my desk, and I want this new Macbook for my ultra portable on the couch/road.

 

[Max(IT)]

Only 8GB of ram

"only" ? Seriously, on this kind of notebook "only" 8 Gb ???

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Will it bend?

don't try to sit on it

 

[SlCKB0Y]

Oh my only 30% heavier! The world is coming to an end!

With all of you forward looking people here we'd still be stuck with parallel ports, 1024x768 resolution and an hour and a half of battery life.

Yep, a good analogy. The guy can't see the difference 200 grams makes so his idea of high tech must be the printing press.

Let me help you with what I think he meant: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diminishing_returns

200 grams lighter? Cool. 200 grams lighter and I can't connect the laptop to anything? Useless for many people and not worth the trade-off.

 

[enricopalazzo]

Why is everybody telling it is fanless?

Site:chip.de

 

[gnasher729]

No Thunderbolt - so what display is this supposed to connect to? Feels like the keynote was missing something

Why are you complaining about no Thunderbolt?

Because you didn't look at the specs. Thunderbolt 1.2 supported through the USB-C connector.

Why is everybody telling it is fanless?

Because that's the picture before they took the fan out.

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200 grams lighter? Cool. 200 grams lighter and I can't connect the laptop to anything? Useless for many people and not worth the trade-off.

What exactly can't you connect to?

 

[SlCKB0Y]

okay, so no one is going to read this post since it will be on page 8 million.

But, uh. this is a $1,300 chrome book.

Chromebooks have way more connectivity.

 

[cupcakes2000]

Chromebooks have way more connectivity.

Get a chrome book then. Your posts are pretty annoying.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

What exactly can't you connect to?

Assuming the one port is occupied, an external display, USB mouse or keyboard, non-networked printer or scanner, iPhone/iPad/Android, SD card from camera, usb flash drive, my time machine USB3 SSD, my gamepad. At work I can't use a USB to serial adaptor which means I can't manage Cisco/Juniper network gear, older Sun servers or Equalogic SANs.

 

[Scott6666]

The difference is by the time Apple had removed floppy drives or optical drives I had barely used those devices for a number of years prior. I still use multiple USB devices and external displays every day, all the time.

You're just not using (sic) it right - Steve Jobs

I think the goal is to go wireless. Airplay for you external displays. NAS/iCloud for storage. Wifi networking and printing. Bluetooth for... something.

I'm pretty sure the target market is not driving multiple things off the laptop. They'll tell you go to the rMBP for that.

It's not like no one at Apple's been trying out the thing for a while in real life. I guess they think if they can do OK without 2 ports so can you.

(that said I'd like 2; one for power and one for everything else)

 

[gnasher729]

Not a fan of the single port. What if you want to plug your computer into your HDTV to watch a movie off it while charging it at the same time? I do that very thing all the time.

Apple TV = $69. Better than hooking up your MacBook to the TV.

What you should have asked about: Is it possible to plug in a 27" 2560 x 1440 monitor to work all day, _and_ keep it charged at the same time?

 

[KohPhiPhi]

A strange update. Lots of impressive engineering in this, but they've made this MacBook tier lighter and more portable than the Air. Don't understand that from a marketing POV.

The thing is that the Air 13" and the Pro 13" are not that differentiated in terms of size, power and price. They pretty much overlap. I would not be surprised if Apple kills the existing Air family and stays with the 12" Macbook (for mobility minded users) and 13/15" Macbook Pro (for power users).

After this new Macbook, the Air family falls in a weird no-mans-land.

 

[Scott6666]

Assuming the one port is occupied, an external display, USB mouse or keyboard, non-networked printer or scanner, iPhone/iPad/Android, SD card from camera, usb flash drive, my time machine USB3 SSD, my gamepad. At work I can't use a USB to serial adaptor which means I can't manage Cisco/Juniper network gear, older Sun servers or Equalogic SANs.

And that's why they'll guide you over to table with the shiny rMBP's.

Still my dear little 55 year old sister is going to be btchin' like hell that she can't get manage her Equalogic's, Cisco's, and Juniper's in between email and posting pictures to Facebook.

 

[gnasher729]

Assuming the one port is occupied, an external display, USB mouse or keyboard, non-networked printer or scanner, iPhone/iPad/Android, SD card from camera, usb flash drive, my time machine USB3 SSD, my gamepad. At work I can't use a USB to serial adaptor which means I can't manage Cisco/Juniper network gear, older Sun servers or Equalogic SANs.

You can use a wireless mouse and keyboard. I haven't used a non-networked printer for ages, even at home (paid £90 for a nice Brother laser printer that prints from all devices including Mac, iPhone and iPad, why on earth would I want a non-networked printer? ). iPhone and iPad have been syncing over WiFi for ages. You are using an SSD drive for Time Machine? Seriously?

The percentage of customers that Apple will lose because USB to serial adaptors don't work is something that Apple is probably very worried about. Not.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

ports on portables are going the way of the optical drive.

There are Android phones which support video out, USB host and sd card, providing a PHONE with way more connectivity than this laptop.

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Get a chrome book then. Your posts are pretty annoying.

This new Apple laptop is for the same demographic of people who carry small dogs around in their handbags, if that's your thing then have at it dude.

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Can it be Customized to 1TB SSD?

No, that might make the Macbook too usable.