Apple Updates Retina MacBook Pro with New Processors, Drops Pricing on 13-Inch Models and High-End MacBook Air

[rockyroad55]

Hah. Walk around a college campus, ANY college campus and see how long you can hold onto that thought. Nice try though.

Seriously?

 

[that1guyy]

Most college kids have macbook airs or non retina 13inch mbps. Many have ipads now in addition to their computers.

Personally, I am waiting on Haswell 15inch rmbp. I need it before the end of August.

 

[joueboy]

Look!

So nobody was buying them...

 

[Andy-V]

What are you basing that off of? I have the 15-inch retina, and 90% of the time it runs on the Intel 4000, without a problem. That being said, better graphics is always a plus

I don't doubt that right now it's fine. But I don't think it's a laptop that will last very long, especially for the price. I get this sense that the Intel 4000 chip is already being pushed to the limit by the screen. Apple themselves say the RMBP is "ahead of it's time". I think it is, and these 1st gen models will be a bit like 1st gen iPhones in that they'll become dated quickly.

Anyway, put simply, I wouldn't be comfortable putting down the asking price for the current RMBP's.

 

[BJonson]

Wow. Don't know what surprises me more, all the apple logos on those computers or the amount of kids in there and how close they all have to sit next to one another.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

I don't doubt that right now it's fine. But I don't think it's a laptop that will last very long, especially for the price. I get this sense that the Intel 4000 chip is already being pushed to the limit by the screen. Apple themselves say the RMBP is "ahead of it's time". I think it is, and these 1st gen models will be a bit like 1st gen iPhones in that they'll become dated quickly.

Anyway, put simply, I wouldn't be comfortable putting down the asking price for the current RMBP's.

I agree completely. I have a credit card that needs a workout, a strong desire for a maxed out laptop, but no desire what so ever to spend $3000 for less than 1tb of storage and just 16gb of RAM. Maybe next revision when Apple puts sane components in their $3000 machines.

 

[MTD's Mac]

When Haswell works in the MacBook's (or, more accurately, when they become available), Apple will upgrade their lineup to Haswell and ditch the Ivy Bridge chips. There's never been, at least to my knowledge, a processor overlap in Apple's notebook lineup so it would be almost completely unlikely that they would have one come June.

I'm thinking waaaaay back to 2010... there was an MBP refresh in the spring that brought the first i-core chips to the MBP, but the 13" stayed with Core2Duo. Huge disappointment, as I'd been waiting to upgrade to a 13".

So, unless I remember it wrong, that was a case of a chip overlap. Could happen again if the only Haswell chips available in July are quad core, so the 15" rMBP gets them and the 13" gets yet another Ivy Bridge upgrade like it did today.

 

[twoodcc]

faster processors and lower prices sound good to me! though i wish that 15rmbp would also get a lower price.

 

[Veradun]

Thank you Apple. Please keep up the good work.

And this, is what I don't see enough of on these forums. Good on Apple for lowering the prices for the 13 inch Retina, even if still a bit steep of a price.

I'm expecting the Haswell refresh to be at the same asking price. But I'm not going to wait a few more months for an upgrade to the internals that most probably won't make a significant enough impact on real-world use that would make me want to go "WOW I need to get one of these laptops now!" So I'm going to go for the updated, high-end stock configuration of the Retina 15". Mainly due to the fact that they now will sell the 16GB RAM config at the retail stores. No more having to wait in anxious anticipation for my delivery to arrive and the faster clock speed and more SSD storage for a cheaper price than before is only a plus.

I'm not an expert in computers by any means, so all this technical jargon is over my head. But as long as it will meet my needs for the next few years to an exemplary standard then I will be more than happy.

At risk of quoting Tim Cook, it's about user experience and not comparing the specs. However there is still a certain "want" factor when buying the Retina MBP. It's certainly not for everybody.

 

[Still100]

Are the haswell processors for laptops/MacBooks to be released in June? I read (in the ces intel news thread other members saying) that the desktop versions are but the laptop versions are due at the end of the year?

I'm trying to wait till June but can't wait till end of the year of mobile haswell processors, anyone know if the mobile processors are due in June too?

 

[Aspen]

I just bought a BTO MBA that is $100 cheaper now, just arrived today and I haven't opened the box. Will Apple refund me the $100?

 

[bbapps]

I was about to post "why the spec update?", but then found this Forbes article.

By placing the focus on a continual conveyor belt of releases, it reduces the spikes of income coming into the company and distributing the income throughout the year.

So, are all those last refresh count downs out the window?

 

[KPOM]

I just bought a BTO MBA that is $100 cheaper now, just arrived today and I haven't opened the box. Will Apple refund me the $100?

Yes, they should, since technically you can return it and order it all over again at the lower price.

 

[pure3d2]

I just bought a BTO MBA that is $100 cheaper now, just arrived today and I haven't opened the box. Will Apple refund me the $100?

Call them. They will adjust the price in the form of a credit back to your card.

 

[KPOM]

I'm thinking waaaaay back to 2010... there was an MBP refresh in the spring that brought the first i-core chips to the MBP, but the 13" stayed with Core2Duo. Huge disappointment, as I'd been waiting to upgrade to a 13".

So, unless I remember it wrong, that was a case of a chip overlap. Could happen again if the only Haswell chips available in July are quad core, so the 15" rMBP gets them and the 13" gets yet another Ivy Bridge upgrade like it did today.

There's a key difference, though. In those days, the Intel integrated graphics were truly awful. People complain about the HD 3000 and HD 4000 in the Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge processors, but they run circles around the graphics that were in the first generation Core chips. Apple made a conscious decision to skip that generation in any Mac that didn't ship with discrete graphics. Intel won't license anyone else to make integrated graphics for the Core i3/i5/i7 chips (nVidia was licensed to make integrated graphics chips for the Core 2 Duo).

 

[LeandrodaFL]

Read it way first on Appleinsider and Tlomshardware. C'mn Macrumor!

 

[eljimberino]

Now the choice is between a $1599 13" MBA with 8GB/256GB and a $1699 13" rMBP with a 2.6GHz i5, a significantly better screen, a 2nd Thunderbolt port, and an HDMI port, albeit one that weighs 0.6 lbs more, but actually has a smaller footprint. That's worth $100 to me.

I am in the same boat.

In my opinion this kind of puts the Air out of contention. Only the 400 grams less will save it. I think they will have to drop the price on the airs, or, maybe they want less people to buy the airs now.

If/when the airs get retina they will be competing against the rMBP.

The 13"rMBP still runs faster than the 13" air doesnt it?

 

[yusukeaoki]

Apple ditch the 13in and bring the 17in back.

 

[willmtaylor]

Seriously?

Uhm....yup! Why?

 

[throAU]

This still holds true. The site mentions the increase in performance and reduction of price. However, it doesn't gloat about it being its only feature. The retina page boasts OS X features and the experience.

This is the thing.

I used to be a PC user who would obsess over getting the biggest bang for buck building custom PCs.

I'd spend weeks researching which CPU to get, which GPU, etc.


And you know what? After doing that for over a decade, i came to the conclusion that what is far more important is how nice the the machine is to use. Shaving a second here or there is far less important than having a case that doesn't bend when you pick the machine up, input peripherals that were cheap to afford the higher spec internals, etc.


CPU / GPU spec is not what determines the user experience. It can improve it yes, but other factors are far more important, so long as the spec is "good enough". Apple specs are generally "good enough" and the hardware is nice.

Sure, you can get higher spec PC hardware for the same price, but the quality control and design of the peripherals (you know, the bits you spend hours every day touching, looking at, listening to, etc) is quite often garbage.

 

[KPOM]

I am in the same boat.

In my opinion this kind of puts the Air out of contention. Only the 400 grams less will save it. I think they will have to drop the price on the airs, or, maybe they want less people to buy the airs now.

If/when the airs get retina they will be competing against the rMBP.

The 13"rMBP still runs faster than the 13" air doesnt it?

The base 13" rMBP runs about the same as the upgraded Core i7 13" Air.

I actually purchased my rMBP in December after I lost my MacBook Air while traveling. I was debating a $300 premium at that time ($1699 vs $1999 MSRP, though I wound up getting the rMBP for $1879). My insurance was enough to buy a refurbished version of the MacBook Air that I had before. I thought long and hard to decide between the MBA and rMPB. With today's drop (which lowered the premium to $200), it would have been a much easier decision to go with the rMBP. As it is, I am very happy with my decision. The extra weight took some getting used to, but the screen makes up for it.

When the Air gets a Retina Display (particularly the 11.6"), I will be more likely to switch back, but for now the rMBP is what I recommend to those in the market for a 13" Mac.

----------

Apple ditch the 13in and bring the 17in back.

Why is it one or the other? I wouldn't consider a 15" notebook, much less a 17" notebook. I'm happy that Apple came out with the 13" rMBP.

 

[fpsBeaTt]

Not really a refresh, just a minor speed bump. Architecture remains unchanged (both CPU and GPU), not even a VRAM bump. I'll wait for the next refresh.

 

[buysp]

Seems to me Australia played a role in this new pricing

I don't think Apple is scared of the Australian senate inquiry into Tech prices which i do beleive will happen over the next few months!

 

[lilo777]

Thank you Apple. Please keep up the good work.

I think you should thank Intel, not Apple. Apple did nothing in this "upgrade"

 

[KPOM]

I think you should thank Intel, not Apple. Apple did nothing in this "upgrade"

Apple lowered the price, not Intel, and it was driven mostly by lower flash storage prices across the board (not just on the rMBP). Intel made some modest clock speed increases that may or may not translate into noticeable differences in performance.