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Best Buy Pulls 12-Inch MacBook, Fueling Hopes for April Refresh
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Haha it's not that bad. At any rate better get used to it, it's a sure "upgrade" to all MacBooks eventually
Good news and bad to that likely. How low spec will the new air need to be to fit in between the mb and mbp. How expensive will the pro be to assert itself as "pro". There could be some gotcha's coming.
As a current 11" MBA user I'm not sure I'm willing to downgrade to a 12" screen either.
That said -- Retina absolutely makes a difference for what you're talking about. I find that text and images are far easier to read with older, fading eyesight on a retina display and I'd say that it more than makes up for the slight loss in physical size when going from a 13" to a 12" screen.
No idea what you are trying to say here. ?
I am saying I hope Apple uses 3 tiers each for different use cases:
tier 1: highest portability - lowest performance
tier 2: medium portability - medium performance
tier 3: lowest portability - highest performance
I guess technically there are currently 4 tiers that Apple and Intel use:
4.5W - rMB
15W - MBA
28W - 13" rMBP
47W - 15" rMBP
I know consolidating lineups and tiers offers simplicity, but it reduces options.
I don't care what apple names and how they price these tiers, I just hope they don't eliminate any.
agreedAs a current 11" MBA user I'm not sure I'm willing to downgrade to a 12" screen either.
And people were saying the same thing during the switch to chiclet keys from the concave keys of the powerbook line...
People will adjust, people will fall in love as it becomes the standard as they always do.
But, they are a lot more expensive than current MacBook Air. And performance + port support is nowhere to match.Actually it is. The rMB is pretty much the natural progression Apple would take to replace the MBA. Smaller, lighter, retina display. It's pretty much same progression as the cMBP -> rMBP. The only difference is that Apple didn't call the 12" rMB a MacBook Air. Removing the Air moniker for a MBA replacement makes since anyway, since the MBA basically took over the spot of the lineup that the old "MacBook" fulfilled.
Expecting a Retina MBA now is like if back in 2012 Apple released the rMBP as "MacBook Plus" instead of "MacBook Pro with Retina Display" then still expecting a Retina cMBP.
Have you spent much time with it? It's nice once you get used to it.
I think people have unreasonable expectations here. The "new" MacBook is a totally new design, which really pushes the boundaries with its approach to batteries, power and heat management, and it's size. All of that makes it at the outset, an expensive unit - particularly for the performance you're getting. It's undeniable that compromises were made with this first iteration, to achieve all of that. But over time, it will evolve, become more powerful, and the price will drop. It's not for everyone, and I'm sure that's partly why the 11 inch MBA is still there. But some are prepared to deal with those compromises, for what is a beautiful, incredibly compact, thin computer. I held off on the first iteration, because my 2012 11 inch MBA was still in many ways faster. But once that's not the case, I'm in.
Also, anybody looking to knock a quick $200 off the price only has to go to the refurbished section on the Apple site. Same accessories, same warranty, but somewhat plainer packaging. I can't remember the last Mac I didn't buy refurbished.
As someone pointed out, at least in the US Store, trying to get the same specs is makes it not that much more expensive:
- rMB -> $1300. 256GB, 8GB RAM, retina screen, ultra portable fanless design.
- MacBook Air 11" -> $1200 same specs but no retina, no fanless design, a smaller screen.
CPU and GPU performance will be lower on the MacBook, but according to geekbench benchmarks is not that huge of a gap at all.
I was about to complain that you must be in the US, where I'm sure there is a great range in the Apple refurb store. In Australia it's usually slim pickings. But I just checked and right now they have the BTO 1.3ghz MacBook for $410 less. Of course being Australia, that's still AU$2279. The MacBook as I'd want it is AU$2689 currently. That's pretty steep - even for an obsessive like me.
Still wondering why everybody I have seen, that does these comparisons, lists only the Pros of the rMB, and then only the Cons of the MBAir. Have yet to see anybody do a fair comparison at all (i.e.: Pros and Cons of RMB, and then Pros and Cons of MBAir.)
Yes! I know what you mean, sure seems that way. But I'm not sorry, - been very pleased with it. For those that complain about the M processor, perhaps best they go pro.
If that were the case...the Magic Keyboard wouldve gotten butterfly as well..but it didnt.
Apple knows butterfly is a fail...and theyve already addressed its issues with the magic keyboard.
So no need to worry, Apple will most likely use the improved scissor mechanism found in the magic keyboard for all macbooks eventually.
But now, it has two USB ports, one thunderbolt port, and a headphone jack, plus magsafe connector.
I don't actually have an rMB at hand and use it over a week. But every time I type on it when at Apple Store I just hate it. Key travel is too short.
OK. All in all, personal preference, on this matter.
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No retina --> OK this is bad.
No fanless design --> fan noise is nearly not audible at all. And fan can eventually help emitting the heat.
Smaller screen --> Not a big deal.
In fact, 1366*768 with such a compact design is already good enough. And, because MBA is thicker, the structure of it is also stronger. I somewhat worry about bending that too thin rMB if I actually use it.
No need to mention it has 2 standard USB ports.
I think it's odd that they don't make a 17" laptop anymore considering the age of the top managers.
If they refresh the Macbook before WWDC is going to be a simple CPU upgrade.
I'd be interested in a 14'' model but I don't think they'd do it without a keynote and it doesn't make sense to upgrade the 12'' and introduce a new model less than 2 months later so I guess I'll have to wait
I'd be interested in a 14'' model but I don't think they'd do it without a keynote and it doesn't make sense to upgrade the 12'' and introduce a new model less than 2 months later so I guess I'll have to wait
"CPU upgrade"
http://www.cpu-monkey.com/en/compare_cpu-intel_core_m3_6y30-565-vs-intel_core_m_5y31-455
There is almost no performance boost.
http://www.cpu-monkey.com/en/compare_cpu-intel_core_m3_6y30-565-vs-intel_core_m_5y31-455
There is almost no performance boost.
You should take a look at the performance comparison graphs (scroll way down.)
http://www.cpu-monkey.com/en/cpu-intel_core_m_5y31-455
There is absolutely no freaking way a Core M 5Y31 can almost match the single core performance of a Xeon E3 v3 processor.
With that in mind, I cannot stress how suspect the info on that site is. Take anything it says with a huge grain of salt.
Last iMac update was posted here on Tuesday October 13, 2015 6:03 am PDT. Which doesn't mean they got updated at 6am PDT. It would mean less than five hours left though.