I have tried a new 13" Macbook Air, and new 15 rMBP for the last week or so. They are both going back and am going to keep my 2009 cMBP. The air seems flimsy and the screen is bad. The rMBP seems WAY overpriced. Also, my current cMBP has nice big fonts, just runs a little hot. My .02 worth.
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cMBP is the still the best IMHO
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I have a 2008 CMBP, first generation of unibody, still working fine. Of course at that time the product was still called "Macbook", not "Pro" unless it's 15 inch or 17 inch. And it doesn't equipped back light keyboard back then, one thing I really really want to have.
I do love the machine and it can keep up with all the OSX from leopard to mountain lion, working fast and fluently (I increased the RAM and switched to SSD along using). The unibody not only provides good looking but also unbelievable quality as well. Till now, nobody could tell it's a 5 years old machine, cause it never gets aged.
However, I think it's about time to move on and get a new RMBP. Things changed a lot in 5 years and the new screen indeed is much sharper and clearer for whatever work that it handles. It's like moving from iphone 3Gs to iphone 4. No doubt 3Gs was once a classic but you'll never regret to move on to iphone 4. Same thing here as RMBP.
You should remember you are moving from 13 inch cMBP to 15 inch RMBP, totally a different level. If it's a 13 inch RMBP I think the price would be acceptable considering the improvement of everything.
I do love the machine and it can keep up with all the OSX from leopard to mountain lion, working fast and fluently (I increased the RAM and switched to SSD along using). The unibody not only provides good looking but also unbelievable quality as well. Till now, nobody could tell it's a 5 years old machine, cause it never gets aged.
However, I think it's about time to move on and get a new RMBP. Things changed a lot in 5 years and the new screen indeed is much sharper and clearer for whatever work that it handles. It's like moving from iphone 3Gs to iphone 4. No doubt 3Gs was once a classic but you'll never regret to move on to iphone 4. Same thing here as RMBP.
You should remember you are moving from 13 inch cMBP to 15 inch RMBP, totally a different level. If it's a 13 inch RMBP I think the price would be acceptable considering the improvement of everything.
How is the rMBP overpriced? It costs $400 more than the cMBP, and the screen costs Apple $380 more per laptop. The computer features an advanced redesign from the ground up and years of research and development.
Apple is essentially giving you the upgrade at COST, or BELOW their costs + R&D. The higher speced versions are also a bargain compared to the cMBP, with most of the upgrades costing LESS than it would cost you to do them yourself instead of being heavily marked up.
On top of that the rMBP has a much better resale value than the cMBP.
That seems underpriced from every single possible dimension.
The rMBP simply has much better value for money than the cMBP, it just happens to be more expensive.
This is like me giving you 5 pounds of potatoes and charging you $10, and then giving you 10 lbs and charging you $12 and you saying it's overpriced.
Perhapse what you meant was "the amount of added value is not worth the small increase in costs as my needs do not benefit much from the Retina MacBook Pro over the Classic" 🙂
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falconeight
Guest
He was summing up the original post.
I think you might be the first person I've heard say that the Air seems flimsy, but to each their own I suppose.
Let me know if you find a comparable, and cheaper alternative to the rMBP that makes it appear overpriced. In the meantime, that's a pretty damn dense display.
falconeight
Guest
I know it isn't actually flimsy but the 13 inch is so long and thin that it feels like it might flop about. I know it doesn't its just an observance.
How on earth does anyone think the rMBP is overpriced? Where else can you get a computer with an i7, 16Gb RAM, 512+Gb SSD, >HD screen, some quick external ports, thin with a good build quality and 6-7 hours battery life?
Oh yes, the Sony Z. But has only half the RAM and drive space, only an HD screen, and an unusably bad trackpad. And is more expensive than the rMBP. And, unsurprisingly, has been dropped. So no, you can't.
Kirabook? Same price but no ability to upgrade past 8Gb or 256Gb, so really it's a retina Air for a lot more money.
Fujitsu and Samsung? 4Gb RAM, seriously?
The rMBP is dirt cheap...
KUguardgrl13
macrumors 68020
OP, I also have a 2009 model. I was thinking about replacing it a few months ago when a recurring sleep issue was acting up, but I got Apple to fix it out of warranty for no charge. With a new 500 gb HDD and upgraded RAM I installed (and possibly mavericks in a few months) it's worth it to hang onto this machine for another year or so. I'm in college, so the cost of even a refurb rMBP is more than I should spend. Maybe in a few years I'll get a new machine like an iMac or something. For now I'm content unless it breaks again 🙂
i just recently upgraded from a 13"cMbp to a 15" rMbp the first three days i used it for basic purposes since it had to go for a replacement. During those three days i found absolutely no differences they worked the same. But once i installed my professional applications then i realized the major differences and the sharp screen.
as u can see it depends entirely on what your using it for.
as u can see it depends entirely on what your using it for.
It depends on the individual needs. In the IT/Telecoms world, you need physical ethernet to plug into the management port of a server, router, switch or telecommunications node. Being able to upgrade RAM to 16GB gives the option to run multiple virtual machines if needed, without going for the 15 inch rMPB, which is currently the only other 16GB option. Even writing to CD/DVD is needed from time to time.
I must admit that most days I'm using a crappy windows notebook, but if I had to, I could do pretty much everything on the cMBP.
Now if I was working in the visual arts and needed to edit my photos or video in the field, I'd probably give all that up for the great display on the retina models.
I must admit that most days I'm using a crappy windows notebook, but if I had to, I could do pretty much everything on the cMBP.
Now if I was working in the visual arts and needed to edit my photos or video in the field, I'd probably give all that up for the great display on the retina models.
It would be nice if you would explain why you think the rMBP is WAY overpriced, but in general I agree. I think that Apple products in general are overpriced, though.
I would never buy an Apple MacBook or Mac Pro at full retail price, it would have to be on sale or, best yet, Apple Certified Refurbished. The refurb price points are a bit more in line with what you're spending for a new PC, but with the same return policy and warranty, and for all intent and purpose the same quality as new.
Apple Mac Daz
macrumors 68040
Get a grip sure the cMBP was a awesome laptop in its day and still is but technology has moved on in leaps and bounds. rMBP is the way forward and is a far nicer laptop
NewishMacGuy
macrumors 6502a
Maybe, but much of it is speculation and some of it isn't actually true.
1. You can be sure that Apple's not "giving you" anything at or below cost. They're in business to make money - and they make a lot of it.
2. None of the upgrades on the rMBP cost less than the equivalent would cost you to do yourself on a uMBP, except the display.
3. The statement about resale value seems pretty dubious to me, I'd like to see some facts on that.
4. The potato analogy is poor.
___
maflynn
macrumors Broadwell
When I did my research and added a 256GB SSD, 16gb of ram, I found the price difference between the cMBP and the rMBP to be negligible. While you may justify your purchase of the cMBP to be the best for you, I disagree in that the rMBP is not a good buy.
The screen quality alone makes it a worthy purchase, add in the fact that I have a fast SSD and 16gb of ram makes the rMBP a no brainer for me. That is the rMBP suits my needs and purchasing that made more sense then the cMBP
sonicrobby
macrumors 68030
I dont think the rMBP is overpriced (at least in comparison to other macbooks), I threw in the same kind of specs
Here the rMBP is a little bit more on the left side, but if i make them IDENTICAL in specs (right side), the cMBP is way more.
http://i39.tinypic.com/x3s8ia.png
In this one the rMBP is 0.1GHZ faster, and has 1GB of GDDR5 RAM, while the cMBP has 512MB GDDR5 RAM, and the cMPB is still $100 more.
Im not entirely sure if the "overpriced" idea of rMBP is valid.
But I sort of agree and disagree. I like the form factor of my 13" cMBP, it was the perfect size for me, didnt really like the 15" cMPB seemed too chucky. Then i saw the 15" rMBP, then the 13" rMBP just seemed too small. In turn, I love the display in the rMBP but I did like the upgradability of the cMBP. But If i were going to buy one again tomorrow, id get the rMBP
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Other than the retina display that not everyone needs, what are these "leaps" in technology in the current rMBP?
SSD - no, apple offers SSD as an option for the cMBP and third party SSDs of up to 960GB are available.
RAM - no, you can install up to 16GB RAM in the 13 inch cMBP, but the 13 inch rMBP is limited to 8GB.
Thinness - no, thinness is not a technology.
2 x Thunderbolt ports - no, perhaps some people might need 2 because there is no ethernet port, so you have to buy the TB to Ethernet dongle. But that is a downgrade, not a leap in technology.
HDMI - yes, the HDMI port is one technology advantage, but hardly a leap. In any case, I think most decent monitors support DisplayPort.
Now when apple offer a Haswell rMBP with Iris Pro 5200 graphics and PCIe SSD, perhaps in early 2014, then we might be able to talk about "leaps" in technology, but until then it's matter of personal preference - do you want the better display vs the other factors mentioned?
Steve121178
macrumors 604
The 13" MBA screen is generally better and has a higher resolution than the 13" cMPB screen. Assuming you have the 13" cMBP then the 13" MBA is an all round better computer and weighs considerably less.
I'd argue the MBA is a solid machine, I don't get how you think it is flimsy. It's much better designed than the slab-like cMBP from 2009!
I'm loving the unbiased cherry picking here 😉
Thinness is a benefit of the changed design, and it is desirable at least to me.
People might need 2 TB ports because there is no ethernet port? I don't agree that there are 2 TB ports for this reason, regardless of whether or not you think the lack of an ethernet port is a disadvantage or not.
Anyway, if you prefer the current cMBP then more power to you. I think the 13" rMBP is less compelling over its cMBP cousin than the 15" rMBP over the 15" cMBP.
Especially when I could buy a 15" rMBP with 2.8GHz/16Gb RAM/512Gb SSD for £80 less than a 15" cMBP with 2.7Ghz/8Gb RAM/512Gb SSD in the UK Apple store.
NewishMacGuy
macrumors 6502a
Higher resolution display - yes. Better display - definitely not. There's no comparison really. The uMBP-13 display has far superior brightness, contrast, color balance, and viewing angles to that of the MBA. The MBA display is actually on the poor side and is certainly last-gen (as in MacBook) tech. The MBA is a neat computer for what it is, but a similarly specced uMBP-13 will outperform it in just about every dimension (except battery life and raw SSD speed on the latest MBA version).
It is lighter though.
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Businesses sell things at a loss or at cost all the time for various reasons. You have a fundamental misunderstanding of the goals of modern businesses. For example Amazon is essentially a non-profit company.
Amazon has been in business to get market share, and expand their company for the last 10 years.
Likewise Apple knows that they will not continue selling MacBooks if they price themselves out of the market by charging too much for the rMBP, and they don't want to lose customers by not innovating, so they improved the cMBP and they charged a lower markup than the COST of the added improvements to them.
That that is simply not true:
512GB Blade SSD rMBP Upgrade: $300
512GB 2.5" SSD cMBP Upgrade: $700
512GB Blade SSD Cost: $575 (internet price cheaper third party equivalent)
512GB 2.5" SSD Cost: $380 (internet price cheaper third party equivalent)
rMBP 512GB SSD Upgrade Markup: -48%
cMBP 512GB SSD Upgrade Markup: +84%
So stating a newer more desirable machine has a better resale value seems dubious to you. That seems delusional, but I've owned several rMBP's and several cMBP's this last year and re-sold most of them by this point. The resale after a year on an upgraded rMBP was -15%, the resale on an upgraded cMBP was -30%.
Your pointless criticism was poor. 🙂
Like I said, the rMBP is not overpriced when compared to the cMBP, it is underpriced because it is a better deal from multiple standpoints, and that's how Apple wants it because they are aggressivly selling the newer laptop.
