Early Benchmarks Put Retina MacBook CPU Performance in Range of 2011 MacBook Air

[ColdShadow]

design wise,it's brilliant,functionality and power wise It's a disaster.
It's a real wasted oppurtunity.
They could have improved the great Macbook Air, by adding the all necessary retina screen and improving the design..instead they made a ridiculously under powered machine than can only be comparred to 4 year older machines..with real compromise on NECESSARY ports and functionality ,the only nice thing about this machine is the attractive design..
And they sell this limited,underpowered NETBOOK for the same price of Retina Macbook Pro.
What a disappointment..the worst laptop Apple ever made.

 

[Traverse]

iOS vs OS X: There is a big difference!

Thank you! I don't know why people keep comparing an ARM based tablet with 2GBs of RAM, 128GB max storage, and iOS to a MacBook with Intel processors, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and OS X.

Hell no!!!! Horrible mistake that would be. I would be gone.

Agreed. Along with killing several key OS X apps, it would eliminate the ability to run Windows which, despite some many people's grumblings, is still critical for many people.

I need to run the occasional Windows only app such as statistics software or MS Access. Plus, some Windows apps are better than their OS X counterparts (I'm looking at you Office!). If Macs could no longer run Windows I'd either need to buy two computers or just move back to Windows. Windows 10 is making great strides in the right direction anyway.

I still vastly prefer OS X, but Windows is a necessity at times.

 

[Investor27]

I don't understand this obsession with thinnest. I would rather Apple keep the same thickness and weight of the current Macbook Air with the Macbook Retina and just give me more battery life. I bet we could have had another 2-4 extra hours of battery if they would have done that. Wouldn't you guys want an additional 4 hours of battery life in the current Macbook Air?

 

[Traverse]

Pretty disappointing for a $1300.00 machine. Its about as fast as the iPad Air 2 I'm currently typing on.. What is apple doing? I'm at a lost for words,...

An iPad Air 2 matches it in synthetic benchmarks, but in real world use this MacBook will be much more useful for many users.

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I don't understand this obsession with thinnest. I would rather Apple keep the same thickness and weight of the current Macbook Air with the Macbook Retina and just give me more battery life. I bet we could have had another 2-4 extra hours of battery if they would have done that. Wouldn't you guys want an additional 4 hours of battery life in the current Macbook Air?

The MBA and MBP are still there to fit one's "crazy good battery" or "good battery with a Retina display" desires. This MacBook is simply a new product line to appeal to more users.

 

[RockSpider]

I will gladly give them my money for their beautiful masterpiece of engineering.

Good for you, but most people want more than just an ornament to put on their mantel piece. If this thing had a Windows logo on it, people would be laughing their heads off, and funnily enough even with the Apple logo on it most people are laughing their heads off.

 

[Traverse]

The graphics are significantly faster as, I am certain, is the storage.

I assume the storage uses the same "2x as fast" SSD storage as the new MacBook Pro 13", but even if it just topped out at last year's PCIe based flash, it will 2 or 3 times faster than the SSDs in the 2011 Airs.

 

[cfedu]

The Air doesn't have retina because Apple does not wish it. Same with Force Touch. The weight... Really? THAT is actually the selling point vs the Air?

They eliminate functionality, reduce performance, throw in some gimmicky touch pad and display tech that is 3 years old (in the MBP line)... but hey, it weighs under a pound less!

If Apple put a 12" retina display in the 11.6" Air, Apple would have made a sale. Now I'm thinking I may just have to go back to windows, maybe I'm not there target market because I want a device that I can plug in more than 2 devices without having to buy hundreds of dollars of adaptors.

 

[AliMacs]

How so? The CPU draws about 1/3 of the power as an LED light bulb. The new MacBook isn't for power users. It is for road warriors looking for something that can be thrown into the front pocket of a briefcase. Heck, it will fit into the padded pocket of a Tumi messenger bag I have. It reminds me of the original MacBook Air from 2008.

?? Not for power users but for road warriors? Dude, buy an iPad Air 2 and throw in a keyboard and still have hundreds less than this joke of a netbook.

How do you apple apologists seriously rationalize things? It's not 2011 and if performance is this low, might as well price it under $900. You have no right to price it at $1299 - $1599 for something so weak.

This is as bad as apple justifying a TN panel in the MBA line in 2015.

 

[squirrrl]

"The New MacBook: Facebook Edition."

Because, really, that's all anyone really is going to be doing on this toy.

If I can get a 6.6 million dollar grant written on a 2008 MB, I can continue writing grants on the new rMB without a problem. Just because I don't do any gaming or do any video editing, doesn't mean people can't get real work done on this thing.

 

[Altemose]

I am sure the MacBook will be a hit for many. However, the lack of ports, poor CPU performance, and lack of expandibility essentially put this computer into the rink of users who would be happy with a Chromebook. Sure it is aluminum, runs OS X, and has a good design, but the overall capability is limited. I am rocking a classic MacBook Pro that emphasizes the expandibility aspect, has more ports than I could ever need, and great repairability as each component is separate.

$1300 for a MacBook vs. $329 for a Toshiba Chromebook 2

I know what I would buy...

 

[Slix]

All of these comments really, really remind me of the original MacBook Air. "Lighter, worse performance, less ports, more expensive! Who'd want this!?" And then here we are, a few years later, and the MacBook Air has come down in price, performance has increased, and it has a place finally for consumers. I expect the same thing will happen with this new Retina MacBook.

 

[Traverse]

I have a 2011 i7 MBA 11", and even as an IT professional, this computer suits me fine. The MB usage while using a non-scaled resolution interests me. I am tired of the 1366x768 display, I want more usable real-estate.

This is one of the great utilities of the 15" MBP (or any retina display). When I'm tired or just doing one thing I can use the crystal clear 1440 x 900 display. When I need more space I can scale up to 1920 x 1200 (or even higher with hacks.)

 

[Rogifan]

The Air doesn't have retina because Apple does not wish it. Same with Force Touch. The weight... Really? THAT is actually the selling point vs the Air?

They eliminate functionality, reduce performance, throw in some gimmicky touch pad and display tech that is 3 years old (in the MBP line)... but hey, it weighs under a pound less!

Gimmicky touch pad? Says who?

 

[iRun26.2]

Which makes the ARM benchmarks all the more impressive.

What we've bren quoted is the CPU score alone. Add the other things and the rMB cruises ahead of any ARM system.

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So 2011 mba performance with a retina screen? And it sells for the price of a retina MBP? Reviewers are going to be pretty unimpressed.

And Apple cares what the customers think, not the reviewers.

 

[Traverse]

I am sure the MacBook will be a hit for many. However, the lack of ports, poor CPU performance, and lack of expandibility essentially put this computer into the rink of users who would be happy with a Chromebook. Sure it is aluminum, runs OS X, and has a good design, but the overall capability is limited. I am rocking a classic MacBook Pro that emphasizes the expandibility aspect, has more ports than I could ever need, and great repairability as each component is separate.

I know what I would buy...

It's a perfect (albeit expensive) portable complement to a desktop system. I have a 15" rMBP that stays docked at home with a large monitor, speakers, keyboard, and mouse. This would be a great utility to take to my grad classes. Better than an iPad.

 

[Rogifan]

?? Not for power users but for road warriors? Dude, buy an iPad Air 2 and throw in a keyboard and still have hundreds less than this joke of a netbook.

How do you apple apologists seriously rationalize things? It's not 2011 and if performance is this low, might as well price it under $900. You have no right to price it at $1299 - $1599 for something so weak.

This is as bad as apple justifying a TN panel in the MBA line in 2015.

Apple has the right to price products however they want. And you have the right not to buy them.

 

[subsonix]

What we've bren quoted is the CPU score alone. Add the other things and the rMB cruises ahead of any ARM system.

What other things?

 

[Traverse]

The Air doesn't have retina because Apple does not wish it. Same with Force Touch. The weight... Really? THAT is actually the selling point vs the Air?

They eliminate functionality, reduce performance, throw in some gimmicky touch pad and display tech that is 3 years old (in the MBP line)... but hey, it weighs under a pound less!

All the reviews say the new trackpad is great, though Force Touch isn't that intuitive.

It's the keyboard that may prove controversial.

 

[Rogifan]

Good for you, but most people want more than just an ornament to put on their mantel piece. If this thing had a Windows logo on it, people would be laughing their heads off, and funnily enough even with the Apple logo on it most people are laughing their heads off.

Poster on tech sites aren't most people. I could show you a ton of Twitter and Instagram posts basically saying "shut up and take my money".

 

[iRun26.2]

For a $1300 laptop with no ports in 2015? Absolutely pathetic. The MBA is still the best value in the lineup.

Different people value different things.

 

[AliMacs]

Apple has the right to price products however they want. And you have the right not to buy them.

and I won't! But you gotta be stupid to buy one at $1299 or $1599 for this type of performance in 2011. Apple can color it Rose gold and I still won't buy it.

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

Thank you Apple. I feel fantastic about my purchase

I had a 2007 Macbook that was getting a little long in the tooth around 2011. But I kept holding off a little longer, waiting for a big update. Then I started hearing the rumors of a "redesigned MBA" and I kept waiting, not wanting to be left behind some new revolutionary product right after I upgraded. After all, the aluminum unibody MacBooks w/ the multitouch trackpad came out shortly after my 2007 Macbook, so I'd already been burned once.

Then it became fall of 2013. After 6 years, my macbook was barely hanging on. It couldn't run the latest OS (Mountain Lion I believe). The MBA had gotten a pretty decent upgrade. The intel roadmap didn't seem impressive. There were lingering "redesign" rumors, but they seemed a bit sketchy and far away. So I made the plunge and purchased a MBA.

A year a half later I finally get to see the redesign. Not impressed. Slower than my MBA. Same battery life. Retina display is not a huge deal for me. The extra thinness isn't a big deal for me. The lack of ports IS a big deal for me.

Not only am I not impressed with the new macbook, but the upgrades to the MBA and MBP are pretty minimal and nothing has panged me with regret or desire*.

I fully expect this laptop to last me a full 6 years as well. Fall of 2019: show me what you got!

*the only thing I can imagine myself missing out on over the next 4 years would be the force touch trackpad, if that becomes a big deal

 

[CE3]

It is indeed sad that just because there is an Apple on it, it will sell, because everything else about it is a fail. Performance of 5 years ago at a higher price tag?

There is nothing here that the Air isn't better at, except the retina display and the fancy paint jobs.

Exactly. And the criticism is healthy. Apple puts a premium price tag on just about everything they release and it's helped make them one of the most profitable companies in the world. Their brand loyalty is off the charts, and consumers eat up just about everything they throw at 'em. But it also seems like more and more of their customers are starting to have a difficult time justifying the inflated cost of many of their products.

I'm quite satisfied with the Apple devices I own and I want to see them continue to do well. But they're not too big to fall back in the ranks, and a few hard flops after so much success would do them some good.

If thin and light is what you crave over performance and this meets your basic computing needs, knock yourselves out! I think the novelty of it being ultra thin will wear off fast, though, if you end up with a slow and sluggish machine in the long run.

I mean, how well do you think a laptop that's already comparable to a 4-year-old MacBook Air will run 4 years from now?

 

[burgman]

and I won't! But you gotta be stupid to buy one at $1299 or $1599 for this type of performance in 2011. Apple can color it Rose gold and I still won't buy it.

Why is it so important to call other people stupid? Does that make you feel better about your self?

 

[cfedu]

Different people value different things.

Are you saying people would value the 2015 MB Less if it had 2 USB-C ports?

They could have made it more or less the same with an extra port, I'm not sure how it would decrease value.