There are probably loads of people who will buy this who do nothing more than surf the web and perform basic productivity tasks so they will say they don't notice the difference. But then again the $149 Chrome Book would suffice for their needs.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Early Benchmarks Put Retina MacBook CPU Performance in Range of 2011 MacBook Air
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Very well said. One irony is that is those who opted for a MBP with a decent dGPU ended up getting a short lived laptop crippled with bad solder issues and no support from Apple until recently when threatened with class action law suits.
I also havent used a Windows laptop in years, and would love to replace my (quite crippled) 2011 MBP with a new MBP, but Apple isnt exactly providing a fantastic range of options for exactly the reasons you mentioned - this artifical price structure. I'm slowly migrating away from OSX on the laptop just to see how I go (mostly linux alternatives). If it ends up that I can do without OSX, I will feel like a free man.
You do that. Save some time for the hassles of having to reformat it every 6 months too, but at least you'll have a LIIT to sip as you watch Windows reinstall.
----------
This is not eBay, but it's a market driven by consumers. The newton failed because it was before its time, and didn't address a problem that existed. Personally I know many people thrilled about this new macbook ... all my friends and colleagues want it for travel. Nope, it's not a main computer for everyday use (without compromise), but it's exactly what we've been asking for.. an ultralight portable with a high-def screen.
Honestly if I were to have Tim Cook's left ear, I'd whisper he should have put a second USB port on the other side, and maybe come out with a metallic white (just a dream), but hey, aside from that, they ticked every box on my list. I am so thrilled.
Simple solution... if it doesn't meet your needs, don't buy it, but you just look foolish saying it'll be a huge failure, because that's clearly not the case.
Boy... are we spoiled or what?
Personally, I think in real life use, this will be fine for the intended audience. I would guess most people who buy this Mac will want it for the portability and will probably be using applications like MS word, email and Safari 90% of the time. All which should be just fine with these specs.
Personally, I think in real life use, this will be fine for the intended audience. I would guess most people who buy this Mac will want it for the portability and will probably be using applications like MS word, email and Safari 90% of the time. All which should be just fine with these specs.
A: "Mercedes released a new city flitzer, super design and very economical"
B: "But its engine just has 60 kilowatt, cant drive with it on a racetrack"
A: "No, i need a city flitzer, a stronger engine makes no sense for me"
B: "I don't care, and it is even more expensive than a similary FIAT which has even more power. Therefore this car is just sh...."
B: "But its engine just has 60 kilowatt, cant drive with it on a racetrack"
A: "No, i need a city flitzer, a stronger engine makes no sense for me"
B: "I don't care, and it is even more expensive than a similary FIAT which has even more power. Therefore this car is just sh...."
In this thread: tons of people who are still stuck on cpu speed as the primary metric of the value of a computer. Most of you are sorely mistaken; the cpu speed has little to no impact on the end user experience anymore.
Fortunately Apple and other manufacturers have realized this, and that has opened the door for manufacturers to focus on other aspects of the computer. The Macbook still has blazing fast disks, more than adequate RAM, and put together in an incredible package.
Fortunately Apple and other manufacturers have realized this, and that has opened the door for manufacturers to focus on other aspects of the computer. The Macbook still has blazing fast disks, more than adequate RAM, and put together in an incredible package.
doesnt matter really. Nobody buys this machine to play games or do serious work I assume. Its a premium laptop for daily average use (browsing, photo library, facebook, word, excel, etc)
Im buying it because I think force touch is interesting and so that my wife can get a golden bling laptop for our family photos and to be on facebook.
Im buying it because I think force touch is interesting and so that my wife can get a golden bling laptop for our family photos and to be on facebook.
I wish this was an April fool's day joke.
On the positive side of things - hopefully this will force Apple to slow down in making every release of OS X increasingly heavy. Let's hope the GPU benchmarks aren't too great either.
On the positive side of things - hopefully this will force Apple to slow down in making every release of OS X increasingly heavy. Let's hope the GPU benchmarks aren't too great either.
Last edited:
I love the people who see things in black and white based on their own use case and call a product to the dirt when it doesn't meet their needs. There are other options for you.
This thing will be great for development on the go, I'd really like to give it a shot.
This thing will be great for development on the go, I'd really like to give it a shot.
Well I was saying this since the realease date of rMB. 
From the Cinenebench scores of given CPUs it was pretty obvious.
However, in the longer term heavy usage (not a couple of minutes benchmark on cold machine), it should be a bit slower than base 2011 MBA due to throttling and it's lack of active cooling.
From the Cinenebench scores of given CPUs it was pretty obvious.
However, in the longer term heavy usage (not a couple of minutes benchmark on cold machine), it should be a bit slower than base 2011 MBA due to throttling and it's lack of active cooling.
For me the hate isn't really aimed at this machine, it's just the general arrogance and direction is heading with all of their computers. Its a sign that they only care about form and NOT really function and this machine is just a precursor to updates down the line. They have the gall to release machines with no ports, 3 and 4 year old parts and then call it "innovation" because it's so "thin."
...just WHO is the new Macbook intended for? If the MacBook Air is faster and cheaper and, if I'm reading it right, the iPad Air 2 is more powerful in terms of its computing power, the only thing I can see it having going for it (other than its lighter/thinner form factor) is a Retina display. For all that extra cash?
The iPad Air 2 doesn't run MacOS X.
So you get extreme lightness, tiny size, plenty of RAM, plenty of SSD space, Retina display, decent speed, and MacOS X for your money.
Do you think solicitors, estate agents, someone working in HR, and lots of other people can't use this for serious work? Maybe your view of "serious work" is a bit restricted? Do you think an author can't write his or her next novel on this machine, or a student can't write his thesis on it?
probably to keep the price below $1000. I think this year may be the last refresh to the Air.
As others have said, their laptop line is really large for a company that likes to keep things simple. Going forward, I expect us to see: Macbook, Pro, and iMacs. All have retina displays and all serve a purpose. Next year the macbook will probably be in the $999-$1099 range.
Pricing it the exact same as the Pro is a mistake IMO. Even $100-$150 cheaper and it would tempt a lot more people. I also cannot see them selling anything but the base models of the new macbook or SSD upgrades.
Far too rational for this thread. If you can't spew unreasoned venom, you're in the wrong part of the site. What possible relevance could recent history be?
It's difficult to tell whether the anti retina MacBook posters are narrow-minded or simply haters.
Yep, isn't choice great? If my GF were buying a computer now, she would buy this MacBook. If I were buying a laptop now, I would buy the 13" Macbook Pro.
You're clearly right. Look at the sales figures so far - they haven't sold a single unit!
Great comparison, one problem.
The prices for the MBAs don't include a retina display. All you get for the money is a 2008 TN display, and a poor one at that.----------
April fools joke, the article link to the benchmark doesn't even exist anymore.
Yes, and neither does the video in the other thread. I can't believe that no one is connecting the dots:
- video posted 4/1, "private" 4/2
- benchmarks posted 4/1, taken down 4/2
If you find the touchpad confusing, you really should be looking at some other type of tech product.