Early Hands-On Impression and Overview of Retina MacBook Pro

[goodwilldrums]

Missing something?

So no ethernet, no audio line in, and no firewire?

This is fashion over function apple can be so good at.

This is part of my 'hate' in my love/hate relationship with them.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

So no ethernet, no audio line in, and no firewire?
This is fashion over function apple can be so good at.
This is part of my 'hate' in my love/hate relationship with them.

Ethernet's on a dongle if you need it. Firewire too.

Audio line in is unnecessary. Either you don't care about the quality and use the onboard mics, or you use an external device with better converters than anyone is ever going to put in a stock laptop.

 

[afawcett]

Grrr what the hell is it with the glossy screens? I want MATTE, ANTI-GLARE, NON-GLOSSY. What's the point of having extra crisp typography when all you can see is the floor lamp behind you?

agreed

 

[JohnnyQuest]

There's a 11 and 13 inch Macbook Pro

A 15 inch Macbook Pro that's different from the 11 and 13 inch macbook Pros
plus a next generation 15 inch macbook pro that's different from the regular 15 inch macbook pro.

Ya kidding me, Apple? You couldn't keep the ibook name or come up with something else or stick with just macbook? You couldn't find another name for the 'next generation' Macbook Pro?

Bizarre

Oh, there's an 11 inch MacBook Pro?

 

[2crazy]

Lack of SCSI port is a total deal breaker for me.

I would be able to get by without a Scsi port, but no build-in 5 1/4" floppy drive??

Apple really dropped the ball this time! I am only buying one to show them how disappointed I am!

 

[jouster]

Most children who want to play games haven't got the money for a Mac laptop, so it makes sense.

And it's true most people can't afford this machine, which is good, gives people something to aspire to.

Lol, what? My aspirations go - like I believe most people's are - beyond the type of consumer electronics product I purchase.

Oh, and I'd like some hard data on your claim that most can't afford it.

 

[colinwil]

good point
no solution via adapter, nor on the tb display either

There are all sorts of adapters - from very simple 'plug your guitar into a USB' ones like the Apogee Jam, all the way up to ultra expensive FW800 and TB ones like the UA Apollo

 

[wrightc23]

Well I've given in and ordered one, I do a lot of software development and virtualisation so I need something extremely quick and still portable.

It's not a Macbook Pro though but rather a hybrid Air/Pro, shame they didn't come up with a new name for a completely new line. Truth is it a stunning bit of technology however as many people have pointed out on here if they'd offered the retina display on the standard ivy bridge MBP I probably wouldn't have ordered a new retina MBP. Because the new MBP has no flexibility with regards to upgrades I've ordered it with a 512gb storage and 16gb RAM precisely because I know I can't upgrade at a later date. Those clever, clever people at Apple, reeling in suckers like me with their limited factory only options!

Apple are clearly going for pure consumer devices now. I assume the non retina MBP's will be dropped as soon as they complete the new line-up?

 

[mitchleeh]

So no ethernet, no audio line in, and no firewire?

This is fashion over function apple can be so good at.

This is part of my 'hate' in my love/hate relationship with them.

Forgive me if someone already responded to you. Apple now offers a range of thunderbolt adapters for ethernet and firewire. I believe the audio input is also an audio output.

Also (not directed at you, but others): If you complain about the price of adapters, perhaps you're not the type of "professional" that needs this machine.

 

[Rideherhard]

2 big negs from me is the power button, they should've left it alone the plastic key board button makes it seem cheaper than the the hidden metal one that's flushed, second no wifi ac other than those two negs it's pretty awesome but I don't think I'd buy the retina one.

 

[Michael Scrip]

So instead of having a thunderbolt that can be used for three different things, the 1" thick MBP just has those three different things so you don't need adaptor. I do wish the 1" thick MBP had HDMI--would've saved me having to get an adaptor for my external monitor.

Bart

The reason your MBP is 1" thick is partly because of those legacy ports (and also the standard-sized spinning hard drive and optical drive)

You know Apple's fetish for thinness. This is just a trade-off.

Dongles may be inconvenient... but at least they didn't remove the capability completely.

 

[ihattwick]

Ethernet's on a dongle if you need it. Firewire too.

Audio line in is unnecessary. Either you don't care about the quality and use the onboard mics, or you use an external device with better converters than anyone is ever going to put in a stock laptop.

QFT. IMO none of these issues are a dealbreaker - especially the audio in -although I assume the headphone jack has audio i/o ala iphone headset.

I'm not in a hurry to spend that kind of coin, but it is interesting to see where the full MBP line wil be in a few years. The only real bummer is the lack of user-upgradable memory and HD, especially given the price ratio of SSD right now. I could easily see SSD hard drives going way down in price in a few years- not being able to upgrade will be a major disappointment.

 

[thrilllho]

My Take...

Well...this sucks.

For me, USB3 is a must in my next computer. However, non-upgradable RAM & anorexic hard drive make this a non starter. No 17"? REALLY??? Some of us do actually need the extra real estate to make a sale Apple.

To say nothing of the HIGH price. This is getting back to old apple days...for that cost, I can get everything I want from a windows laptop and not have to make any compromises.

I hate to say it, I love Apple's products, but Windows 7 is no slouch. They'd better keep that in mind, or people will leave.

 

[nursers]

Lack of SCSI port is a total deal breaker for me.

Winner of best post for this thread

 

[mmille24]

Well I've given in and ordered one, I do a lot of software development and virtualisation so I need something extremely quick and still portable.

It's not a Macbook Pro though but rather a hybrid Air/Pro, shame they didn't come up with a new name for a completely new line. Truth is it a stunning bit of technology however as many people have pointed out on here if they'd offered the retina display on the standard ivy bridge MBP I probably wouldn't have ordered a new retina MBP. Because the new MBP has no flexibility with regards to upgrades I've ordered it with a 512gb storage and 16gb RAM precisely because I know I can't upgrade at a later date. Those clever, clever people at Apple, reeling in suckers like me with their limited factory only options!

Apple are clearly going for pure consumer devices now. I assume the non retina MBP's will be dropped as soon as they complete the new line-up?

Why not wait a bit and see if you can once people start opening theirs up?

 

[wrightc23]

Well...this sucks.

For me, USB3 is a must in my next computer. However, non-upgradable RAM & anorexic hard drive make this a non starter. No 17"? REALLY??? Some of us do actually need the extra real estate to make a sale Apple.

To say nothing of the HIGH price. This is getting back to old apple days...for that cost, I can get everything I want from a windows laptop and not have to make any compromises.

I hate to say it, I love Apple's products, but Windows 7 is no slouch. They'd better keep that in mind, or people will leave.

It's an interesting point, my take on the now rather confused model line-up is that Apple actually don't have enough confidence in the new MBP range to kill off the existing MBP altogether so it's a gradual change in the hope of not alienating too many of their existing customer base. They could have replaced the existing 15" MBP entirely today.

If they killed off the existing MBP there would be one heck of a gap between the MBA and MBP.

Most of the understandable grumbling on here is that they created a brilliant new laptop that sadly no longer addresses many of the core needs of existing Macbook Pro users. What they've created is effectively a 'Macbook Air Pro'.

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Why not wait a bit and see if you can once people start opening theirs up?

My current laptop is on it's last legs and I need a fairly high end but portable laptop asap unfortunately. I've always fallen into the 'there's one born every minute' line!

 

[DanHolderman]

New MacBook Pro looks great but I gotta say I really enjoy watching DVD movies on my current MBP and I'm not sure about no disk drive in the new MBP.

I know: I need to get up with the times, CDs and DVDs are so yesterday, but I still use mine everyday!

Looks like I'll stick with my current MBP for a little while longer....

 

[pacalis]

Funny comment that pro police, but GS17 is right to a certain point. Such specs are taken advantage by either someone who never quits any programs, or an actual pro user on the move (using demanding software other than office/iwork/mail/web/iphotos/imovie/photobooth).

edit
and gamers, pro gamers maybe, I stand partly corrected by myself

Most actual "professionals" tend to work between applications, like word and excel. The MBP's overshoot on processing, but the MBA's undershoot on display quality for this HUGE need.

For some reason most computer companies, and especially apple, seem to think that people are either watching movies (letterbox shape) or modeling 3d protein structures (heavy processing and video), when the reality is that real "pros" don't have their needs met by any of the ipad, MBA or MBP.

That's why the disappointment today - most people don't want to spend $2200 supercomputer, 4x the price of a PC now, but they're willing to spend $1200 on decent computer a premium display, $1500-1800 premium if it's light and beautiful.

 

[kjell]

It may be retina, but isn't it still a 1440x900 workspace?

The display specs say:
Supported resolutions: 2880x1800 pixels (Retina);
scaled resolutions: 1920x1200, 1680x1050, 1280x800 and 1024x640 pixels

So you'll be able to have the same workspace as a 17" MBP with still greater sharpness (more pixels per UI element).

 

[DeepIn2U]

Could anyone let me know if they think apple will release a 13" retina MacBook pro eventually or will the 15" model only be available????

^ 13" MBP, although beautiful in its own right is on its last iteration as I predicted. 13" MBP has better battery life, lighter, faster boot (SSD native), cheaper at 256GB storage and in higher resolution. I own a Pro, and I used to own 13" MBA ... which I'm re-evaluating to own yet again. The CPU has been updated and hopefully the ThunderBolt port now fully supports 10Gb/s Dual stream vs 8Gb/s single stream in the 2011 models. Recall the 12" PowerBook got super-fresh before it was killed, while a new model replaced it entirely (13" MacBook> then Pro). Oddly enough the 11" Ultimate costs $800CAN to get 512GB SSD, while the 13" Ultimate only costs $500CAN to get same Blade SSD.

Will someone tell the engadget guy to NEVER, EVER, scratch two macbooks against each other like in this video?
I can feel it down my spine!

LMAO ... no shrills up my spine, but I wanted to SMACK him nonetheless.

OWC (macsales.com) has been carrying user upgradeable SSD blades for the current MBAs... hopefully this is possible with the new MBP. RAM... prob a no-go.

After watching the video of the 15" MBP Retina over & over again I can SEE the new type Blade Flash storage shown when Jony Ive described engineering all the parts themselves vs purchasing current off-the-shelf parts. Also you can SEE the metal connection for it, and the screw at the back. VERY hard to find but its there.


INQUIRY:
Are BOTH ThunderBolt ports capable of dual 10Gb/s data? Even more so ... can they be joined to support a higher bandwidth connection - in essence use both for 1 type of device in a parallel use?

 

[Ed A.]

i always LOL at people taking pics with their iPad like that, it looks hilarious.

The fanboys might as well bow down and worship it like it's their god, that's what that picture looks like to me.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

I'm only surprised to see it still has a physical typewriter keyboard and the same little trackpad as the other MBPs. I'd have thought they'd replaced the horizontal surface with a full size configurable glass touch control surface, possibly powered by iOS. Maybe that's the generation after next.

Not that that'll slow me down from buying a whole pile of these for the office. Damn nice machine.

 

[GS17]

Wow, pro police in the house.

You know, there should really be a licensing body that monitors who gets to use these computers, like a professional association or something.

Gosh forbid these threads get into the wrong amateur-ish hands.

Nice try, but the conversation in this thread is about how "Pro" the new thin MBP is, and you put me out of context deleting the quote I was replying to about a guy talking down someone with a genuine worry about screen area and saying he uses too many toolbars in Word.

So call me what you want but someone using the "professional line of laptops from apple" to use office and other productivity software or to cut his children's recital using FCP is not a pro computer user. Driving a Ferrari to buy groceries doesn't make you an F1 driver. God I hate car comparisons, but you deserve one.

 

[nutjob]

Lol, what? My aspirations go - like I believe most people's are - beyond the type of consumer electronics product I purchase.

Oh, and I'd like some hard data on your claim that most can't afford it.

Yeah, obviously I mean aspire to in a laptop.

And you want hard data? 8% unemployment, underwater mortgages, lowest community net worth since the early 90's. etc, etc.

 

[bartzumbari]

Matte retina display is an oxymoron. The matte finish adds fuzziness, which Apple will never do.

If you look at a matte display with a loupe, you'll see it's razor sharp--the individual pixels are crisp squares and if they were cut into four pieces, they'd still be crisp squares.

Bart

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Apple have stated the new glossy screen has a 75% reduction in glare, i personally prefer the glossy screen, looks so smart.

The demo video shows fairly noticeable glare, but I guess I'll have to go to the Apple store to judge for myself. I've also heard the glossy glass adds a fair bit of weight.

Bart