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Flaws of the 2012 Retina MBP

T

that1guyy

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 11, 2011
454
20
Just thought I'd make a thread about the things I specifically didn't like about this redesign. Overall I am loving it though.

I both love and am a little disappointed at the same time.

1. No user upgradeable storage
2. Ditto with RAM. This hurts man.
3. small thing but ONLY ONE HEADPHONE INPUT. what happened to the headphone + microphone jacks like on the last one? I don't want to buy adapters and dongles
4. only two usb ports? Pathetic
5. Also, only 720p camera? Come on this 2012. they probably will update to 1080p in the spec bump next year.
6. $2800 for the high end 15 inch?!!? WTF. I thought the predictions of $3000 were laughable but I guess not.
7. Still only Stereo speakers. No subwoofer on the retina model either!
8. 1440 x 900 base resolution! WTF I need that extra screen space I get with 1650 x 1050!

Feel free to add anything else.

I've been waiting for buying this for several months now but a few things make me hesitant.

The main one is the price. I was willing to spend about $2300- $2400 for a BTO decently upgraded MBP. But this very high starting price is obscene and with the soldered RAM, it's even more expensive(I need 16GB).

The second main one is the screen resolution. Retina's great but the screen space is just too small to do serious work. I was hoping for at least 1080p for base resolution.

There are other things as mentioned in the first list, but these two I just mentioned might be big deal-breakers. I would use this machine for hd video editing and compositing work. I also plan on trying some 3d modeling with it.

Do you guys think it's worth it, even with the big drawbacks?
 
that1guyy said:
Just thought I'd make a thread about the things I specifically didn't like about this redesign. Overall I am loving it though.

I both love and am a little disappointed at the same time.

1. No user upgradeable storage
2. Ditto with RAM. This hurts man.
3. small thing but ONLY ONE HEADPHONE INPUT. what happened to the headphone + microphone jacks like on the last one? I don't want to buy adapters and dongles
4. only two usb ports? Pathetic
5. Also, only 720p camera? Come on this 2012. they probably will update to 1080p in the spec bump next year.
6. $2800 for the high end 15 inch?!!? WTF. I thought the predictions of $3000 were laughable but I guess not.
7. Still only Stereo speakers. No subwoofer on the retina model either!
8. 1440 x 900 base resolution! WTF I need that extra screen space I get with 1650 x 1050!

Feel free to add anything else.

I've been waiting for buying this for several months now but a few things make me hesitant.

The main one is the price. I was willing to spend about $2300- $2400 for a BTO decently upgraded MBP. But this very high starting price is obscene and with the soldered RAM, it's even more expensive(I need 16GB).

The second main one is the screen resolution. Retina's great but the screen space is just too small to do serious work. I was hoping for at least 1080p for base resolution.

There are other things as mentioned in the first list, but these two I just mentioned might be big deal-breakers. I would use this machine for hd video editing and compositing work. I also plan on trying some 3d modeling with it.

Do you guys think it's worth it, even with the big drawbacks?
Click to expand...

you couldn't possibly have expected all of this. There isn't a single comparable laptop that offers what this new MBP has, and if does exist, you should buy that. Apple can't call every loyal customer and ask what they would want and implement that. and its been said everywhere, but apple has to make a product that satisfies most of its customers. I for one have never used my line in on a computer since 2002. Apple doesn't do user swappable. It is horrible and dirty, but we have to just accept that. every time i see a iPhone mockup with a replaceable battery cover i want stab someone with a sharp object. and yes there are only 2 usb ports, but also 2 thunderbolt ports, and you can buy adapters and so on...stop expecting all this and you won't be disappointed.
 
that1guyy said:
Just thought I'd make a thread about the things I specifically didn't like about this redesign. Overall I am loving it though.

I both love and am a little disappointed at the same time.

1. No user upgradeable storage
2. Ditto with RAM. This hurts man.
3. small thing but ONLY ONE HEADPHONE INPUT. what happened to the headphone + microphone jacks like on the last one? I don't want to buy adapters and dongles
4. only two usb ports? Pathetic
5. Also, only 720p camera? Come on this 2012. they probably will update to 1080p in the spec bump next year.
6. $2800 for the high end 15 inch?!!? WTF. I thought the predictions of $3000 were laughable but I guess not.
7. Still only Stereo speakers. No subwoofer on the retina model either!
8. 1440 x 900 base resolution! WTF I need that extra screen space I get with 1650 x 1050!

Feel free to add anything else.

I've been waiting for buying this for several months now but a few things make me hesitant.

The main one is the price. I was willing to spend about $2300- $2400 for a BTO decently upgraded MBP. But this very high starting price is obscene and with the soldered RAM, it's even more expensive(I need 16GB).

The second main one is the screen resolution. Retina's great but the screen space is just too small to do serious work. I was hoping for at least 1080p for base resolution.

There are other things as mentioned in the first list, but these two I just mentioned might be big deal-breakers. I would use this machine for hd video editing and compositing work. I also plan on trying some 3d modeling with it.

Do you guys think it's worth it, even with the big drawbacks?
Click to expand...

Lol, No subwoofer. If ur looking for an audiophile experience, id suggest investing in a soundsystem. Subwoofer on a Laptop? Lol. No.

The Retinas seem to be adding ~700 USD to the price... very expensive.

No user upgradable storage? hm.. im not sure but I hope u dont mean to upgrade memory means tonbuy a new computer... Ill await better in depth reviews...

I agree no seperate in/out audio ports is dumb. As a musician I use both simultaneously often. Ill have to get a USB adapter or so...

But glad to see they put some attention into the heat issue, the new thermal system looks fantastic, but im sure will need constant checking in order to maintain clean operation.

So if I want to upgrade my HD and RAM later on... ur saying that is not possible and its soldered onto the MB like the GPU? I find that hard to believe.
 
that1guyy said:
Do you guys think it's worth it, even with the big drawbacks?
Click to expand...

Nothing you said qualifies as a "big drawback" to me.

Who needs a 1080P webcam over a 720P one? The camera isn't the limiting factor in video chat quality, it's bandwidth and compression.

Subwoofers in a laptop made me lol.

I still haven't seen proof that the SSD isn't user-replaceable. There's replacements for the 2011 Airs, and I expect the same to happen for the RMBP. If it DOES end up being true that the RAM or the SSD aren't replaceable, that is indeed very lame. The upgradability of my Mac Pro is what's made it so viable in the long term. The thing is almost 5 years old and performs like it's new.
 
that1guyy said:
1. No user upgradeable storage
2. Ditto with RAM. This hurts man.
3. small thing but ONLY ONE HEADPHONE INPUT. what happened to the headphone + microphone jacks like on the last one? I don't want to buy adapters and dongles
4. only two usb ports? Pathetic
5. Also, only 720p camera? Come on this 2012. they probably will update to 1080p in the spec bump next year.
6. $2800 for the high end 15 inch?!!? WTF. I thought the predictions of $3000 were laughable but I guess not.
7. Still only Stereo speakers. No subwoofer on the retina model either!
8. 1440 x 900 base resolution! WTF I need that extra screen space I get with 1650 x 1050!
Click to expand...
1. Wrong - it is replaceable, but you'll have to wait for OWC to release one.
2. Not a big deal.
3. If you care about sound quality, you'll be using external solutions. I'll be using mine with a Fiio E17 for sound output.
4. USB hubs.
5. no comment
6. CPU and storage spec bumps. Also, given Intel's CPU tiering in the past, the base model won't have some features that are present on the more powerful models.
7. see #3
8. Where did you see that? Native resolution is 2880x1800.
 
lol, the two USB ports were seriously pitiful. I mean really? You're getting rid of ODD, firewire, and Ethernet, the least you can do is provide us with two more USB's. And it's not like they were technologically impaired or they had no room either.
 
pacman7331 said:
Lol, No subwoofer. If ur looking for an audiophile experience, id suggest investing in a soundsystem. Subwoofer on a Laptop? Lol. No.

The Retinas seem to be adding ~700 USD to the price... very expensive.

No user upgradable storage? hm.. im not sure but I hope u dont mean to upgrade memory means tonbuy a new computer... Ill await better in depth reviews...

I agree no seperate in/out audio ports is dumb. As a musician I use both simultaneously often. Ill have to get a USB adapter or so...

But glad to see they put some attention into the heat issue, the new thermal system looks fantastic, but im sure will need constant checking in order to maintain clean operation.

So if I want to upgrade my HD and RAM later on... ur saying that is not possible and its soldered onto the MB like the GPU? I find that hard to believe.
Click to expand...

the memory is more than likely soldered on the SSD is kind of like the AIR it should be removable but its not a common size SSD and would be pricey
 
pacman7331 said:
So if I want to upgrade my HD and RAM later on... ur saying that is not possible and its soldered onto the MB like the GPU? I find that hard to believe.
Click to expand...

The ram is soldered on, and the memory might be a proprietary apple configuration, so if it is possible to upgrade, it will take some time (doesn't look likely though). That is pretty much my biggest concern with the new Macbook Pro (I am looking for a new computer for college, and right now deciding between the 13" Macbook Air and 15" Retina Pro).
 
From the pics you can see that the ram is soldered, but the ssd is the same blade style that they use on the MBA
 
that1guyy said:
1. No user upgradeable storage
2. Ditto with RAM. This hurts man.
3. small thing but ONLY ONE HEADPHONE INPUT. what happened to the headphone + microphone jacks like on the last one? I don't want to buy adapters and dongles
4. only two usb ports? Pathetic
5. Also, only 720p camera? Come on this 2012. they probably will update to 1080p in the spec bump next year.
6. $2800 for the high end 15 inch?!!? WTF. I thought the predictions of $3000 were laughable but I guess not.
7. Still only Stereo speakers. No subwoofer on the retina model either!
8. 1440 x 900 base resolution! WTF I need that extra screen space I get with 1650 x 1050!
Click to expand...

1 & 2. agree, but with 8gb as standard, and 256gb SSD it could be worse

3. I guess this hurts gamers the most, but worst case scenario you could use the built in microphone? But yeah, they could easily have added a dedicated mike jack.

4. Enough for most people. If you MUST have more, get a hub.

5. 720p is in my experience plenty good enough for skype and facetime.

6. Steep, but you do infact get a great cpu and 512gb SSD for that price. Try configuring the old MBP with the same stuff and it will end up even more expensive.

7. Speakers on a laptop is a gimmick at best, not to mention subwoofers. I'm happy theres speakers, but I don't expect to use them for music.

8. I was under the impression that the base resolution was 2880x1800?
 
Omg base resolution people, or else the text would be absolutely friggin tiny... 1440x900. So the desktop appears sharper than the normal 15" macbook, yet the 1650x1050 resolution will appear to fit more in the screen, even though it looks sligthly worse.
 
I'm sure you can adjust the screen space all the way to 2880x1800 if that's what floats your boat.
 
The biggest problem for me is the SSD and RAM. I can't believe it's not upgradable, especially because SSD is so expensive now. Why would I want only 256 GB in a laptop? I'll be using it for the next 4+ years. Do I want to spend $400 extra to get 512 GB (which, by the way, is still too small)? No way

I use cloud storage. I have 3 TB Network Attached Storage on my wifi. I work on huge computer clusters and have access to virtually unlimited remote storage. I am fully aware that there are other storage options, but it doesn't change the fact that I need a lot of *local* storage
 
Marrakas said:
I'm sure you can adjust the screen space all the way to 2880x1800 if that's what floats your boat.
Click to expand...

Yeah LOL. I will be running linux with X at 75 DPI. The resolution for me is about desktop real-estate (not clear text).

If I do run mac os X i will definitely be disabling the HiDPI or whatever mode on it so its not making things larger on the display. Desktop real-estate is king in my book.
 
I'm surprised the RAM upgrades are at least somewhat close to aftermarket prices. Not just for the Retina MBP, but for all upgrades.

The only gripe I have is I can't have a max processor but a 256 GB SSD and 16 GB RAM. I don't want to pay $400+ for the 512 GB SSD when I don't need it.
 
I don't think the RAM upgrade costs are close to after-market prices... What, exactly, do you mean? It's $200 to upgrade from 8 GB to 16 GB...
 
Thank you for the comments.

This is simply what I considered flaws and drawbacks. If you disagree, that's totally fine.

As far as the headphones + mic jack goes, it's not that I'm an audiophile, but having two distinct inputs costs nothing to Apple. Removing it was unnecessary. Now I'll have to use an audio splitter if I want to use my Blue Yeti mic and want to listen using headphones - an unnecessary step.

The soldered components again are something I consider a flaw. Let's not argue opinions.

Thank you for helping me realize about the bandwidth restrictions with video chatting. A 1080p webcam would not be ideal for chatting after all.

As for USB ports. Yes, I can and do use a hub, but again, Apple could easily have added another 1 or two ports. Having only two is just being stingy.

Regarding the resolution I was talking about the physical screen space. I doubt you could increase that past 1440 x 900. It's a shame to me since I am used to using a high res 1650 x 1050 on the older macs. The retina display just makes the things on screen sharper, not add more space.

Regarding the subwoofer,

The "legacy" macbook pro had a subwoofer built in. For those laughing at the idea, bite your words.
http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs/13-and-15-inch/
(Scroll down to the audio section)

If you look at the audio section for the retina macs, they don't have the subwoofer built in.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and not just blindly downvoting or bashing me.

PS. Another thing Apple could have added was 802.11 AC. I'm not too savvy about wifi tech but hey, if it was faster and is readily available and not expensive to implement, why not?
 
i see only one flaw of the new macbook pro: it has no line in. otherwise it's a truly revolutionary machine.

and i'm now 4,250 poorer.
 
css136 said:
The biggest problem for me is the SSD and RAM. I can't believe it's not upgradable, especially because SSD is so expensive now. Why would I want only 256 GB in a laptop? I'll be using it for the next 4+ years. Do I want to spend $400 extra to get 512 GB (which, by the way, is still too small)? No way

I use cloud storage. I have 3 TB Network Attached Storage on my wifi. I work on huge computer clusters and have access to virtually unlimited remote storage. I am fully aware that there are other storage options, but it doesn't change the fact that I need a lot of *local* storage
Click to expand...
Haha, you think SSDs are so expensive now?

I bought a 32GB (about 29GB usable) SSD about 4 years ago. SLC, 1.8" PATA-ZIF, extremely rare, $280.

I bought a 80GB (formatted to 64GB) SSD about two years ago. Intel X25-M G2. $250.

Now it's very possible to get 256GB SATA3 SSDs for under $200 shipped. That's okay, in a few years a 1TB SSD (which costs more than $2000 apiece now) will be the minimum 'recommended' size. I personally don't care.
 
RAM goes bad, your laptop is out of warranty, you're looking at a 400 dollar repair. Compared to 40 dollars with the regular MBP all because you can't handle an extra pound and want higher res.

The high res makes sense for the video final cut pro users though.

Just my 2 cents *shrug ...

Marrakas said:
Omg big deal
Click to expand...
 
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