For everyone ranting about rMB not being powerful enough. Don't buy it.

[Skylitfly]

If you need power, fine. Buy 15" rMBP, iMac or Mac Pro.

Basically for people who admire portability and small form factor rMB is perfect device. It's perfectly capable enough to do all light computing tasks and also some slightly heavier tasks like some Photoshop work.

Personally I could do all my work on iPhone or iPad if just the software was capable enough.

I wonder why people who knows for sure that rMB isn't for them rant about it being too slow. Obviously it's too slow for their usage but perfectly capable for many others.

Rant over.

 

[Command]

You think people would be able to figure this out, really. There are plenty of options. It's basically a bridge between iPad life and MacBookPro life... I'm surprised it doesn't have a touch display, tbh.

 

[Skylitfly]

You think people would be able to figure this out, really. There are plenty of options. It's basically a bridge between iPad life and MacBookPro life... I'm surprised it doesn't have a touch display, tbh.

Yeah. Indeed, it's bridge between iPad and MBP.

I'm not surprised at all that it doesn't have touchscreen. In my opinion toichscreen on a laptop is extremely impractical and confusing. Also, OS X isn't touch friendly OS to begin with.

 

[TSloper74]

The new MacBook covers anyone wants the portability of an iPad but doesn't want to sacrifice the benefits/capabilities of OS X. It is NOT a MBPR in a 12" form factor. It is great for portable productivity use cases or coding but it is not great for full time video editing or photographic editing. It is not suitable for transcoding HD sources other than in a pinch. It, by its design, will not sustain the high side of the turbo boost frequencies for very long. It will duty cycle the frequencies effectively bringing down the average frequency considerably. It's a great machine but if you need a MBPR it will not be a suitable permanent replacement. I think for many it will be a better option than an iPad for a travel solution.

 

[Command]

Yeah. Indeed, it's bridge between iPad and MBP.

I'm not surprised at all that it doesn't have touchscreen. In my opinion toichscreen on a laptop is extremely impractical and confusing. Also, OS X isn't touch friendly OS to begin with.

Sorry, the 'tbh' at the end might have displaced the intended sarcasm. I wouldn't find any laptop practical with touchscreen unless it completely converted...but, that might just be me.

 

[ZipZap]

Yeah. Indeed, it's bridge between iPad and MBP.

I'm not surprised at all that it doesn't have touchscreen. In my opinion toichscreen on a laptop is extremely impractical and confusing. Also, OS X isn't touch friendly OS to begin with.

The only part of this statement that is correct is that OSX has no support for touch.

But it should!

If you find touch displays confusing, or worse impractical on a laptop, you probably dont need to be using computers at all.

 

[KPOM]

The only part of this statement that is correct is that OSX has no support for touch.

But it should!

If you find touch displays confusing, or worse impractical on a laptop, you probably dont need to be using computers at all.

Not sure if serious.

It's taken Microsoft multiple attempts to add touch to Windows and sort out the UI inconsistencies. Maybe they have it right with Windows 10, but only time will tell. The problem is that what makes for a good touch-optimized interface doesn't always work well for desktop applications and vice versa. Buttons need to be larger, there needs to be support for rotating screens, etc. to adequately use touch. Then there's the "gorilla arm" issue.

If Apple does merge the code, they'll need to take a much more gradual approach than Microsoft did. So far they are using features such as hand-off to make the two interfaces complementary, but not identical. That may be a better approach in the long run.

 

[Command]

Not sure if serious.

It's taken Microsoft multiple attempts to add touch to Windows and sort out the UI inconsistencies. Maybe they have it right with Windows 10, but only time will tell. The problem is that what makes for a good touch-optimized interface doesn't always work well for desktop applications and vice versa. Buttons need to be larger, there needs to be support for rotating screens, etc. to adequately use touch. Then there's the "gorilla arm" issue.

If Apple does merge the code, they'll need to take a much more gradual approach than Microsoft did. So far they are using features such as hand-off to make the two interfaces complementary, but not identical. That may be a better approach in the long run.

Good reply. Anything I typed ended up coming out negative so I didn't post...

 

[kingofwale]

If you need power, fine. Buy 15" rMBP, iMac or Mac Pro.

Basically for people who admire portability and small form factor rMB is perfect device. It's perfectly capable enough to do all light computing tasks and also some slightly heavier tasks like some Photoshop work.

Personally I could do all my work on iPhone or iPad if just the software was capable enough.

I wonder why people who knows for sure that rMB isn't for them rant about it being too slow. Obviously it's too slow for their usage but perfectly capable for many others.

Rant over.

clearly people want at least some feature of the laptop, but despises the other features. that's why people rant (if they don't want it at all, then there won't be any rant.. such as me and Mac Pro)


so to say "oh, if you don't like it, don't buy it" doesn't really answer the issue of the problem. It would be like "If you don't like the government, go move to another issue".*shrugs*

 

[iSheep5S]

... but then you have to wonder about its shelf life. Given Mac users keep their devices for many years.

As the Pro's have plenty power now, will OSX have to lag behind to keep with the power of this already low powered machine or...

Will it just stutter around like an iPhone 4S (rMB) when the 6 (rMBP) is around?

Old, underpowered machines are dropped from support. Phone, Pad and Mac.

 

[PDFierro]

At this point, I don't think too many people are complaining performance. Many people were until they actually saw how capable the Core M is.

I think the big issue people have is the lack of ports. In which case, yeah they shouldn't buy it and should just go for the rMBP if they need all those ports.

 

[Hankster]

If you need power, fine. Buy 15" rMBP, iMac or Mac Pro.

Basically for people who admire portability and small form factor rMB is perfect device. It's perfectly capable enough to do all light computing tasks and also some slightly heavier tasks like some Photoshop work.

Personally I could do all my work on iPhone or iPad if just the software was capable enough.

I wonder why people who knows for sure that rMB isn't for them rant about it being too slow. Obviously it's too slow for their usage but perfectly capable for many others.

Rant over.

The people who own a MacBook Pro and are complaining they cannot upgrade to a Retina MacBook are just silly. The MacBook Pro is the most powerful laptop line Apple offers. The Retina MacBook is not supposed to compete with the MacBook Pro line. The only reason users of MacBook Pros are complaining is because they simply want an excuse to upgrade, but the Retina MacBook is not an update to the MacBook Pro.

I have the MacBook Air and the Retina MacBook. If you look at my history you will not see one post from me in the MacBook Pro forum. This is because I do not own a MacBook Pro so why in the world would I waste my time posting in that forum. I also have no interest in the iWatch and therefore I did not post in the iWatch fourm. The people who are here to vent their frustration is because they cannot upgrade from their MacBook Pro. That's the bottom line.

 

[iSheep5S]

The people who own a MacBook Pro and are complaining they cannot upgrade to a Retina MacBook are just silly. The MacBook Pro is the most powerful laptop line Apple offers. The Retina MacBook is not supposed to compete with the MacBook Pro line. The only reason users of MacBook Pros are complaining is because they simply want an excuse to upgrade, but the Retina MacBook is not an update to the MacBook Pro.

I have the MacBook Air and the Retina MacBook. If you look at my history you will not see one post from me in the MacBook Pro forum. This is because I do not own a MacBook Pro so why in the world would I waste my time posting in that forum. I also have no interest in the iWatch and therefore I did not post in the iWatch fourm. The people who are here to vent their frustration is because they cannot upgrade from their MacBook Pro. That's the bottom line.

I wouldn't call the rMB an 'upgrade' to the rMBP... A downgrade yes. If a person sold their rMBP they would have the ballpark cash to add to downgrade to the rMB.

The little thing interests me a lot hence why i discuss it a lot. The Apple watch does not so i never post there much...

 

[redheeler]

The people who own a MacBook Pro and are complaining they cannot upgrade to a Retina MacBook are just silly. The MacBook Pro is the most powerful laptop line Apple offers. The Retina MacBook is not supposed to compete with the MacBook Pro line. The only reason users of MacBook Pros are complaining is because they simply want an excuse to upgrade, but the Retina MacBook is not an update to the MacBook Pro.

I have the MacBook Air and the Retina MacBook. If you look at my history you will not see one post from me in the MacBook Pro forum. This is because I do not own a MacBook Pro so why in the world would I waste my time posting in that forum. I also have no interest in the iWatch and therefore I did not post in the iWatch fourm. The people who are here to vent their frustration is because they cannot upgrade from their MacBook Pro. That's the bottom line.

I posted in the Apple Watch sub-forum a few times. Huge waste of time. You'll never see me back there or in Apple Watch related news threads again.

I do not own a rMB but don't think it's a completely bad product. I'm happy to discuss it and am even considering getting the next revision, though my main complaints are lack of ports and less screen space at native resolution (power is less of a concern for me at the moment).

 

[dexterbell]

I wouldn't call the rMB an 'upgrade' to the rMBP...

I would. I ditched a 2015 rMBP 13 for the MacBook. It has a better display, keyboard and trackpad all in a thinner and lighter package.

 

[iSheep5S]

I would. I ditched a 2015 rMBP 13 for the MacBook. It has a better display, keyboard and trackpad all in a thinner and lighter package.

If it works for you, who can disagree.

Forcetouch on both. rMBP has higher ppi display. Keyboard has 2 camps. Can't argue with thinner and lighter from a Mac perspective. From a Windows perspective the Pro is HIGHLY portable.

Have both.

 

[redheeler]

... It has a better display, ...

No, not quite.

If by better you mean smaller, then yes.

 

[Anand953]

I would. I ditched a 2015 rMBP 13 for the MacBook. It has a better display, keyboard and trackpad all in a thinner and lighter package.

Good for you... But both products are meant for different audience and for different purposes...

People who require more power and ports are going to purchase rMBP no matter what. Also the weight of the laptop is light enough when compared against its competitor. Its a perfect primary machine

 

[dexterbell]

If it works for you, who can disagree.

Forcetouch on both. rMBP has higher ppi display. Keyboard has 2 camps. Can't argue with thinner and lighter from a Mac perspective. From a Windows perspective the Pro is HIGHLY portable.

Have both.

The ForceTouch on the MacBook differs from the one on the rMBP and several reviewers have pointed out the display on the MacBook is better quality than the one used on the rMBP 13. They say its the best display in any Apple laptop ever.

 

[redheeler]

rMBP has higher ppi display.

226 vs 227 ppi. I agree the difference is noticeable... under a microscope.

----------

The ForceTouch on the MacBook differs from the one on the rMBP and several reviewers have pointed out the display on the MacBook is better quality than the one used on the rMBP 13. They say its the best display in any Apple laptop ever.

have you compared the two side-by-side?

 

[dexterbell]

have you compared the two side-by-side?

Don't have to, thats what the pro reviewers are for but I did own the rMBP a few weeks before the MB.

 

[Skylitfly]

clearly people want at least some feature of the laptop, but despises the other features. that's why people rant (if they don't want it at all, then there won't be any rant.. such as me and Mac Pro)


so to say "oh, if you don't like it, don't buy it" doesn't really answer the issue of the problem. It would be like "If you don't like the government, go move to another issue".*shrugs*

Well... actually you can move out of the country if you don't like the government or then you can try voting.

With MacBook it's identical case. You can buy a different Mac or PC that suits your need better. No need to complain.

What most people won't realize is that there is always compromise. You won't get perfect anything ever. You can try but you will never reach it.

 

[happyslayer]

To start, I have the new MacBook and love it, fits all my needs perfectly so far.

But, for the ranting hater types it seems that they wanted all the features of a Pro somehow stuffed into a super-thin, 2-pound package with all the ports. The problem with that is that it's just not possible right now. If it was... Apple would have done it. I do believe they could have added another USB-C port on the opposite side and ditched the headphone jack--of course, then people would bitch/rant about the lack of a headphone jack --but otherwise the tech just does not exist yet to make a fan-less, powerful laptop with a retina screen and decent battery life. It really doesn't. Yes, they could have maybe put a retina screen on the existing Airs but I think the Air has become the "cheap" Apple laptop and a retina screen would have negated that. (Also, I am of the opinion that Apple will probably phase out the Air line as the MacBook matures over the next few years and there are more options for CPU/RAM.)

So for now: If you need/want power and multiple ports, get a Pro. if you need portable and relatively cheap with a few ports, get an Air. If you need ultra-thin, light and a retina screen and don't mind the lack of ports, get the new MacBook. It's that simple.

 

[newellj]

226 vs 227 ppi. I agree the difference is noticeable... under a microscope.

----------



have you compared the two side-by-side?

Anandtech was very strongly positive about the rMB display. I have to say that by eye (and by an eye that's used to looking for small differences), I honestly didn't see any noticeable difference between the rMB and my rMBP. It may be a case of "measurable but not meaningful." Regardless, it's a beautiful display - as anyone who doesn't have a knee-jerk prejudice against the retina displays would expect. Oddly, there seem to be quite of few of the first category here at MR...

 

[RUGGLES99]

The new MacBook covers anyone wants the portability of an iPad but doesn't want to sacrifice the benefits/capabilities of OS X. It is NOT a MBPR in a 12" form factor. It is great for portable productivity use cases or coding but it is not great for full time video editing or photographic editing. It is not suitable for transcoding HD sources other than in a pinch. It, by its design, will not sustain the high side of the turbo boost frequencies for very long. It will duty cycle the frequencies effectively bringing down the average frequency considerably. It's a great machine but if you need a MBPR it will not be a suitable permanent replacement. I think for many it will be a better option than an iPad for a travel solution.

the best option for this overpriced, overhyped iPad is the 11" macbook air.