For those who have used it in person, are you more impressed by the size now?

[newellj]

I will have to check it out again today. It is such a nice looking machine. I really wish they had them available. I would just impulse buy it.

Definitely on that last.

Looking at the info on the tech specs pages, Apple lists three scaled res settings for both the rMB and the rMBP, but there are two "more space" settings on the rMBP vs. one on the rMB, so I think there is one less scaled res setting on the rMB. Not having one to check is a potentially fatal flaw, though, so I could definitely be wrong.

 

[clyde2801]

Then I saw her face...now I'm a believer.

Sorry about the Monkees lyric.

I've already posted that I'm on the fence about this model due to the stated specs and my own use case. Same with the spouse, who already has a 2013 13" MBA.

We both went to the local Apple Store yesterday to check the displays out, enduring the parking lot duels, foot and vehicle traffic, and jostling through the sea of humanity to the middle of the display section.

These things are not only insanely light and thin, but they're gorgeous. And like I suspected the new fast SSD's compensate for the Core M chip when doing lightweight consumer tasks as web browsing, emails, etc.*

Honestly, had the store actually had them in stock we probably would have each bought one on the spot. But since they didn't, I'm going to continue to maintain my disguise as a mature, responsible adult and continue to resist purchasing one. At least for as long as I can.

My advice is that if you have logically, rationally decided that you don't need the nMB, you should avoid the Apple Store at all possible costs.


*And yes, OP, they ARE faster than a 2008 MBA.

 

[pasadena]

But since they didn't, I'm going to continue to maintain my disguise as a mature, responsible adult and continue to resist purchasing one. At least, for as long as I can.

So... a few days, hopefully

 

[newellj]

Yes. The difference, at least subjectively, between this and the 11" MBA is simply night and day, far greater than the dimensions would ever lead you to believe. I agree also on the subjective impression of quality build (we will see how they hold up in actual use) - which is actually surprising because usually lighter things don't telegraph "quality" as well as heavier things.

 

[mattopotamus]

Sorry about the Monkees lyric.

I've already posted that I'm on the fence about this model due to the stated specs and my own use case. Same with the spouse, who already has a 2013 13" MBA.

We both went to the local Apple Store yesterday to check the displays out, enduring the parking lot duels, foot and vehicle traffic, and jostling through the sea of humanity to the middle of the display section.

These things are not only insanely light and thin, but they're gorgeous. And like I suspected the new fast SSD's compensate for the Core M chip when doing lightweight consumer tasks as web browsing, emails, etc.*

Honestly, had the store actually had them in stock we probably would have each bought one on the spot. But since they didn't, I'm going to continue to maintain my disguise as a mature, responsible adult and continue to resist purchasing one. At least for as long as I can.

My advice is that if you have logically, rationally decided that you don't need the nMB, you should avoid the Apple Store at all possible costs.


*And yes, OP, they ARE faster than a 2008 MBA.

exactly. I just bought a new pro, and I would have bought the macbook on the spot if it was available. Now it is 4-6 weeks out....no thanks

 

[newellj]

exactly. I just bought a new pro, and I would have bought the macbook on the spot if it was available. Now it is 4-6 weeks out....no thanks

Good news or bad news? Odds are high that there will be some in stores later this week. That's a guess based on past shipping of new computers by Apple. I think the 4/24 date I was given over the phone was confusion with the Watch. I could obviously be completely wrong about that.

 

[clyde2801]

So... a few days, hopefully

IF they actually get them in the store.

I almost think Apple retail painted themselves into a corner with pushing online sales. I suspect the people who ordered online and have to wait for a month or more would be pissed if someone can just waltz into the Apple Store next week and immediately buy one outright. Moreover, they should be.

 

[mattopotamus]

IF they actually get them in the store.

I almost think Apple retail painted themselves into a corner with pushing online sales. I suspect the people who ordered online and have to wait for a month or more would be pissed if someone can just waltz into the Apple Store next week and immediately buy one outright. Moreover, they should be.

In the old days, the guys and gals from the Business unit would discreetly raid incoming trucks for their business customers and discreetly call them after acquiring a desired item. Hmm....

most would probably just cancel their orders.

 

[bjet767]

"when doing lightweight consumer tasks as web browsing, emails, etc.*"

This kind of talk always makes me ask, what are "heavyweight" and "professional" tasks which will push this device over the edge.

Professional tasks:

1. Coding - web, XCode? Nope won't push the device.
2. Correspondence, Pages & Word? Nope won't push this device over the edge.
3. Video editing, iMovie & Final Cut Pro? Nope, but maybe a bit slower in a render, won't push it over the edge.
4. Image editing, Photoshop and various other vector graphics programs? Nope, won't push it over the edge.
5. Music editing? Nope...
6. Use as lectern device to run all sort of audio visual devices? Nope...

What this machine will not do is have a massive desktop screen. It will run Duo and use iPad for extra screen space.

It will support, with a lot of clutter, devices plugged into it via the USBC adapter.

In summary it is a "professional" device as well as a great personal device. But it is what it is, small, light and good looking. The owner may not get much work done at a coffee shop because everyone will be asking about it.

Enjoy!

 

[AdonisSMU]

IF they actually get them in the store.

I almost think Apple retail painted themselves into a corner with pushing online sales. I suspect the people who ordered online and have to wait for a month or more would be pissed if someone can just waltz into the Apple Store next week and immediately buy one outright. Moreover, they should be.

Do you really think Apple will have them in store? I think that if they do, you could probably just get them to fulfill your order.

 

[Queen6]

Think I am out. Tried a 1.1 in the local Apple store today and it`s everything we have heard; The display is fabulous the colours really pop. The keyboard is a non issue for me, the the keys have very shallow travel, however they are extremely responsive with very nice positive feedback. Trackpad works as promised, a clever development on the original. All in all it`s a great package, definitely best looking Notebook I have ever seen.

The bad, the 1.1 display model was still in 10.10.2, which is not a big deal, just an observation. Switching the display to 1440x900 (scaled) which for me is a necessity, opening multiple apps in fullscreen lag in the UI was very apparent more so than I have seen on any other Retina I also noticed that the demo units software image was sparse to say the least, only Apple applications, certainly nothing heavyweight, I had to take pause to think what to open to load the GPU. Equally was able to induce the lag repeatedly and am now not confident the MacBook will deal with my workflow without overly lagging.

The store was packed being the weekend, so I will likely go back midweek and have another look on a freshly booted machine to see if there is any difference. I have always had concern on the GPU`s capabilities due how OS X scales/renders Retina Apple advised in store availability will be 4 weeks FWIW.

I am definitely going to get a MacBook, however maybe not the current version as Skylake is not so far away and will likely resolve much of the GPU issues.

Q-6

 

[newellj]

Think I am out. Tried a 1.1 in the local Apple store today and it`s everything we have heard; The display is fabulous the colours really pop. The keyboard is a non issue for me, the the keys have very shallow travel, however they are extremely responsive with very nice positive feedback. Trackpad works as promised, a clever development on the original. All in all it`s a great package, definitely best looking Notebook I have ever seen.

The bad, the 1.1 display model was still in 10.10.2, which is not a big deal, just an observation. Switching the display to 1440x900 (scaled) which for me is a necessity, opening multiple apps in fullscreen lag in the UI was very apparent more so than I have seen on any other Retina I also noticed that the demo units software image was sparse to say the least, only Apple applications, certainly nothing heavyweight, I had to take pause to think what to open to load the GPU. Equally was able to induce the lag repeatedly and am now not confident the MacBook will deal with my workflow without overly lagging.

The store was packed being the weekend, so I will likely go back midweek and have another look on a freshly booted machine to see if there is any difference. I have always had concern on the GPU`s capabilities due how OS X scales/renders Retina Apple advised in store availability will be 4 weeks FWIW.

I am definitely going to get a MacBook, however maybe not the current version as Skylake is not so far away and will likely resolve much of the GPU issues.

Q-6

Interesting. The five I got my hands on yesterday were 10.10.3. I loaded up a dozen 1080p YouTube videos, changed the resolution toe 1440x900, then opened Excel, Word and iMovie and checked for things like UI lag and did not see anything of note. It was noticeably better than the MBA 11" I had last month.

 

[koshper]

Yes. The difference, at least subjectively, between this and the 11" MBA is simply night and day, far greater than the dimensions would ever lead you to believe. I agree also on the subjective impression of quality build (we will see how they hold up in actual use) - which is actually surprising because usually lighter things don't telegraph "quality" as well as heavier things.

I desperately wanted to keep my 11 MBA 2015 but just found the display too small and probably text too.

I'm worried this doesn't appear much bigger (screen wise and text size) and wish there was a 14 inch version. Does it appear that much more usable than the 11?

 

[tgwaste]

The thing that will take the most getting used to is the keyboard. It was... Odd.

 

[newellj]

I desperately wanted to keep my 11 MBA 2015 but just found the display too small and probably text too.

I'm worried this doesn't appear much bigger (screen wise and text size) and wish there was a 14 inch version. Does it appear that much more usable than the 11?

Not much. The actual screen size isn't much bigger although due to the ratio change it's mostly vertical screen space, which is helpful. I didn't try the two side by side (you can't), but I've owned two 11" MBAs, one as recently as last month, and with the display on the rMB set all the way up ("more space") it didn't seem any bigger, either in terms of text size or in terms of view ability with two documents open side by side, than the 11" (which is actually 11.6", vs. a real 12" on the rMB). TLDR: much nicer to look at (better color, sharper text, better viewing angles) but not a whole lot of difference in working space. Again, that's based on memory not a side by side A/B comparison.

----------

The thing that will take the most getting used to is the keyboard. It was... Odd.

The only thing that bothered me was that I kept missing the delete/backspace key, I think because each key is a little bit bigger than the "old" keyboards.

 

[clyde2801]

Do you really think Apple will have them in store? I think that if they do, you could probably just get them to fulfill your order.

Who the frak knows?

 

[Mindinversion]

This kind of talk always makes me ask, what are "heavyweight" and "professional" tasks which will push this device over the edge.

heh heh heh: 2 hour movie full 1080p handbrake transcode.

I've seen handbrake do NASTY things to "borderline" thermal solutions in notebooks back in the day.

 

[PDFierro]

After seeing it in person yesterday, I'm still super impressed by the size of the rMB. From how small it is a whole, to how the weight evenly distributes, and that beautiful 12-inch Retina display that somehow doesn't feel small at all.

It's something you have to see in person to really grasp.