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Is the 13" Retina Pro really coming this year?

M

Mongol

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 12, 2012
54
0
I like the screen a lot, but 15" is too big for me.

Currently, I have a 13" Air on order. But if the 13" retina pro comes out, I would definitely want that instead.

Should I just cancel my order and wait for the 13" retina pro? Right now, I have a pretty crappy Lenovo but it still works.

Or should I just get the 13" air now and then sell it when the 13" retina pro comes out, which may or may not even be this year?
 
You are waiting for a product that currently doesn't exist. Nobody has any idea as to when/if something like that will be released. Enjoy your Air.
 
There is absolutely no word on whether or not a 13" version is in the pipeline let alone being readied for release this year after a major announcement just happened. I wouldn't get your hopes up, unfortunately.
 
I think it will, the 15" is out of a lot of peoples price ranges. They could sell a smaller one with higher margins. I would say it's a high chance. No proof as of yet though.
 
I would say keep your order coming. The Retina 13" MBP will not be available anytime soon if it ever becomes a reality. It needs to much power for what the design can handle.
 
skywalkerr69 said:
I think it will, the 15" is out of a lot of peoples price ranges. They could sell a smaller one with higher margins. I would say it's a high chance. No proof as of yet though.
Click to expand...

If anything, it'll take one or two more CPU generations for this to become a reality. Apple has never been able to, for whatever reason, make a quad core, discrete graphics, high-res 13" MacBook Pro. I don't think Apple would ever ship a Retina-resolution notebook with a dual core CPU or integrated-only graphics; it takes a ton of power to remain capable at that resolution. The optical drive being gone gives oodles of free space in the chassis, but the battery has to be a lot larger to accommodate.

I don't think we're quite there yet.
 
fs454 said:
If anything, it'll take one or two more CPU generations for this to become a reality. Apple has never been able to, for whatever reason, make a quad core, discrete graphics, high-res 13" MacBook Pro. I don't think Apple would ever ship a Retina-resolution notebook with a dual core CPU or integrated-only graphics; it takes a ton of power to remain capable at that resolution. The optical drive being gone gives oodles of free space in the chassis, but the battery has to be a lot larger to accommodate.

I don't think we're quite there yet.
Click to expand...

You could be right, want to make it interesting?
 
fs454 said:
If anything, it'll take one or two more CPU generations for this to become a reality. Apple has never been able to, for whatever reason, make a quad core, discrete graphics, high-res 13" MacBook Pro. I don't think Apple would ever ship a Retina-resolution notebook with a dual core CPU or integrated-only graphics; it takes a ton of power to remain capable at that resolution. The optical drive being gone gives oodles of free space in the chassis, but the battery has to be a lot larger to accommodate.

I don't think we're quite there yet.
Click to expand...

What about the analysts report from suppliers? They are already planning to starting making 13" retina screens this fall... what else could they be used for?

I think Intel 400 could power a retina screen fine. I doubt it would have discrete graphics though, which would, as you pointed out, require a bigger power source.
 
There are some rumours saying it will be out by Christmas, or even October.

That said, I don't think they will come out before Haswell and the next MBP refresh - it's debatable as to whether the technology is there yet, but more importantly apple will p*** off lots of 2012 13" air and pro buyers if they release a retina 13" mid-cycle.

My ideal laptop size is 13", and I had been holding out on a slowly dying MacBook since November for a retina update. I settled for the RMBP and ordered that, because I didn't want to wait another year for a product which may not even be released then, and I was in desperate need of an upgrade. Besides, the RMBP is lighter than my 13" pro. I hope I was right...
 
Mongol said:
What about the analysts report from suppliers? They are already planning to starting making 13" retina screens this fall... what else could they be used for?

I think Intel 400 could power a retina screen fine. I doubt it would have discrete graphics though, which would, as you pointed out, require a bigger power source.
Click to expand...


Yes, the intel GPU could power it, but will Apple further cripple the already sort of crippled 13" MacBook Pro? Probably not. It's simply not enough horsepower behind the display to make it happen just yet.

Some people may be okay with dealing with low end graphics with a high-res display, but for most, it would most definitely not be adequate for much other than web browsing which should not be the only purpose of a computer like this. Apple knows this, which is why they'll choose to wait until they can deliver a quality product through and through.

Apple loves waiting.
 
It's possible that the GPU upgrades Intel does in their Haswell architecture will help account for the increased resolution of a 13" RMBP. So I'd imagine that we will see one, but probably no earlier than the beginning of next year, and more likely the spring.

Unless Apple finds a way to shoehorn even a low-end discrete GPU into a 13" RMBP form factor.
 
I sure hope so. The 15 inch runs most of the time only using the Intel 4000, so I don't see why it could be a problem. I just don't wanna wait another year for this, hoping this year!
 
For my usage pattern I picked up a current 13, and personally wouldn't be upset if a retina 13 came out. I'd rather not have to push that many pixels with the hardware they would fit in here, and at the current time it is still a gamble as to weather or not software supports it, especially outside of OSX. In a year or so far more people will have jumped on board the HiDPI train and software will have caught up across the board.
I realize that I am not the norm, but I just wanted to offer another perspective and why. I'll run a lot of dual boot on this machine, and a lot of CAD and CAM mainly on the Windows side. None of the CAM stuff is going to play nice with Retina for a while I'm guessing.
 
Mongol said:
I think Intel 400 could power a retina screen fine. I doubt it would have discrete graphics though, which would, as you pointed out, require a bigger power source.
Click to expand...

Of course Intel HD4000 can power a retina screen fine. It already does. I just switched mine over to integrated graphics and played a 4K video file, no problem. Of course it won't handle gaming, but that's nothing new on a 13" MacBook - pro, Air or White.
 
fs454 said:
If anything, it'll take one or two more CPU generations for this to become a reality. Apple has never been able to, for whatever reason, make a quad core, discrete graphics, high-res 13" MacBook Pro. I don't think Apple would ever ship a Retina-resolution notebook with a dual core CPU or integrated-only graphics; it takes a ton of power to remain capable at that resolution. The optical drive being gone gives oodles of free space in the chassis, but the battery has to be a lot larger to accommodate.

I don't think we're quite there yet.
Click to expand...

For the 13", the retina resolution would probably be 2560x1600. That is only marginally higher than a 27" t-bolt display, which even the previous-generation HD3000 was able to drive acceptably (games notwithstanding). Given the number of people that have used t-bolt displays with Macbook Airs, and without much complaint, I think the performance would be fine especially with the faster HD4000.
 
fs454 said:
Apple has never been able to, for whatever reason, make a quad core, discrete graphics, high-res 13" MacBook Pro.
Click to expand...

Your stating something you don't know as fact. Just because they haven't made one does not mean that they are not able to.
 
brand said:
Your stating something you don't know as fact. Just because they haven't made one does not mean that they are not able to.
Click to expand...

Do you see any quad core, discrete GPU 13 inch MBPs? The fact that something like that doesn't exist is a huge sign that it's not right around the corner.


Not gonna happen till next year at the very least, or else it would have shown its face.
 
I think it's 50/50 this year. It's possible we'd see a fall release, but usually Apple late year laptop updates have been speed bumps only. Apple has said it's going to be a big year for product releases though. Could be all talk, could be for real. I guess we need a few more tea leaves to read or Magic 8 Balls to shake.

fs454 said:
Do you see any quad core, discrete GPU 13 inch MBPs? The fact that something like that doesn't exist is a huge sign that it's not right around the corner.
Click to expand...

I don't understand why people think a QC proc and discrete graphics are needed for Retina. The 15" RMBP by default on the Intel 4000 and with fewer than all cores being used. The iPad has similar resolution to the 13" MBP and yet only has a DC proc.

The fact the 13" RMBP wasn't release means it wasn't released. Nothing else. It could be an engineering issue, or a parts supply issue, or simply a marketing plan (as when Apple announced the 17" and 12" PMs, but did not update the 15" at the same time. The updated 15" didn't come for a couple months afterwards).
 
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