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List of MacBook Reviews
- Thread starter HawkBYU
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I'm very surprised Engadget, which is ALWAYS very pro-Apple. only gave this an 81.
this is actually way below XPS 13's review score. and significantly lower than MBA and MBP's score.
this is actually way below XPS 13's review score. and significantly lower than MBA and MBP's score.
Thanks for compiling this list.
This has pretty much sold me. I'm ordering a maxed out online tomorrow
The biggest concerns I had were the keyboard which almost everyone said is easy to get used to and the processor which a lot of the reviews says performed better than they were expecting even using their "pro" apps which I don't use anyway.
This has pretty much sold me. I'm ordering a maxed out online tomorrow
The biggest concerns I had were the keyboard which almost everyone said is easy to get used to and the processor which a lot of the reviews says performed better than they were expecting even using their "pro" apps which I don't use anyway.
I'm very surprised Engadget, which is ALWAYS very pro-Apple. only gave this an 81.
this is actually way below XPS 13's review score. and significantly lower than MBA and MBP's score.
I do not consider them pro apple at all. But this laptop is about tradeoffs anyway, so just like the air I would expect the first round of dings to hit this gen.
Next year when usb-c is ubiquitous as are little hub-lettes, it will do fine.
Thanks for the list
Feeling lukewarm so far, need to see more actual real world performance doing different things. Does it get uncomfortably hot watching 1080p youtube? What strain level is gonna make it stutter? Where's the buttery smooth limit? What about the 1.3GHz model, smoother, warmer etc?
User impressions should be flooding tomorrow, until then I'm definitely holding off.
Feeling lukewarm so far, need to see more actual real world performance doing different things. Does it get uncomfortably hot watching 1080p youtube? What strain level is gonna make it stutter? Where's the buttery smooth limit? What about the 1.3GHz model, smoother, warmer etc?
User impressions should be flooding tomorrow, until then I'm definitely holding off.
The new MacBook is absolutely one Notebook you must try before you commit. If your needs fall within the Macbook`s performance envelope you will love this diminutive Mac, if not you may well curse the day you bought the MacBook, as many did with the first iteration of the MacBook Air.
For me it would be used as an ultralight portable for meetings and on the go during the day. Worst case scenario backup to either 13" or 15" MBPr in the unlikely event of a primary system failure in the field. Equally I have not discounted a maxed out 11" Air as frankly it has far more potential for longevity with it`s significantly superior CPU and Chipset. I could run it docked as a desktop, as a backup portable on the road, passing the package down to one of the kids. The obvious downside no Retina.
The new Broadway Macbook I fear will have a very short lifecycle, with Skylake looming and potential other improvements from Apple, nor is it likely to have adequate performance in a moderate desktop scenario. Same as the MacBook Air the 2016 - 2017 machines will be significantly improved. The single USB C port is far from insurmountable, for me "the jewel in the crown" is Retina and OS X in this small platform.
Time to read, think, look and see...
Q-6
For me it would be used as an ultralight portable for meetings and on the go during the day. Worst case scenario backup to either 13" or 15" MBPr in the unlikely event of a primary system failure in the field. Equally I have not discounted a maxed out 11" Air as frankly it has far more potential for longevity with it`s significantly superior CPU and Chipset. I could run it docked as a desktop, as a backup portable on the road, passing the package down to one of the kids. The obvious downside no Retina.
The new Broadway Macbook I fear will have a very short lifecycle, with Skylake looming and potential other improvements from Apple, nor is it likely to have adequate performance in a moderate desktop scenario. Same as the MacBook Air the 2016 - 2017 machines will be significantly improved. The single USB C port is far from insurmountable, for me "the jewel in the crown" is Retina and OS X in this small platform.
Time to read, think, look and see...
Q-6
So according to ARS, rMB uses the old PCIe x2 SSDs instead of the double-speed PCIe x4 ones used in rMBP and 13" MBA 2015 models.
It's a shame, I was really looking forward to the new SM951 SSDs with astonishing 1.5GB/s R/W..
they seem positive to me. We all know this is an ultraportable, they all review that way.
They mostly seem positive for me too, with many of the reviews saying that they would keep it for ultraportability.
The negative points are ones that we've discussed already at length (lack of ports, weaker than U class processors).
Universally, it seems that they thought it performed better than expected (or at least as expected) for a M class chip.
Most thought it was "warm" under stress but not hot. Reviews were able to run 4K streaming, photoshop.
I would say the biggest disappointment is that, while it seems to work fine with Safari, many tabs open in Chrome slows down the computer. I, however, have noticed that Chrome has really gone downhill lately, especially if you're normally used to having 15+ tabs open at once.
The more negative parts of the reviews were for things I'd never do on this type of ultraportable laptop (video editing, batching files, handbrake).
I thought the reviews would be more negative for the 1.1GHz chip. I'm wondering how much of a real improvement the 1.3GHz chip is and if you could really tell doing everyday tasks. We'll have to wait and see.
Chrome is becoming a dog. Its really buggy lately. I hope google cleans it up. Maybe cleaning out so e of the deprecated html/css/js features.
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They read negatively to me. They also scored it lower than may other macs currently on the market.
I thought these reviews seemed pretty negative...one saying heat went threw his pant leg,and another saying it had lag with more then ten tabs open....if this was only a google chrome issue,then why does my ***$200 asus chromebook*** have no issues at all with heat and can easily run more then 10 tabs open!
For a laptop that cost $1200+,beating a chromebook running chrome browser should be a piece of cake!
Yes the macbook is a beautiful looking piece of hardware,and it has some great tech (retina screen,force touchpad ect) but if it can't handle the world's most popular browser without getting hot and lagging,then is it really worth more then a MS win 8.1 netbook or a chromebook? Let's face it,90% of the time this MacBook will be used to browse the internet,and right now the value vs cost just isn't there!
My Rec: Wait till rev B!
For a laptop that cost $1200+,beating a chromebook running chrome browser should be a piece of cake!
Yes the macbook is a beautiful looking piece of hardware,and it has some great tech (retina screen,force touchpad ect) but if it can't handle the world's most popular browser without getting hot and lagging,then is it really worth more then a MS win 8.1 netbook or a chromebook? Let's face it,90% of the time this MacBook will be used to browse the internet,and right now the value vs cost just isn't there!
My Rec: Wait till rev B!
Yeah, looks like unless you absolutely must buy a new computer now, you're best off waiting for revision 2. My prediction: next revision boosts performance 30% and battery life goes up a few hours.
I read 4 of the reviews and like what they said in regards to the MacBook. It will definitely fit my needs and the only game I plan to play is Sims 4 and will only put about 2-3 hrs a week in.
About what I expected. I will definitely need to make sure the keyboard works well for long periods of writing--my primary app is Scrivener. My only worry, maybe, is the heat. But, that's what the 14 day return policy is for.
I use Scrivener. It's not my main writing app, though. I'm definitely interested to see how I like the keyboard.
Im sorry but chromebooks dont do nearly as much. I can't use photoshop on a Chrome book or do my coding without hacking the chromebook to use Ubuntu then ... its automatically a no go for me.
Having read Engadget's review, I won't be buying.
I was all set to order this morning in the hope of getting it tomorrow, but I've changed my mind. I thought the Core M and the redesigned battery would make for impressive run-times. But it seems the battery isn't very good.
My old 13" Air seemed to go days between charges, my 2014 MBP I seem to charge every day. I was hoping the MacBook would take me back to my Air days, but it seems not.
I might give this MacBook a miss altogether, especially knowing v2 will almost certainly have two USB-C ports.
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Ditto.
I was all set to order this morning in the hope of getting it tomorrow, but I've changed my mind. I thought the Core M and the redesigned battery would make for impressive run-times. But it seems the battery isn't very good.
My old 13" Air seemed to go days between charges, my 2014 MBP I seem to charge every day. I was hoping the MacBook would take me back to my Air days, but it seems not.
I might give this MacBook a miss altogether, especially knowing v2 will almost certainly have two USB-C ports.
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Ditto.
I'm very surprised Engadget, which is ALWAYS very pro-Apple. only gave this an 81.
this is actually way below XPS 13's review score. and significantly lower than MBA and MBP's score.
You must be reading a different Engadget from me. I have not found them to be pro-Apple at all. They delight in anti-Apple link bait actually.
