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MacBook: My Extended Review

Hi,

Just wondering: did you try alleviating the UI lag by turning transparency off in Yosemite's Accessibility prefs? OS X UI animations even on my brand new rMBP are truly dreadful until I do that…
 
SBruv said:
Hi,

Just wondering: did you try alleviating the UI lag by turning transparency off in Yosemite's Accessibility prefs? OS X UI animations even on my brand new rMBP are truly dreadful until I do that…
Click to expand...

I have tried that, and that definitely improves things. It doesn't make everything completely smooth, but it increases the number of windows necessary for things to start bogging down. It's another indication that perhaps Yosemite is just too graphically intensive, or just poorly optimized.
 
TheOakTrail said:
I have tried that, and that definitely improves things. It doesn't make everything completely smooth, but it increases the number of windows necessary for things to start bogging down. It's another indication that perhaps Yosemite is just too graphically intensive, or just poorly optimized.
Click to expand...

Sounds like it's the same as the rMBP then. No surprise there, I guess.
 
Nicely done, and I appreciated some points that other reviews haven't made. For example, I thought the discussion of lag issues was very useful. One potential small point: depending on what you mean by pixel density, I think the rMB and the two rMBPs are for all practical purposes the same (within a pixel or two if you're looking at PPI). I hesitate to even mention that because I don't mean to be at all critical of a great job that obviously took a great deal of careful work. Thank you!
 
newellj said:
Nicely done, and I appreciated some points that other reviews haven't made. For example, I thought the discussion of lag issues was very useful. One potential small point: depending on what you mean by pixel density, I think the rMB and the two rMBPs are for all practical purposes the same (within a pixel or two if you're looking at PPI). I hesitate to even mention that because I don't mean to be at all critical of a great job that obviously took a great deal of careful work. Thank you!
Click to expand...

Thanks! And no, I'm very happy that you want to clarify. I am aware that the rMB and rMBPs each have screens between about 215-220ppi, and I hope that I didn't indicate anything else in the review, but it sounds like I may have. If there's a specific part of the review you that was confusing, point it out and I am more than happy to revise it.
 
TheOakTrail said:
Thanks! And no, I'm very happy that you want to clarify. I am aware that the rMB and rMBPs each have screens between about 215-220ppi, and I hope that I didn't indicate anything else in the review, but it sounds like I may have. If there's a specific part of the review you that was confusing, point it out and I am more than happy to revise it.
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It could be reader error. ;) On the other hand, reader confusion and error is foreseeable. :eek: :D Here's the statement I was thinking of:

"Now, it isn’t quite as pixel dense as other recent laptop displays, but I don’t see this as a negative."

I read the reference to "pixel dense" as PPI, and the Apple web site shows the following values for the laptop retina displays: 13.3": 227 12": 226 15": 220. I may be mis-interpreting the reference, though.
 
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TheOakTrail said:
Thanks! And no, I'm very happy that you want to clarify. I am aware that the rMB and rMBPs each have screens between about 215-220ppi, and I hope that I didn't indicate anything else in the review, but it sounds like I may have. If there's a specific part of the review you that was confusing, point it out and I am more than happy to revise it.
Click to expand...

I believe you claimed that the rMB display is not as pixel dense as other laptop displays.
 
Great review! Your review highlighted what I've been saying all along in the Mac Mini forums. Intel's IGP's are adequate for OS X, but continue to be horrible in gaming. The most current designs while technically are '50% FASTER!', are only going from an unplayable 12 fps to still unplayable 18 fps. The only exception is the Iris Pro with the crystal well cache seen on the rMBP 15 base model and base iMac 21. Here, the extra cache partially makes up for the crappy DDR3 bandwidth that's holding all the other Iris designs back. Hopefully skylake rMB will fix this with the rumored DDR4 memory upgrade.

My wife can't wait for hers!
 
Excellent review. Your point about only having to unplug the single USB C cord from the MacBook really made me reconsider the single port. My rMBP currently looks like an octopus with cords coming from both sides going into 2 displays, an external drive, my iPhone, and the charge cord. Being able to unplug everything in a single tug would be a dream.
 
PDFierro said:
I believe you claimed that the rMB display is not as pixel dense as other laptop displays.
Click to expand...

Ah, I see now! I had meant to point that out relative to other Windows laptops, rather than to other Macs. I'll edit that now. Thank you.
 
good review..

what i decided to do is to get a refurbish 2013 MBA and wait for a couple of gens and get the gen 2 or 3 rMB. :)

sadly, your review is right, this is awesome, but far from perfect.
 
newellj said:
I edited my original post to elaborate a bit. Tried to PM you but it seems to be turned off.
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Ah, sorry about that, it seems like they were turned off by default. I really appreciate you circling back and pointing out where I was vague. I've edited the review.
 
Quick question: are you running 10.10.2 or 10.10.3 on that rMB? Did you do a clean install of 10.10.3 when you first got it if it didn't come with it?
 
Nice Review and Thanks for the comments on Lightroom. Very curious about that specific app for my traveler friends considering this mac for it's light travel weight.

Matching the right externals might be an issue, but it seems many companies are beginning to offer solutions.
 
Alex, thanks. This was terrific.

I have a 2011 MBP, which I'd like to keep as a back-up (still going strong!) but have wanted to get a lighter machine, and I've been wavering between the Air and the new Macbook. I determined to get the Air, wait for improvements on the Macbook (figure in the next couple of years) in power and with the one port, at which point I'd sell the Air. A knowledgeable friend assured me that kept in good condition, resale prices can be very good.

Then...then I went to the store yesterday; I wanted to see (and feel) the two side by side. And oh my, my very rational brain went away and all that was left was "pretty pretty pretty pretty."

Your review doesn't make it easier! Except for the fact that I don't like being the earliest adopter in general, and second, I wonder if the resale for the "first" Macbook 12 will not be so good in coming years, as newer models will likely offer more bang for the buck.

Looking the numbers, I ended up with this:

Air:

• 1.6GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz
• Intel HD Graphics 6000
• 8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM
• 512GB PCIe-based Flash Storage
• Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
• AppleCare Protection Plan

$1748

Macbook 12:

• 1.2GHz Dual-Core Intel Core M, Turbo Boost up to 2.6GHz
• Intel HD Graphics 5300
• 8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM
• 512GB PCIe-based onboard flash storage
• Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
• AppleCare Protection Plan

$1848


Which doesn't make it any easier!

But thanks again for your well-balanced take. I still don't know what I'm going to do, but I really appreciate your perspective.
 
MacBoook160 said:
Alex, thanks. This was terrific.

I have a 2011 MBP, which I'd like to keep as a back-up (still going strong!) but have wanted to get a lighter machine, and I've been wavering between the Air and the new Macbook. I determined to get the Air, wait for improvements on the Macbook (figure in the next couple of years) in power and with the one port, at which point I'd sell the Air. A knowledgeable friend assured me that kept in good condition, resale prices can be very good.

Then...then I went to the store yesterday; I wanted to see (and feel) the two side by side. And oh my, my very rational brain went away and all that was left was "pretty pretty pretty pretty."

Your review doesn't make it easier! Except for the fact that I don't like being the earliest adopter in general, and second, I wonder if the resale for the "first" Macbook 12 will not be so good in coming years, as newer models will likely offer more bang for the buck.

Looking the numbers, I ended up with this:

Air:

• 1.6GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz
• Intel HD Graphics 6000
• 8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM
• 512GB PCIe-based Flash Storage
• Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
• AppleCare Protection Plan

$1748

Macbook 12:

• 1.2GHz Dual-Core Intel Core M, Turbo Boost up to 2.6GHz
• Intel HD Graphics 5300
• 8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM
• 512GB PCIe-based onboard flash storage
• Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
• AppleCare Protection Plan

$1848


Which doesn't make it any easier!

But thanks again for your well-balanced take. I still don't know what I'm going to do, but I really appreciate your perspective.
Click to expand...

There's not getting around the early adopter risks here, but you knew that. ;) One thing to consider: the screen is the only part of the computer that I use basically 100% of the time, and the screen on the rMB is objectively and subjectively outstanding, better than other Apple laptop retina displays according to Anandtech.
 
newellj said:
There's not getting around the early adopter risks here, but you knew that. ;) One thing to consider: the screen is the only part of the computer that I use basically 100% of the time, and the screen on the rMB is objectively and subjectively outstanding, better than other Apple laptop retina displays according to Anandtech.
Click to expand...

You're not making it easier, you know...:D

I'm also someone who doesn't buy new product every year or so - it's all Apple, but I tend to buy for maximum use and then hold on for a while. Indeed, I never even thought about reselling until my friend mentioned that's how he supports his Apple habit.

And the screen was gorgeous, no doubt.

Yes. I still have no idea what to do.
 
MacBoook160 said:
You're not making it easier, you know...:D

I'm also someone who doesn't buy new product every year or so - it's all Apple, but I tend to buy for maximum use and then hold on for a while. Indeed, I never even thought about reselling until my friend mentioned that's how he supports his Apple habit.

And the screen was gorgeous, no doubt.

Yes. I still have no idea what to do.
Click to expand...

Sleep on it? It's not that easy to walk into a store and buy one right now anyway...

It's gorgeous and incredibly useful. Two or three or four years from now, it may look very dated and limited? Hard to say...
 
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