Macbook pro 13 inch with retina has only 128 gb SSD storage?

[Bankaimadness]

I did some research and apparently the base model for the 13 inch retina has only a 128 SSD.

The laptop itself cost around $1299 and the SSD is some sort of variant that is not a 2.5mm drive.

It also isn't very user-friendly in terms of upgradeable from what I have read.

Am I getting this right?

 

[mrnorwegian]

Hi! I have the 2015 base model and it´s a 128 SSD. I use to SSD mostly for programs and keep my images and videos on a NAS and external hard drive. You probably need something bigger if you want to store everything on the mac though.

Not sure if its possible to upgrade it yourself.

 

[Bankaimadness]

Hi! I have the 2015 base model and it´s a 128 SSD. I use to SSD mostly for programs and keep my images and videos on a NAS and external hard drive. You probably need something bigger if you want to store everything on the mac though.

Not sure if its possible to upgrade it yourself.

Damn that is really bad. I was considering the 13 inch pro with retina display before, but this put the nail on the coffin for me.

Not being able to upgrade with a 2.5mm SSD is pretty bad. Not to mention 128 GB of storage is BAD in this age.

Good thing I did a little bit more research into this regard.

 

[mrnorwegian]

Yeah, its pretty small. The 256 and 512 upgrades cost a leg and an arm where I live so my strategy is external drives Have you considered something like the Minidrive in the SD slot?

http://eu.minidrive.bynifty.com

http://9to5mac.com/2014/05/23/three...k-air-or-retina-pro-through-the-sd-card-slot/

 

[kick53rv3]

Damn that is really bad. I was considering the 13 inch pro with retina display before, but this put the nail on the coffin for me.

Not being able to upgrade with a 2.5mm SSD is pretty bad. Not to mention 128 GB of storage is BAD in this age.

Good thing I did a little bit more research into this regard.

the only way to upgrade is getting an used SSD from another rMBP with the same form factor, but might as well just pay the extra and get 256GB

the rMBP and MBP line never been cheap and apple always do this to bring down the starting price, just look at the products: iPhone starts at 16GB, iPad starts at 16GB. they put a cheaper product out so they can have a cheaper entry point and some people are okay with the smaller storage and find ways to get by.

in my opinion I actually like them having this slightly cheaper small storage option, I have family and relatives that used the 16GB/128GB options as they mainly use it for web browsing but loves the UI/UX of a mac (plus that trackpad) and do not need the storage for tons of apps, music (spotify?), videos, bootcamp, etc

 

[Bankaimadness]

the only way to upgrade is getting an used SSD from another rMBP with the same form factor, but might as well just pay the extra and get 256GB

the rMBP and MBP line never been cheap and apple always do this to bring down the starting price, just look at the products: iPhone starts at 16GB, iPad starts at 16GB. they put a cheaper product out so they can have a cheaper entry point and some people are okay with the smaller storage and find ways to get by.

in my opinion I actually like them having this slightly cheaper small storage option, I have family and relatives that used the 16GB/128GB options as they mainly use it for web browsing but loves the UI/UX of a mac (plus that trackpad) and do not need the storage for tons of apps, music (spotify?), videos, bootcamp, etc

It is pretty bad considering a $1299 computer only have a 128 GB SSD. Not to mention that it isn't "user-replaceable".

It wouldn't have been that bad if you can replace it with an after market SSD.

 

[GrindedDown]

I agree that it is pretty costly to bump up the specs on the computers and I definitely agree that 128 is not enough for anything other than a netbook and my grandma (exaggeration to be sure). However, I do have to argue that it is not the worst value in the world and give Apple a little more credit than they get. You are getting what seems to be class leading speeds and performance out of the SSD Apple is using in their machines. If you manage your workflow where most of your files like music, pictures, movies and whatnot are all on external and you save the space on the SSD for apps, OS, and quick access files that must be on the computer, you're gonna still have a computer that is incredibly speedy.

Having said that, no way in hell is that enough space for me at all. I need a 512 all the way. I do still use an external though for other things and it's just fine performance and speed wise.

 

[T5BRICK]

It is pretty bad considering a $1299 computer only have a 128 GB SSD. Not to mention that it isn't "user-replaceable".

You can buy a 13" rMBP with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB SSDs.

Buy the computer that fits your needs.

For the record, there are other manufacturers selling expensive laptops with small SSDs.

http://www.razerzone.com/store/razer-blade

128GB starts at $2200. The upgrade to 256GB is $200, and the 512GB is another $300 on top of that.

 

[2984839]

My main laptop has a 40GB drive that has loads of spare room, so the 128GB would be fine for me if I was in the market for a MBP. Plenty of people are fine with 128 or less.

 

[kick53rv3]

It is pretty bad considering a $1299 computer only have a 128 GB SSD. Not to mention that it isn't "user-replaceable".

It wouldn't have been that bad if you can replace it with an after market SSD.

apple products has never been the budget computer/phone, you are paying for the brand/OS, if they didn't have the 128GB option and just have the basic model being 256GB at $1399 (or is it $1499?) would you still be complaining? I am sure at that point the argument will be 256GB is too small for a $1399 computer.

if you want budget computer look at asus and acer they make great laptops especially if you are techsavy enough to deal with windows

 

[GrindedDown]

My main laptop has a 40GB drive that has loads of spare room, so the 128GB would be fine for me if I was in the market for a MBP. Plenty of people are fine with 128 or less.

To be fair, it seems that at least on this forum and especially in this particular sub-forum that you would be more of an outlier in terms of personal computer requirements.

 

[Bankaimadness]

apple products has never been the budget computer/phone, you are paying for the brand/OS, if they didn't have the 128GB option and just have the basic model being 256GB at $1399 (or is it $1499?) would you still be complaining? I am sure at that point the argument will be 256GB is too small for a $1399 computer.

if you want budget computer look at asus and acer they make great laptops especially if you are techsavy enough to deal with windows

It is a valid complaint that the SSD can't be replace without going into a specific brand or brands. I wouldn't mind it as much if the SSD can be replaced with an aftermarket like the Samsung Evo 850 and etc.

 

[fuchsdh]

It is a valid complaint that the SSD can't be replace without going into a specific brand or brands. I wouldn't mind it as much if the SSD can be replaced with an aftermarket like the Samsung Evo 850 and etc.

What you don’t understand is that the Samsung 850 you refer to is not remotely comparable to PCIe flash storage in the Macbook Pro. Apple is years ahead of the curve regarding storage compared to the PC industry at large, which is only just starting to move beyond SATAIII solid state drives to m.2 and PCIe.

You get what you pay for, and in this case you’re getting speeds that are impossible for an 850 except in specific circumstances (such as in RAID mode attached to a PCIe blade in a Mac Pro.)

 

[Bankaimadness]

What you don’t understand is that the Samsung 850 you refer to is not remotely comparable to PCIe flash storage in the Macbook Pro. Apple is years ahead of the curve regarding storage compared to the PC industry at large, which is only just starting to move beyond SATAIII solid state drives to m.2 and PCIe.

You get what you pay for, and in this case you’re getting speeds that are impossible for an 850 except in specific circumstances (such as in RAID mode attached to a PCIe blade in a Mac Pro.)

How practical are the speeds increase between a PCie flash storage compared to the speed of a traditional SSD like the 850?

Wouldn't you see diminishing returns?

 

[kick53rv3]

How practical are the speeds increase between a PCie flash storage compared to the speed of a traditional SSD like the 850?

Wouldn't you see diminishing returns?

yes people will argue for that apple ssd is faster or it has smaller form factor to allow the laptop to be thin

but in the end of the day the key is: apple is a business, if they allowed SSD swapping they would lose a lot of profit. Price of everything is always linked to the demand of the item, apple is not going to sell MBP at $1000 when it sells like hotcakes at $1300. They know they can get away with selling nonreplaceble SSDs, they know that people will be willing to pay for the higher price model.

yes they will lose some sales to people like the OP that doesn't like the price.

Chances are they have done a research to prove the following:

if selling replaceable SSDs: they make more sales to include people like the OP, they lose money because more people that could have bought the 256GB version will buy the base model and replace it themselves.

if selling nonreplaceable SSDs: they lose some sales to people like the OP, but chances are if they are willing to put in $1299 they are willing to go a bit higher to get the 256GB model and they make $200 more on every person in that group.

and I can only assume that a lot of people are willing to pay the $200 than settle with windows machine

 

[2984839]

How practical are the speeds increase between a PCie flash storage compared to the speed of a traditional SSD like the 850?

Wouldn't you see diminishing returns?

It depends on what you're doing, but there are definitely diminishing returns. I can't tell the difference between SATA II and SATA III speeds unless I'm doing large file transfers or benchmarks. Booting, opening applications, and doing normal work with files will not be noticeably different. It's like asking whether a rocket car or an IndyCar will get you to the end of the street faster.

If you do work with very large files, you may notice a difference with the PCIe drive. Whether it's worth the cost is up to you.

 

[Hieveryone]

Yeah 1299 plus tax is a lot of money and 128 gb is pretty useless.

What you actually get is less storage.

If you can, go for the 256. It's been worth it for me. Very useful laptop.

Or you can go with Dell. they have some good options for less money but comprable specs.

Just remember, no Mavericks. Which is what I use. I really like it. prob more than windows 8.

I would recommend a refurb 256 GB model MBPr.

 

[roncron]

Yeah, its pretty small. The 256 and 512 upgrades cost a leg and an arm where I live so my strategy is external drives Have you considered something like the Minidrive in the SD slot?

http://eu.minidrive.bynifty.com

http://9to5mac.com/2014/05/23/three...k-air-or-retina-pro-through-the-sd-card-slot/

Thank you for this info, this is really helpful. I have a 512, but I have friends and coworkers with 128 who are running out of room, and this looks like an easy and very useful solution for them.

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I did some research and apparently the base model for the 13 inch retina has only a 128 SSD.

The laptop itself cost around $1299 and the SSD is some sort of variant that is not a 2.5mm drive.

It also isn't very user-friendly in terms of upgradeable from what I have read.

Am I getting this right?

Did your research also reveal that Apple apparently sells a model with a 256gb SSD for an extra $200?

Or did you just want to rant about how Apple products are high priced, not easily user-upgradable, or under-spec'ed at the entry level? Because it's fine if you feel that way, maybe you should be looking for a nice Windows laptop instead. And a nice Windows user forum.

 

[MartinAppleGuy]

I did some research and apparently the base model for the 13 inch retina has only a 128 SSD.

The laptop itself cost around $1299 and the SSD is some sort of variant that is not a 2.5mm drive.

It also isn't very user-friendly in terms of upgradeable from what I have read.

Am I getting this right?

It's PCIE based SSD, with speeds of over 1GBps read write (around 4-5x faster than a normal SSD you'd find on a Windows laptop, or around 11X faster than a HDD on a Windows laptop).

Think of it like this, a standard SSD in a Windows laptop such as that EVO you mentioned is like a Golf GTi R32, nice and fast and good value for money and comes with a lot of space. The SSD in the MacBook Pro is more like a Bugatti Veyron; it's one of the fastest road cars out there, it can accelerate several times faster than the Golf, but comes with less space and is more expensive.

You get what you pay for, it's just up to you on whether you want speed or storage.

As a Pro machine, 128GB could definitely be enough for Pro users as it should only store applications as well as files that the user is currently using. Anything that the user is not using should be held on external storage and backups.