MacBook Review Roundup: Major Design Appeal, but Too Many Key Compromises

[rasputin1969]

Ouch - another bad set of "wait till next version" reviews.

To have one clunker set of reviews may be regarded as misfortunate; to have two looks like carelessness.

 

[iPaintCode]

It's an evolution just like the video talked about with the very first MacBook Air. If Apple stays with the m processor, we can only expect much better performance from Intel and who's to say mini USB-C won't be a thing (that kind of mini connector could let the MacBook have 3 of those ports + headphone).

If you need more power get a 13/15" rMBP or if you're on a budget get a MBA. Give it 1-2 generations and people will swiftly replace their Airs for a MacBook. On a side note, I know each users needs is very subjective but I hardly ever plug in devices when I'm mobile on my 13" rMBP, 99.999% of the time it's just power and headphones.

 

[racer1441]

"I'd totally sacrifice all of the power of a modern laptop, and use something with the speed of a 2011 MacBook in order to just have it a TINY bit thinner!" - said no one, ever.

To me these just seem like Apple showing off what they CAN accomplish now, and nothing more.

I'll say that right now.

I'm going to dump the 13 inch macbook pro for this as soon as the store opens tomorrow. I need word, excel, mail, web, keynote, pages, quickbooks, etc. I don't give a flying leap about pictures (I don't think i have even taken a picture in about five years) or movies.

I want to drop that worthless 2 pounds of weight in a machine I carry around 24/7/365.

 

[randymac09]

I have no interest in buying the MacBook mainly because I have an iMac at home and an iPad and my phone for the go. But if I was in the market to buy a laptop, I'd probably get this.

What I don't understand is that people feel Apple just decided to make a **** computer and not upgrade the others. I know there is a perception that Apple holds back features so that people have to upgrade yearly. But they also consider their customer satisfaction one of their most valued and impressive traits, and churning out garbage would go against that, heavily.

The MacBook isn't for everyone. Neither is the iPad mini or any of the other "under powered" and "stripped" products Apple sells. But there is reasoning behind it, and it's reasoning we don't know.

I know people ask how hard could it be to add another USB-C port, well we don't know that answer but I doubt it was because Apple didn't feel like it or wanted to play a sick joke. I'm sure Apple would love to slap a Retina Display on the MacBook Air, and maybe they will soon, but now is not the time.

We rip Apple for not doing this or that without knowing why. Maybe the MacBook everyone wants would cost $2000 with todays tech. But then we'd all be complaining Apple us up-selling a glorified MacBook Air.

Again, I can't get on bored with the thought that Apple didn't want certain features in their products. And, of course, you could argue then maybe they shouldn't have released it yet. But then a year down the road we would be complaining that Apple was late to the game, or doesn't innovate any more.

Anyway, how about that game last night?

 

[Mackinjosh]

If you spend 1000+ dollars on a computer that can't even run youtube videos at 1080p without stuttering (which this one can't), you bought a terrible computer. This line of Macs is terrible. Spend less money and get the brilliant Macbook Pro with Retina 13 inch. Sure it weighs a BEASTLY 1 pound more (omigod so heavy!), but it also has a few things people need and like - ports and power.

 

[racer1441]

Can we all agree it's just a Facebook-book or Writer'sBook? They specifically targeted cool and hip kids for this one. That's what 90% of people do. Facebook and tweet. Oh, and watch youtube videos.

Any run pretty much any business operation...word, excel, quickbooks, customer service software, ect.

 

[MikhailT]

In the Steve Jobs era, we had both form and function at the same time. Under Ken Cook / Jony Ive, it seems we have one or the other, but not both. This is as true for iOS as for the new Macbook. Absolutely beautiful, at the expense of usability.

Perhaps part of the true genius of Steve Jobs was keeping people like Jony Ive in line, helping them remember the mission.

Dan

What? Apple has ALWAYS made compromises and has many times picked form over functions. Just look at every first generation product and software, heck, look at the first generation of Air.

Apple shipped MBA without a backlighting keyboard two years ago and that had a lot of folks complaining about this unacceptable "compromise".

The trick is to never buy the first generation of any Apple products/software because they are guaranteed to have something people won't like and wait until Apple improves it on the 2nd or 3rd iterations.

 

[dan1000]

The problem with "Apple's World" is that it doesn't sync well with 2015, because it doesn't let me:

1) Charge my iPhone in a hotel room (why do hotels never have enough electrical outlets).

2) Meet someone at a conference, and have them give me a big file on a USB stick (or give them one).

Also, while the USB-C might be fine, losing MagSafe is a real step backwards. Losing the orange/green charging light is a minor inconvenience, but nonetheless a step backwards.

Of all the new MacBook's "sins", the greatest is not including a standard USB port of the kind that every charging cable can plug into.

Oh well. My MacBook Air 11 inch will last a long time. I suspect it will outsell the new MacBook, which is a shame.

Apple's World:

1. Time Capsule storage (no cables)
2. iphone sync over wifi (no cables)
3. Apple TV airplay for displaying onto your flatscreen (no cables)
4. iCloud for photos you took on your iphone (no cables)
5. Charging port (yes, still need this one cable)

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Thsi is what surprises me most about these reviews.

They are all sites I believe have shown extreme pro-apple biases in the past. they are sites constantly saying how everything Apple typically does is gold.

The Verge is a good example of this. They have editorials almost every week about something Apple has done which is the best in the world. Their writers have even come out and said "I have a bias, Deal with it".

and their review was probably one of the harshest. (on the watch).

this doesn't bode well when you're largest "fanboys" are even having trouble promoting your product in the best light.

i'm honestly shocked as it's the first time in a long time that two products launches, around the same time, have both met with moderate reviews.

Could this be expectations aren't met so the reviewers aren't please? or is it possible that Apple has just not hit their promises?

I can't tell till I get a chance to review these items myself in some form, but it's an oddity.

Especially with how strict, and how currated Apple's "favourites" list is supposedly kept. They are very very VERY strict on rules and regulations that their press and marketing support is supposed to have.

I'm starting to think that PR lady who retired (Katie Cotton: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1732490/) was much, MUCH more important to the whole Apple persona/halo than credit assigned her. And/Or, I'm thinking Jobs was much more important in product development than even the immense credit he's been assigned.

Nevertheless, I am pretty enthusiastic about the rumored new TV and the iCar. Maybe the relative disappointment I feel about these 2 is that they are both mostly iterative innovations instead of "next big things". Of course TV4 would be iterative too but iCar- if real- would be a truly brand new whopper.

 

[citysnaps]

I see a trend happening with Apple products in the Tim Cook reign...they look nice and all but they lack something significant enough where many people are going to pass on them.

These products statistically will make Apple money even after lower than expected demand and the extra R&D is accounted for to make them as thin as they've become but ultimate I don't feel they live up to the spirit of what Apple says Apple is (and no I don't mean Steve Jobs though he is who gave Apple its spirit)

Yes, like Cook did with the floppy disk, SCSI ports, FireWire, CD/DVD drive, upgradeable memory, releasing the original MacBook Air in 2008 with one port (and at $1,800), etc...

Oh, but wait... That was someone else's spirit and reign...

 

[sza]

This is targeted as a fantastic netbook. If you want to do serious work like movie editing etc., then go with the macbook pro.

 

[skoobey]

worst shuffle ever made

I like that shuffle, I have the new one and I use buttons on my headphones all the time to go between songs and pause. You don't really need any other controls on a 100 song device.

 

[D28Z98]

I'll say that right now.

I'm going to dump the 13 inch macbook pro for this as soon as the store opens tomorrow. I need word, excel, mail, web, keynote, pages, quickbooks, etc. I don't give a flying leap about pictures (I don't think i have even taken a picture in about five years) or movies.

I want to drop that worthless 2 pounds of weight in a machine I carry around 24/7/365.

You know you can get an iPad for a fraction of the price of this right?

 

[dan1000]

My opinion is that in the Steve Jobs era, the compromises were almost always masterful. In the Cook/Ive era, they have rarely been masterful.

What? Apple has ALWAYS made compromises and has many times picked form over functions. Just look at every first generation product, heck, look at the first generation of Air.

 

[imwoblin]

Everyone's missing the key selling point. You can buy it in GOLD!......

 

[QCassidy352]

Your World:

1. USB for external hard drive
2. Another USB for syncing your phone
3. HDMI port for watching movies onto your flatscreen
4. SD Card slot for your digital camera
5. Charging port for the obvious



Apple's World:

1. Time Capsule storage (no cables)
2. iphone sync over wifi (no cables)
3. Apple TV airplay for displaying onto your flatscreen (no cables)
4. iCloud for photos you took on your iphone (no cables)
5. Charging port (yes, still need this one cable)

I actually use time capsule, Apple TV, iPhone wifi sync, and photostream, but I STILL think the lack of ports is a problem because:
1) I have a wired mouse I really like. Sure I could get a Bt mouse, but my mouse is excellent, and I already own it
2) sometimes plug my phone in, such as to update iOS or make a local backup.
3) cameras other than iPhone/iPad would benefit from either usb or sd slot.
4) use of external hard drives either to make a fully cloned (bootable) backup or to offload media if ssd is filling up
5) charging/syncing random peripherals, such as gps watch and BT headphones

Maybe some people are in a fully wireless world already. I use many, many wireless services, but this is still a bridge too far for me.

 

[CausticPuppy]

I am typically extremely pro-Apple, but the prices of the dongles for this MacBook (in addition to the price of the MacBook) are indefensible.

Fortunately, 3rd party dongles will be available due to the standard connector.

 

[rei101]

When I get an Apple product I always goes for the top of the line and full aspects because with any other I will alway have a missing leg in that table. That is why the Apple computers that I have last for several years.

If you go for products in between... buah. Except for the iPads or iPhone. In that case I may take what I consider enough. I have 2 iPad 4 (I do a lot of live shows) and an iPhone 5 with 32GB of memory each... more than enough.

But regarding laptops I just got the retina 15" MBP full aspects. I still have my 2008 17" MBP and my old 2004 12" Powerbook.

Regarding iBooks... nah, those are good as a gift to someone else.

 

[iBug2]

"I'd totally sacrifice all of the power of a modern laptop, and use something with the speed of a 2011 MacBook in order to just have it a TINY bit thinner!" - said no one, ever.

To me these just seem like Apple showing off what they CAN accomplish now, and nothing more.

It's not a tiny bit thinner though, it's considerably thinner.

 

[darcyf]

Why do people keep reviewing and discussing this thing in terms of what it's not meant to be?

It's not a video editing or photo editing machine. It's not a MacBook Pro. It's not for power users. And the price doesn't determine that.

It's a thin and light laptop with a beautiful display for people with basic needs, which as it tunes out is most people. Read: not tech reviewers and not macrumors readers.

Try discussing the MacBook in terms of who it's actually for and what it's actually designed to do and you might start to see its merits.

Or you can keep trying to pound a square peg into a round hole and blaming the peg for not being round enough.

Your call.

 

[CrAkD]

The verge video review was perfect. Everything I think about the new MacBook. Apple show me next years with more power a price drop and a second usb port and count me in.

 

[QCassidy352]

Why do people keep reviewing and discussing this thing in terms of what it's not meant to be?

Because what it's meant to be constitutes a poor buy compared to other existing options, and because people are disappointed that apple went this route instead of making the MacBook Air a truly excellent option for 99% of buyers.

 

[LordVic]

I'm starting to think that PR lady who retired (Katie Cotton: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1732490/) was much, MUCH more important to the whole Apple persona than credit assigned her. And/Or, I'm thinking Jobs was much more important in product development than even the immense credit he's been assigned.

Nevertheless, I am pretty enthusiastic about the rumored new TV and the iCar. Maybe the relative disappointment I feel about these 2 is that they are both mostly iterative innovations instead of "next big things". Of course TV4 would be iterative too but iCar- if real- would be a truly brand new whopper.

I'm not sure it's a marketting issue though to be honest. I think Apple's PR and Marketting is still in full swing like it always was and is actually still their darling gem.

I think they're just hitting doubles instead of homeruns. (A baseball metaphor now that season has started).

It's not a bad laptop. By any stretch of the imagination. It's not a bad smartwatch by any stretch of the imagination. But when Apple has been hitting cleanup over the last two decades, and then suddenly only hits doubles, you have to wonder if they still have the batting strength.

were people honestly clamouring for .5lb lighter laptop? and were they honestly willing to sacrifice 30-40% of the performance for a slightly marginal difference? 2mm thickness isn't going to suddenly save your backpack space. .5lb isn't suddenly going to break your back.

so advertising this as the "greatest revolution in laptos" or in the watches case "This will change your life" is questionable and sets up serious expectations. Then to deliver products that don't clearly differentiate themselves, and to do it at far higher prices than market expectations, You're not going to get raving reviews.

if the MacBook were to be released today with the MBA pricing, this story would be different. But it's not. this is a more expensive laptop for less of a laptop.

When Apple dropped the CD drive from the Mac Pro's, they were able to save considerable size and weight. There was sa dramatic difference in the devices before and after. sure it sucked for all those CD/DVD users, but there was a siginficant reason for removing it. That clear and decisive reason is NOT here.

 

[cardfan]

It's not been a very good year for Apple so far. Hopefully things will improve over the summer with iOS 9.

 

[citysnaps]

Why do people keep reviewing and discussing this thing in terms of what it's not meant to be?

It's not a video editing or photo editing machine. It's not a MacBook Pro. It's not for power users. And the price doesn't determine that.

It's a thin and light laptop with a beautiful display for people with basic needs, which as it tunes out is most people. Read: not tech reviewers and not macrumors readers.

Try discussing the MacBook in terms of who it's actually for and what it's actually designed to do and you might start to see its merits.

Or you can keep trying to pound a square peg into a round hole and blaming the peg for not being round enough.

Your call.

Finally, someone who gets it and Apple's design philosophy!

Most others are as breathless as they were when the 2008 MacBook Air was introduced with one port, 2 GB of RAM, and an 80 GB spinning disk - for $1,800. I remember that time well with all those sporting squinty-eyed sneers barely able to contain themselves bleating out predictions of doom.

Déjà vu, all over again...