New Mac Book for graphic designers?

[bobbydaz]

I know the MBP is the laptop of choice for us graphics people but for me I'm looking for something to replace my iPad for my daily commute. I don't need to be able to do full on extensive photoshop work but the ability to work on InDesign files would be a bonus and just allow me to do much more than my current iPad set up. I would also like to use it in the evenings to work on my Wordpress sites, which I'm sure it's up to the job for.

I guess it comes down to portability and weight, I know the MBP is the more powerful machine but would a new MB serve my needs? I have a Mac Pro at work and a top end Mac mini at home so this won't be my only computer.

 

[MarkW19]

My rMB is coming on Tuesday so I'll be able to report more extensively then. But I'm a graphic designer too, and will be using it as my secondary machine (it will have the most usage throughout the week, but my 27" iMac will do any heavy lifting if I need it to).

For simple work like InDesign or Illustrator, I'm sure it will be fine unless you're going crazy with huge image files, loads of layers and stuff going on, etc. (which even my iMac can stumble at). Depending on the sort of work you usually do, I think it will be fine. I think the 'underpowered' thing has been drastically overplayed. It's not going to do Games, or 3D rendering or extensive video editing well; but for most other things - including basic graphics work - I don't think we'll have a problem.

People have complained about UI lag, but I get that on the 2015 rMBP 13" that I've been using for the last couple of weeks, particularly as you change the display resolutions. It seems more retina display based (that Apple hasn't optimised/sorted yet), rather than rMB specific. Still, I do hope they sort this soon.

I'll do some testing next week and will try and report back.

 

[bobbydaz]

My rMB is coming on Tuesday so I'll be able to report more extensively then. But I'm a graphic designer too, and will be using it as my secondary machine (it will have the most usage throughout the week, but my 27" iMac will do any heavy lifting if I need it to).

For simple work like InDesign or Illustrator, I'm sure it will be fine unless you're going crazy with huge image files, loads of layers and stuff going on, etc. (which even my iMac can stumble at). Depending on the sort of work you usually do, I think it will be fine. I think the 'underpowered' thing has been drastically overplayed. It's not going to do Games, or 3D rendering or extensive video editing well; but for most other things - including basic graphics work - I don't think we'll have a problem.

People have complained about UI lag, but I get that on the 2015 rMBP 13" that I've been using for the last couple of weeks, particularly as you change the display resolutions. It seems more retina display based (that Apple hasn't optimised/sorted yet), rather than rMB specific. Still, I do hope they sort this soon.

I'll do some testing next week and will try and report back.

Look forward to hearing your feedback.

 

[MarkW19]

I've had a bit of time on the MacBook now. First of all I love the machine - it looks amazing and even better than you expect from the pictures. In Space Grey it's stunning and looks really different.

The keyboard is very fast and satisfying when you get used to it - though clicky and noisy. Trackpad is great, screen is amazing. Battery life for what I do (nothing extreme) hasn't been great, but never has been on any laptop for me. Plus it charges so quickly that you can basically do a half charge in your lunch hour, and also use USB batteries when they bring suitable ones out.

The speakers are absolutely stunning! No idea how they pulled that off, given how thin it is,

In terms of performance, I have the 1.1 model. It's okay - it manages to do most things. It's not the snappiest thing in the world, and there's relatively frequent pauses, stuttering in the UI etc. I am a little disappointed with that; but generally it's a relatively capable machine. I've tried multiple tabs in Safari, 4K video, light Photoshop work, a big photo library in Photos, light InDesign work. It's all possible, no huge lags or delays, just a general feeling of it not being all that smooth. But I think that's more UI/graphics based; rather than down to the processor. The 13" rMBP I've been using recently also stuttered quite a lot compared with my iMac, I think it's a limitation of the retina displays in general, and I'm hoping Apple will improve this across the board, before too long.

So, quite a capable machine. You wouldn't want to be going over the top for graphics with it, but as a secondary computer, I think most people will be happy, as long as they aren't expecting buttery smoothness in the UI (that we've come to expect from iOS and most Macs).

EDIT: Turning on 'reduce transparency' really improves the smoothness. Still not great, but much more usable. I'd say this is a necessity for this machine!