As someone else mentioned erlier, it is a cover to protect the magsafe slot from scuffing during charging at the factory.
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New Photos of 13-Inch Retina MacBook Pro Show Battery Layout, Ports, and More [Updated]
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My 2009 Unibody 13" Macbook is buzzing along as fast as my 11" Air i7! Put a 500Gb SSD in it (prices are as low as $350 from Amazon these days), up the RAM to 8Gb and switch to ML. You won't believe the speed increase at a fraction of the cost of buying a new MBP. I bet you are still chugging with the 5400RPM drive and the 4Gb ram it came with, which is probably the source of your problems.
There's a difference between color accuracy and color gamut. IPS displays in general are much more accurate than non-IPS LCDs. So the VAIO Z may be capable of displaying a wider range of colors, but it does not necessarily display them as accurately. The colors that the rMBP can display will be displayed accurately.
The other issue is that in general, wide gamut displays suck for non-wide gamut applications - which is almost everything. So photographers may benefit from wide gamut displays, but anyone else is better off with an sRGB display for now.
The more I read the responses, the more I'm hoping to see dedicated graphics. And PLEASE 1 GB of VRAM! The current base 15" MBP only has 512 MB of VRAM which is ridiculous in a computer that retails for $1800.
And to the guy who said Apple can't fit dedicated graphics in a 13" body - they have done it many times over the past few dozen generations.
My 2005 iBook G4 had dedicated graphics, and it only cost $799 (IIRC). My 2009 Unibody MacBook had dedicated graphics (albeit with shared RAM). Even the 2010 MBA had a discreet graphics chip.
HD4000 is SOOOOOO bad for even the simplest of casual 3D games. A meagre and cheap GT620 more than doubles it's performance on most 3D tasks, and a GT645 would be at least 4x the power... And we know Apple loves to use multiplier and be able to say "4X the graphics power!"
As I said before - if it has dedicated graphics, I will be in line on day 1! If it does not, it's a deal breaker. I will either have to resentfully buy the too-big-for-my-uses 15" rMPB or look towards inferior offerings from the competition
And to the guy who said Apple can't fit dedicated graphics in a 13" body - they have done it many times over the past few dozen generations.
My 2005 iBook G4 had dedicated graphics, and it only cost $799 (IIRC). My 2009 Unibody MacBook had dedicated graphics (albeit with shared RAM). Even the 2010 MBA had a discreet graphics chip.
HD4000 is SOOOOOO bad for even the simplest of casual 3D games. A meagre and cheap GT620 more than doubles it's performance on most 3D tasks, and a GT645 would be at least 4x the power... And we know Apple loves to use multiplier and be able to say "4X the graphics power!"
As I said before - if it has dedicated graphics, I will be in line on day 1! If it does not, it's a deal breaker. I will either have to resentfully buy the too-big-for-my-uses 15" rMPB or look towards inferior offerings from the competition
Don't forget guys, the Air's design is a tapered one while the new rMBP 13 is straight. In order to reach the lowest possible thickness at the front, the Air simply has to be slightly thicker at the back. If you look at the air's left USB slot and Magsafe 2 slot, you will see that it's from halfway above the Magsafe 2 slot that the air becomes a tad thicker towards the back.
If you add the thinner screen to that I would say that while the Air might be as thick as the rMBP 13 at the back, it will still be a lot thinner at the front. So all in all, the Air will still be significantly thinner than the new rMBP 13 .. no doubt about it ...
Your 2008 MB 13 is still a capable machine with 2012 upgrades. $20-30 for 4gb ram and $70-80 for a Samsung 128gb SSD will have that machine humming again. In fact, it'll boot faster than the 2012 cMBP 13 with their cheap stock HDD's!
These are my 2 options too, and if Apple releases a 13 rMBP, I will definitely go for it over the MBA.
I just purchased a MBA
Yeah I'm kind of with you. I'd rather have the slimmer, sleeker, more affordable Air than the pricier rMBP. Retina is nice but it's not an absolute must have. Plus all the conversion and upscaling issues for various programs sounds like a chore. Also, I'm not geeking out about the inclusion of HDMI or any other ports really.
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Why though? I'm facing the same dilemma and while the extra power and retina display are appealing, I don't know if I'd want to pay another $500.
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You actually make a good point. Retina on a phone is very valuable because you are up close with your device most of the time. But on a laptop where the viewing distance is further I don't think it could be that beneficial.
Regardless, I'm interested in seeing how this new machine compares to the Air in terms of size and weight.
However, if it has a 3612QM or the newer 3632QM option, it could have four cores with the same power draw as the current dual core.
That's the only way I could see the retina premium on a 13" being worthwhile.
Use the same hi-res wallpaper on a rMBP and a cinema display (or MBP).
It grosses me out, and it's not even up to my nose.
That said, the graphics card is underpowered for such a screen.
When the Air goes retina will its display be as thick as the Pro's display? Cause the display thickness from non-retina Pro to retina Pro increased as well.
I don't know about you guys but I'm actually scared at the thought of being an early adopter of new Apple products, especially after having dealt with the iPhone 5. The iPhone 5 definitely doesn't achieve Apple's claim of 8 hours LTE browsing time. I struggle to get 5 hours before my phone dies and I'm also dealing with a slightly yellow tinted screen as a result if Apple using different LCD manufacturers to meet worldwide demand.
In the case of this new 13" rMBP, which supposedly will feature new design schemes concerning the battery, processor, etc. I'm not sure if I want to take the risk of jumping on the band wagon day 1. The current 13" MBA is still a very nice computer, priced much more attractively, and by now has no major design issues.
The only thing that could potentially changed my current course of thought is if the new rMBP is thinner than the MBA, at least in the back. One of the reasons I love the MBA is because of its thin and light form factor. If Apple were to offer something to compete with that, well then certainly I would be interested at the very least.
Oh and I'm still using the 2008 MBA as my primary computer so I'm long overdue for an upgrade.
In the case of this new 13" rMBP, which supposedly will feature new design schemes concerning the battery, processor, etc. I'm not sure if I want to take the risk of jumping on the band wagon day 1. The current 13" MBA is still a very nice computer, priced much more attractively, and by now has no major design issues.
The only thing that could potentially changed my current course of thought is if the new rMBP is thinner than the MBA, at least in the back. One of the reasons I love the MBA is because of its thin and light form factor. If Apple were to offer something to compete with that, well then certainly I would be interested at the very least.
Oh and I'm still using the 2008 MBA as my primary computer so I'm long overdue for an upgrade.
Self-convincing of what? I don't plan to get the 13" rMBP. I'm just saying that Photoshop doesn't require a good GPU.
Most of the stuff isn't GPU-accelerated at all. The few that is is mostly navigation stuff like the new zooming/panning/rotating with acceleration and inertia, which I always turn off anyway since they're annoying.
I don't think putting a 645M would have any considerable effect on Photoshop's performance. Your battery would drain faster though.
Also can someone explain to me what's with all the fuss about dGPUs?
I only really care about a little game called Rise of Nations. Does anyone know if the current MBA can support that title? It's an older game and not very graphically intensive.
I only really care about a little game called Rise of Nations. Does anyone know if the current MBA can support that title? It's an older game and not very graphically intensive.
Well when you get the same specs on the MBA (256 SSD, 8 Gigs of ram), the MBA is $1599. Now adding the retina screen (which is pretty amazing compared to the MBA, has a much higher res., plus it is IPS), plus a much better processor, its only $100 more at $1699.
I certainly think its worth $100 more than a similar spec'd MBA.
If the base MBA (128 SSD, 4 gigs of RAM, 1440x900 screen) is sufficient, then that would be a better choice. If these specs fit for you, it isnt worth $500 more. However I am thinking more in terms of High-End MBA vs. Base rMBP. So for me, it is only an extra $100.
Hope this helps.
could someone explain what everyone is talking about with this dedicated graphics and why the intel 4000 isn't good enough? basically i am still in my return window with a 15 inch mbpr. i have 2.6 intel core i7 with 16gbs of ram. i love the comp, but since i travel quite a bit i would prefer the 13inch if they are exactly the same and cheaper. tia.
It'll run. The fuss is that the lack of including a dGPU in the rMBP13 means that there is no actual difference between a rMBP, MBA, and MBP ('13) other than the rMBP having a retina screen and slimmer profile.
It would be no different if Apple slapped a retina screen on a MBA.
And the reason why I don't think they've done that yet is not because of the HD4000 not being able to push the pixels but rather have to do with battery life. Obviously as Intel keeps releasing new chips the integrated will help improve performance no matter what. But I think the main reason why we have yet to see or hear of a MBA w/ retina is just battery performance.
Obviously the rMBP will have a higherclocked CPU and have a larger battery when compared to the MBA but in all honesty it won't be that noticeable to the user.
I've honestly have not experienced any serious lag issues when the HD4000 is pushing my rMBP and since the 13 rMBP will be pushing less pixels than the 15inch I don't see how the HD4000 will pose any issues.
But again to answer your question the HD4000 will do fine in running the game you want.
The more I think about it, the less 13" rMBP without dedicated gfx makes sense (not that I don't expect it to happy regardless).
I mean, at that point it's *basically* a thicker 13" MBA, except with Retina. That is about it. The CPU, GPU, memory, flash storage are essentially all the same. Not completely; they can put higher-voltage CPUs and up to 16 GB RAM and 768 GB flash storage like on the 15" rMBP, but without the GPU it's still essentially just a thicker MBA with a Retina screen.
I mean, at that point it's *basically* a thicker 13" MBA, except with Retina. That is about it. The CPU, GPU, memory, flash storage are essentially all the same. Not completely; they can put higher-voltage CPUs and up to 16 GB RAM and 768 GB flash storage like on the 15" rMBP, but without the GPU it's still essentially just a thicker MBA with a Retina screen.
It's because the macbook can run both OS. I see it this way, people with macbooks that run windows along with the native osx either have a need for both, or at the very least can appreciate the strengths and the different user experience that each have to offer. The point is that they (MB owners) can boot either OS. Macbook owners get the best of both worlds as far as OS goes, and as far as the hardware goes, apple products are both superb in design as well as in quality (materials+assembly). Sure, there are some defective apple products that roll off the line and into the consumer/prosumers hands, but that is true of any product that is mass produced. MacBooks are great, but they certainly aren't cheap. Whether or not the macbook represents a good value is subjective and is ultimately left up to the end-user.
Oh wow.. Just checked, you're right..
Well, do you think the Air can retain its weight and thinness with the addition of retina when its time?