we will never see an interview without pre-combined questions or with an interviewer whose income are not largely depending on Apple's good will
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Phil Schiller Discusses Retina MacBook, Apple's 'Intense Collaboration'
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I had started a parallel thread without knowing it, and people are being re-directed here. My take away from the article was that Apple can and does, design beautiful, and unique devices in a way no other manufacturer can seem to duplicate.
Others have said, and I agree, that they (Apple) are not always the first out with any device, but when they decide to design and build one the end product is uniquely satisfying. A laptop is a laptop is a laptop isn't the case for the rMB.
That said the rMB is pure Apple and I love mine!
Others have said, and I agree, that they (Apple) are not always the first out with any device, but when they decide to design and build one the end product is uniquely satisfying. A laptop is a laptop is a laptop isn't the case for the rMB.
That said the rMB is pure Apple and I love mine!
It's a laptop with a high resolution screen. Why did it need "intense collaboration"?
"Ok, here's what we're going to do. Make it thin, make the screen high resolution, and only give it a single port."
'...we're going to need to have meetings about this at least every day.'
"But I already told you everything you nee.."
'EVERY DAY'
"Ok, here's what we're going to do. Make it thin, make the screen high resolution, and only give it a single port."
'...we're going to need to have meetings about this at least every day.'
"But I already told you everything you nee.."
'EVERY DAY'
Seems like you did not own a MBA before. People buying a rMB either switch from an iPad or from a heavier / older Mac. To them, rMB is an improvement.
On the other hand, people who own a MBA, especially an 11" MBA like myself, will never be happy about 1) Losing power, 2) losing ports, 3) not gaining much from a weight or size point of view. My 11" MBA is physically almost identical to the rMB.
I can live with the less then ideal screen on my MBA rather than losing power and connectivity. Oh yes, I do use all the ports all the time, like using a USB flash disk installer connected to one port to install a beta OS X on an external HDD connected to the other port, while charging at the same time, or doing a CCC backup / cloning to an external disk. Not to mention the fact that I can connect my Air to my 27" Thunderbolt Cinema Display!
Like it has been said many times, all we needed was a retina display on the AIR. I don't buy the decreasing battery life argument either.
About the Fan-less design. When I stream a movie from my Air (i7 2.0 GHz) to an ATV, especially if the content uses Silverlight, the fan comes on and the chassis get warm. I wonder how would the rMB cope with that kind of load.
I'll wait for the second or third generation rMB while I get a very satisfactory life out of my 11" AIr.
For the transition period (that is, until fanless CPUs are equal to or faster than what's currently in the MBA), you can still buy the MBA.
Once the MBA is off the market, there will be plenty of hubs from third party suppliers that give you all the ports you need for a few bucks.
And you're wrong, I did own and use the MBA for quite some time. It's still a nice machine, but next to the rMB, it feels like a cheap toy. Especially the 11" MBA with it's (by todays standards) awful low-res screen. I'd much rather carry around my rMB with a small USB-hub than the MBA with an external display that allows me to actually be productive.
Once the MBA is off the market, there will be plenty of hubs from third party suppliers that give you all the ports you need for a few bucks.
And you're wrong, I did own and use the MBA for quite some time. It's still a nice machine, but next to the rMB, it feels like a cheap toy. Especially the 11" MBA with it's (by todays standards) awful low-res screen. I'd much rather carry around my rMB with a small USB-hub than the MBA with an external display that allows me to actually be productive.
As for the single port issue, I think that is the biggest issue with the new MacBook. In fact, it's not out of reason to expect that the MacBook will be the only computer from Apple that ever uses plain USB 3.1 gen 1 over a USB-C type connector let alone having only a single port. Well, that's not counting the new Apple TV, but at least the new Apple TV has a dedicated power connection and HDMI output (and besides, the USB-C port on the Apple TV is only for diagnostics and repair).
What I foresee is that Apple will move to Thunderbolt 3 within a year to 18 months. These new designs will use the same USB-C type connector as on the new MacBook, but Thunderbolt 3 will boost speeds to 40Gbps and support everything that the current Thunderbolt offers plus USB 3.1 gen 2 (the latter at 10Gpbs will be twice the speed of the USB 3.1 gen 1 that is on the current MacBook).
Other than that, a USB-C type port may show up on iOS devices but since it really doesn't offer much over the current Lightning port that may not happen very soon.
What I foresee is that Apple will move to Thunderbolt 3 within a year to 18 months. These new designs will use the same USB-C type connector as on the new MacBook, but Thunderbolt 3 will boost speeds to 40Gbps and support everything that the current Thunderbolt offers plus USB 3.1 gen 2 (the latter at 10Gpbs will be twice the speed of the USB 3.1 gen 1 that is on the current MacBook).
Other than that, a USB-C type port may show up on iOS devices but since it really doesn't offer much over the current Lightning port that may not happen very soon.
I appreciate that solutions exist, but I'd prefer to be able to do this simple thing without needing a $79 dongle. It's just one more thing to carry around and potentially lose, and shouldn't be necessary.
The Retina Macbook remains an example of lost opportunity and a showcase of heavily compromising functionality for no real logical reason.
I personally know 3 Macbook Air users who were anticipating the Retina Macbook to upgrade,all have been hugely disappointed with the critical limits and flaws of this underpowered,over priced machine.
2 of them have moved on and switched to Surface Pro 3,the other guy is now deciding between Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book.
all they wanted was a Macbook Air with sharp and high quality screen,Apple gave them the screen,but took away all processing power,and even denied users an all important USB port.so stupid.
Toy fashion Macbook really sucks,it's THE worst laptop Apple ever made,so weak,so limited..no argue.
I personally know 3 Macbook Air users who were anticipating the Retina Macbook to upgrade,all have been hugely disappointed with the critical limits and flaws of this underpowered,over priced machine.
2 of them have moved on and switched to Surface Pro 3,the other guy is now deciding between Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book.
all they wanted was a Macbook Air with sharp and high quality screen,Apple gave them the screen,but took away all processing power,and even denied users an all important USB port.so stupid.
Toy fashion Macbook really sucks,it's THE worst laptop Apple ever made,so weak,so limited..no argue.
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While I'm in agreement with the notion that the Air needs Retina, I think that the rMB may still fit some people's needs. In fact I probably would have taken a Retina Air over the rMB if it had existed when I made the purchase of an rMB. I'm not so sure the compromises you list were done on purpose.
Given it seems to be more of an iPad with a keyboard, running OS X, it is admittedly quite expensive. But, since i've been living with it since April I've really come to love the size, weight, new keyboard, large trackpad, no fan, and thin design. Putting the Air and the rMB side by side shows me they are different animals, not simply a purposeful compromise.
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No, they didn't.
We want the current air with a better display. We don't want an even more underpowered notebook with lower battery life, a crappier keyboard, just 1 port, 480p camera and no card reader.
All well and good, but how about addressing Apple's insistence at creating "closed systems" with specialist connectivity. For instance, an iMac can only be used as a Target Device and display what is on another device with Thunderbolt, which narrows your choice down to exactly ONE: another Mac. Exactly ZERO PCs, video cards or other such can be used. Coupled with their famous lack of regard for gaming, users are forced to invest in completely separate computer systems and screens, meaning two separate screens, keyboards, pointing devices, on their worktables. Thanks, Apple.
Your needs don't equal everyone's needs. I'm always near a power source when I use my rMB, I can count on one hand the number of times I've used any FaceTime camera, and the rMB's keyboard is just fine for me.
The rMB is the best and most useful laptop I've ever owned. As I've mentioned before, for power tasks, I use my desktop. But for portability and the tasks I do when I'm away from my desktop, the rMB is perfect.
Impressive! I have a Pro with eight ports on the left side, including MagSafe, Ethernet, FireWire, Mini DisplayPort, two USB ports, SD card slot and a combined Microphone and Headphone Jack. I rarely use more than one and mostly just USB. Every other port is almost ALWAYS empty all the time. I wouldn't want to lose their functionality, but it would be great if they could be hidden behind the power port when I don't need them. The multitude of ports only prevents me from using USB blind without looking. Even if I know for sure its the right side up and the right spot USB-A won't go in. It's been a horrible experience for me. No one ever takes about the downsides of having so many different ports, when USB should have eliminated all of them a long time ago. Universal means one port for everything.
Less of a joke and more of a lie. USB-C delivers power and data in both directions.
It is a behemoth and the adapter is only so you don't have to buy new cables. Every USB-A to X cable can be replaced with a corresponding USB-C to X cable. All you need is to spend some money, but no amount of money will reduce the Airs fugly bezel.
http://www.belkin.com/us/Products/Cables/c/usb-c-cables/
http://www.ianker.com/pages/usbc/
What's the reason to have a Retina MacBook and a Retina MacBook Air ?
Just give us a MacBook with two USB-C ports and we are done
12" MacBook is a typical Apple's first release: great but with some flaws.
Next version will have more ports and better battery life for sure.
quite an huge price difference between the twos
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I still do not think that MBR's ability to run an OS X justifies using an inferior camera and a half-ripe processor. The way it was released was more of a concept, rather than a mature product. It is not like Apple were absolutely forced to release it before Skylake. They just rushed it out for a reason I cannot figure out.
They released it at least six months before Skylake Core M chips were even announced, much less available in quantity. For Apple to have waited at least six months to release the rMB just for Skylake and its corresponding 15-20% max CPU performance gain would've been flat-out silly.
A 15-20% CPU performance is going to be barely noticeable, especially considering the tasks the rMB is targeted toward. And even though Skylake's iGPU supposedly will have up to 40% better performance, it's still not going to turn the rMB into a gaming powerhouse. In other words, if Broadwell Core M isn't powerful enough for you, Skylake Core M won't be either. Under El Capitan, the current rMB's iGPU works perfectly well for OS animations and the like.
A 480p FaceTime camera is pretty weak, but it's certainly functional. Granted, I never use the FaceTime camera, but even if I did, I just don't see how 480p vs. 720p would be a deal-breaker.
Your wording is somewhat confusing. Here's the proper flow of logic for my argument: The rMB uses an underpowered CPU and GPU because of its incredible thinness, and lack of ventilation. Because of this, it struggles to run a full OS, such as OS X and because of its struggles, my hypothesis is that compromises were made in other areas, such as the camera, due to performance issues. Your post was a bit all over the place, and gave me a bit of a headache...
I don't believe Apple was justified in creating such an underpowered laptop, which also means that I don't believe anyone needed anything thinner than the MBA. The logic all flows naturally, just gotta follow it.
Exactly. So why not release it those six months later once Skylake Core M is out and have a machine with up to 40% better performance and hopefully a better camera right out of the box? I am not talking about gaming powerhouses, more like opening three tabs in Safari under Yosemite and trying to open http://www.nationalgeographic.com in it and having the MBR struggle with that? Granted, this was on a base 1.1 Ghz model, but if Apple really cared about making "the best products" and "the best user experience", it would be well worth waiting another six months for a better chip and El Capitan and thus a better experience for everybody.
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Your wording is somewhat confusing. Here's the proper flow of logic for my argument: The rMB uses an underpowered CPU and GPU because of its incredible thinness, and lack of ventilation. Because of this, it struggles to run a full OS, such as OS X and because of its struggles, my hypothesis is that compromises were made in other areas, such as the camera, due to performance issues. Your post was a bit all over the place, and gave me a bit of a headache...
I don't believe Apple was justified in creating such an underpowered laptop, which also means that I don't believe anyone needed anything thinner than the MBA. The logic all flows naturally, just gotta follow it.
Sorry about the headache, this was not my intention. I was mentioning the same things - unnecessary compromises & releasing an underpowered laptop too soon, like a Ferrari with a scooter engine.
Well they will release a skylaked core m version at some point. The question will be how much of the current model, if any of it, will be redesigned as opposed to just processor upgraded. If there is some radical changes to it, like a second usb port and/or a 720 camera I can't imagine buyers of the first edition being particularly impressed. If they pretty much leave the design as it is and just upgrade the processor then I guess they have faith in it and the collaborative approach and that the product is selling nicely.
I have 11 tabs open right now (including nationalgeographic.com) on my rMB and it's not struggling in the least. Scrolling is smooth and there are no lags at all in navigation. If for some reason you're hell-bent on running Yosemite then I can't help you, but your assertion that "it would be well worth waiting another six months for a better chip and El Capitan and thus a better experience for everybody." is flat-out wrong based on my extensive, daily experience with the Broadwell rMB.
I suspect that at least half of the folks who bitch about the rMB's "lack of performance" have never even used one. My 2012 rMBP had far more performance issues when it was first released than my rMB ever has.
I purchased my rMB, when it was first available, It did have some immediate issues. It did run slow, and had other issues with choking on Wifi in Safari. Pages would load 1/3 the way and just sit there. I'd clear Safari several times before the page would properly load. This happened at work, at home and at coffee shops, and sandwich shops, and other places. So I do not think it was just unreliable Wifi.
Other issues included the hidden dock would not pop up, or it would only pop up by me shaking the cursor all over the lower portion of the screen. I wanted Apple to replace it.
I had to do three or four total reinstalls until it finally started to work right. And I would wait before installing any third party application after these "burn to the ground" reinstalls. Then the same issues cropped up anyway. Yes I did use Apple Care on it for support, including a trip to my Apple Genius Bar.
What I think I finally figured out was that it got better under subsequent versions of Yosemite, and now finally under El Capitan it is very fast and runs smoother, and even cooler. In fact I'm totally pleased with the end result. My only regret is that this laptop took several months to get up to speed. Right now I can recommend the rMB. But I wouldn't have recommended it in my early days.
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