The 12 MacBook 2015… Love-hate affair

[Max(IT)]

Mine is perfect. If you've gone through 12, I think its a problem with you, not a Macbook problem.

serial returners .... a typical population of this forum

Seems kind of shady for an extremely expensive product. Stuff like this just shouldn't happen with a premium, high end device. It's like saying its "OK" for your $5000 Rolex to stutter or lose time occasionally. No, it is NOT OK, lol.

it's not a Rolex.
It's an expensive notebook, but still a mass produced notebook, so it doesn't matter how you define "premium", it isn't perfect and could have (minor) defects.
A "Rolex notebook" would cost $15.000 , not $1.500 ....

 

[chriscrowlee]

I had a 2014 11" Air, went to the 12" Macbook... sadly it wasn't enough of a computer (so so so so sloooooow). Size and overall look was amazing, but it just was not a serious computer. I REALLY hope they come out with better processor this year, or convert the Macbook Pro to something with the elements of the rMB. I'm now on a 13" Macbook Pro Retina... went fully loaded. Love it. I miss the size\weight of the rMB tho.

Hopefully Apple slims down the rMBP, or beefs up the specs on the rMB, because something halfway in between (ie an air with a retina screen) would be perfect for me.

 

[lite426]

I had a 2014 11" Air, went to the 12" Macbook... sadly it wasn't enough of a computer (so so so so sloooooow). Size and overall look was amazing, but it just was not a serious computer. I REALLY hope they come out with better processor this year, or convert the Macbook Pro to something with the elements of the rMB. I'm now on a 13" Macbook Pro Retina... went fully loaded. Love it. I miss the size\weight of the rMB tho.

Hopefully Apple slims down the rMBP, or beefs up the specs on the rMB, because something halfway in between (ie an air with a retina screen) would be perfect for me.

Possible explanation for the creaking here. I've experienced it too.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7099286
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7035002

 

[chriscrowlee]

Possible explanation for the creaking here. I've experienced it too.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7099286
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7035002

I think you quoted the wrong post. Hehe

 

[zhenya]

I have had not great luck with mine so far - damaged space bar and I just had the logic board replaced which should explain a lot of the weirdness I was having with the El Capitan beta which was really confusing while it was happening! Still, I'm happy with it, happy to have it back, and would buy another one. It seems that you are being more than a little excessively picky if you are returning multiples of these machines brand new. I've probably owned 20-30+ new Apple devices in the last 10 years and had exactly one that was faulty out of the box. The Macbook is only my second issue with a device in warranty.

 

[AleXXXa]

Well, I have accept and I'm try move on waiting next version and hoping all issues has fixed then. My opinion I am entitled to return/change the machine if Apple says its DOA. Keyboard issues - dead keyboards (9, H, Spacebar, Esc, Enter), usb-c port issues, hinge issues, motherboard issues etc. a big pile of trouble I have experienced with this product.

Ofcourse you're entitled to return it until you get a perfect one. You payed top dollar for a premium machine, do not settle for less!

 

[Daws001]

My only issue is the one port. I honestly didn't think I would have a problem with it, I even read the criticisms over it in reviews and rolled my eyes (It's not that big a deal y'all!). Well...yeah. It is an annoyance. I already had a usb hub for my gaming pc so I thought I'd be pretty much set for my multiple port needs...naturally the usb hub doesn't work with the rMB, doesn't recognize any drives or devices plugged into it, and yet works perfectly fine on my pc...le sigh.

So I've dropped a few more dollars to buy all the necessary adapters for it. Everything is working but fussing over all the extra cables and such isn't ideal. Other than that, I love the rMB, though

 

[boltjames]

My only issue is the one port. I honestly didn't think I would have a problem with it, I even read the criticisms over it in reviews and rolled my eyes (It's not that big a deal y'all!). Everything is working but fussing over all the extra cables and such isn't ideal. Other than that, I love the rMB, though

The single port is a blessing, not a problem. It's what allows the device to be so thin, it makes it more affordable, and it increases battery life.

Win-win.

BJ

 

[yegon]

The single port is a blessing, not a problem. It's what allows the device to be so thin, it makes it more affordable, and it increases battery life.

Win-win.

BJ

Genuinely curious - are you being serious?

 

[boltjames]

Genuinely curious - are you being serious?

100%.

Extra ports means extra thickness (bad) extra expense via hardware and royalties (bad) and drain to battery (bad). The single port doesn't eliminate connectivity, it just outboards it to a compact adapter that one uses only when necessary. I've dragged around SD Card ports on notebooks for 15 years, don't think I've ever used them once. I could have had a cheaper, thinner, more battery-efficient experience if their designers went this route, I'm glad Apple did.

Besides, we all know that the third party aftermarket does a better job with the design/pricing of these adapters and peripherals anyway, Apple is putting in a single USB-C port, let Belkin and the other aftermarket experts take it from there.

BJ

 

[Daws001]

The single port is a blessing, not a problem. It's what allows the device to be so thin, it makes it more affordable, and it increases battery life.

Win-win.

BJ

Thanks for ignoring everything I said. You seem like fun.

 

[boltjames]

Thanks for ignoring everything I said. You seem like fun.

What did you say that I ignored? I don't run from questions, so please feel free to ask them.

I am fun.

BJ

 

[2984839]

100%.

Extra ports means extra thickness (bad) extra expense via hardware and royalties (bad) and drain to battery (bad). The single port doesn't eliminate connectivity, it just outboards it to a compact adapter that one uses only when necessary. I've dragged around SD Card ports on notebooks for 15 years, don't think I've ever used them once. I could have had a cheaper, thinner, more battery-efficient experience if their designers went this route, I'm glad Apple did.

Besides, we all know that the third party aftermarket does a better job with the design/pricing of these adapters and peripherals anyway, Apple is putting in a single USB-C port, let Belkin and the other aftermarket experts take it from there.

BJ

If anything, a single port makes it more expensive because you now need to spend additional money on adapters just to do the same things you could have done without them. And nobody is complaining that their MBA or Zenbook is too thick, both of which have multiple USB ports and more, so I don't see why pursuing thinness is worth discarding functionality. Battery life difference is negligible. Disabling all ports yields around a 15-20 minute improvement on my laptops, though they are not Macbooks. I'd rather be able to plug in a USB and just deal with my 15 minute worse battery life.

 

[boltjames]

If anything, a single port makes it more expensive because you now need to spend additional money on adapters just to do the same things you could have done without them. And nobody is complaining that their MBA or Zenbook is too thick, both of which have multiple USB ports and more, so I don't see why pursuing thinness is worth discarding functionality. Battery life difference is negligible. Disabling all ports yields around a 15-20 minute improvement on my laptops, though they are not Macbooks. I'd rather be able to plug in a USB and just deal with my 15 minute worse battery life.

A single port makes consumers spend more money for adapters, yes, but its only for those who need the extra ports.

The RMB single-port solution offers choice to consumers instead of forcing it on them. I never use an SD Card, never use a VGA port, so I don't want to pay for them and I don't want to carry the weight and take the battery hit associated with them. I'd rather pay less for the notebook and get the weight savings and the upside battery performance and let those who need these outdated peripherals go spend their money instead.

As for complaints about thickness, sorry, the Air was too thick for me, especially coming off of a Sony Vaio ultrabook which was lighter and thinner than the Air. If it wasn't for the super-thin design of the RMB I'd have bought another Windows machine.

The ports you need are available. They just live on a mini docking station now. If that doesn't suit your needs, the Air and the Pro are out there and have a full set of old-school ports. The RMB is different. It's not for everyone.

BJ

 

[s2mikey]

I had a 2014 11" Air, went to the 12" Macbook... sadly it wasn't enough of a computer (so so so so sloooooow). Size and overall look was amazing, but it just was not a serious computer. I REALLY hope they come out with better processor this year, or convert the Macbook Pro to something with the elements of the rMB. I'm now on a 13" Macbook Pro Retina... went fully loaded. Love it. I miss the size\weight of the rMB tho.

Hopefully Apple slims down the rMBP, or beefs up the specs on the rMB, because something halfway in between (ie an air with a retina screen) would be perfect for me.

Ive heard this from a few owners too - regarding just not having the oomph that it needs. Thats because it is first and foremost supposed to be extremely portable & "cool" device. It certainly is. Not saying aits a bad machine but its quite underpowerd & underfeatured for what it costs. You are paying a HUGE premium for it be that light and cool".

 

[boltjames]

Ive heard this from a few owners too - regarding just not having the oomph that it needs. Thats because it is first and foremost supposed to be extremely portable & "cool" device. It certainly is. Not saying aits a bad machine but its quite underpowerd & underfeatured for what it costs. You are paying a HUGE premium for it be that light and cool".

Time out. It's not a "cool" device. That's not its purpose.

The RMB is the traveling executive's business trip computer. We've got our big/heavy notebooks provided by our employers and they sit under our desks in their docking stations running Windows 7 and Office 2007 and they are too heavy and too slow to be taken on the road.

So we reach into our pockets, spend our own money, and get the latest/greatest thin/light notebook for those 5 day trips to London and 10 day trips to Hong Kong where the form factor can really help us out. Passes through airport security still in our briefcases as if it were an iPad. Fits in the storage pouch on the seatback in front of us on the plane. Battery life can go all day and into the night. Can carry it all day in a backpack without realizing its even there. We run our Powerpoint presentations, work our Excel spreadsheets, browse the web, Skype with the kids, check Email, watch the NFL on SlingBox. We're not power users, we're not building 20GB multilayered 4K videos, we're not app developing, we're just doing the usual business-class stuff for which the RMB is more than amply powered.

While the RMB looks cool and definitely is perceived as a status-symbol by some, it's true purpose is in its focus on portability. That is critical to a subset of notebook users who travel a lot and are used to the downsizing of our mobile devices and expect the same from our computers.

We've got computers at work that do the heavy-lifting. The RMB is our situational travel companion. We've got our pickup trucks Monday to Friday. The RMB is our second car, it's our weekend convertible.

BJ

 

[kvyoung]

Extra ports means extra thickness (bad) extra expense via hardware and royalties (bad) and drain to battery (bad). The single port doesn't eliminate connectivity, it just outboards it to a compact adapter that one uses only when necessary. I've dragged around SD Card ports on notebooks for 15 years, don't think I've ever used them once. I could have had a cheaper, thinner, more battery-efficient experience if their designers went this route, I'm glad Apple did.

Is that why the ASUS UX305 is thinner than the rMB, gets similar battery life, has USB 3.0 x 3 ports, 1x HDMI port, SD Card Reader and sells for half the price of the rMB?

 

[Tummy]

Is that why the ASUS UX305 is thinner than the rMB, gets similar battery life, has USB 3.0 x 3 ports, 1x HDMI port, SD Card Reader and sells for half the price of the rMB?

But it's the wrong OS and projects the wrong image.

 

[kvyoung]

But it's the wrong OS and projects the wrong image.

I may be remembering wrong, but I believe boltjames runs Windows on his rMB. I wasn't suggesting you buy the UX305 if image is a thing for you, what I was remarking on is that size, price and battery drain can be addressed even when there is more than one usb-c port.

 

[boltjames]

Is that why the ASUS UX305 is thinner than the rMB, gets similar battery life, has USB 3.0 x 3 ports, 1x HDMI port, SD Card Reader and sells for half the price of the rMB?

The ASUS UX305 is .48" (vs RMB's .14-.52") and weighs 2.64 pounds (vs. RMB's 2.00 pounds). It's HDMI port is a micro-HDMI port which is useless as is the circa-1997 SD Card reader.

Use Google much?

BJ

 

[boltjames]

But it's the wrong OS and projects the wrong image.

I run Windows 10 exclusively on my RMB.

My EVP title, my BMW, my beach house, my model kids, and my trophy wife project the proper image; the notebook brand is the least of my concerns. That said, ASUS is a discount brand from Taiwan, not of the design/quality standards of Apple by any stretch.

BJ

 

[kvyoung]

The ASUS UX305 is .48" (vs RMB's .14-.52") and weighs 2.64 pounds (vs. RMB's 2.00 pounds). It's HDMI port is a micro-HDMI port which is useless as is the circa-1997 SD Card reader.

Use Google much?

BJ

Change the goal posts much? Where was weight mentioned in your original post that I was responding too? Who was talking about the quality of the ports? You were blowing hot air about not being able to have more than one port, decent battery life and a reasonable price.

 

[boltjames]

Change the goal posts much? Where was weight mentioned in your original post that I was responding too? Who was talking about the quality of the ports? You were blowing hot air about not being able to have more than one port, decent battery life and a reasonable price.

I'm not blowing hot air. You're bending facts. The ASUS is thicker and heavier and the micro-HDMI port and SD slot are useless. It basically is a thicker, heavier MacBook knockoff with 3 USB ports and a crappy screen.

I didn't know this notebook existed before 5 minutes ago, the reviews I've read compare it to the Air and the video reviews on YouTube give it praise only because it's dirt-cheap.

This is a BMW forum and you're trying to have a Hyundai conversation. If we cared about price, we wouldn't have Apple notebooks.

BJ

 

[kvyoung]

Extra ports means extra thickness (bad) extra expense via hardware and royalties (bad) and drain to battery (bad). The single port doesn't eliminate connectivity, it just outboards it to a compact adapter that one uses only when necessary. I've dragged around SD Card ports on notebooks for 15 years, don't think I've ever used them once. I could have had a cheaper, thinner, more battery-efficient experience if their designers went this route, I'm glad Apple did.

Hot air!!!

I'll just drive my Lamborghini off into the sunset now! lol

 

[boltjames]

Hot air!!!

I'll just drive my Lamborghini off into the sunset now! lol

You win! Girlfriend?

It's cool that some Windows hardware is emerging with similar form factors to the MacBook. Remember, this is my first Apple notebook, I've had nothing but Sony VAIO Z Series and Pro Series ultralights/ultrabooks since the late 90's (the Z1 above was fantastic in its day).

I chose the MacBook because it was so thin and light and Sony went out of the business. I get a new notebook every 18 months so you never know which one will be next.

BJ