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the macbook just an expriment ?
- Thread starter ZanatyH
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MacBook is for ultra-portability as forefront, specs on the back burner. Due to low power usage and no fan, the specs aren't likely to make massive jumps unless Intel pull something out of the bag.
MacBook Air is the portable consumer line. Powerful, fairly light, and at a reasonable budget due to not having all the latest tech.
MacBook Pro is the portable pro line. Very powerful, newest trackpads/displays, quicker SSDs and heavier than the MBA/rMB as a result.
Personally I think they should have rebranded the MacBook Air as the MacBook, and called the rMB the 'new' MacBook Air. That's what it always was since 2008 - MacBook Air for ultra-portability and with less important specs (remember the 4200RPM HDD?!), MacBook as affordable for consumer, and MacBook Pro with the latest stuff. But just splitting hairs really.
TL;DR: it won't have waaaay higher specs.
MacBook Air is the portable consumer line. Powerful, fairly light, and at a reasonable budget due to not having all the latest tech.
MacBook Pro is the portable pro line. Very powerful, newest trackpads/displays, quicker SSDs and heavier than the MBA/rMB as a result.
Personally I think they should have rebranded the MacBook Air as the MacBook, and called the rMB the 'new' MacBook Air. That's what it always was since 2008 - MacBook Air for ultra-portability and with less important specs (remember the 4200RPM HDD?!), MacBook as affordable for consumer, and MacBook Pro with the latest stuff. But just splitting hairs really.
TL;DR: it won't have waaaay higher specs.
What Apple still needs to explain to me is how they think 480p webcam is sufficient in 2015. Of all the hindrances of the Macbook, that's the biggest one for me.
I understand that most consumers won't be plugging in several things at once, so while the single USB-C connector sounds absurd, it's actually not that bad for some lightweight consumers.
What I fail to understand though is why that webcam is so bad, it's unacceptable for a 'premium' product.
I understand that most consumers won't be plugging in several things at once, so while the single USB-C connector sounds absurd, it's actually not that bad for some lightweight consumers.
What I fail to understand though is why that webcam is so bad, it's unacceptable for a 'premium' product.
The three most commonly held reasons are:
1. The lid of the notebook is very thin and a high-quality 720p camera wouldn't fit in it. The lid is thinner than an iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 has a protruding lens.
2. To make a 720p camera fit in the space would have meant to use one thinner than an iPhone 6 (see above) with a vastly different focal range (10" from ones face) and that would lead to a tradeoff of very poor low-light sensitivity (due to pixel and light sensor compromises).
3. An HD webcam doesn't really matter to the typical owner of the RMB which is a traveling executive whose Skype or FaceTime communications always look blurry and lousy due to the craptastic bandwidth found in hotel rooms and board rooms across the world.
In making an incredibly thin/light machine with it's form-factor as the #1 selling point, some sacrifices have to be made. Thousands of us are very happy living without an HD webcam, VGA ports, SD card slots, and all the other things that hog battery and make things bigger and heavier.
As always with the RMB conversation, the answer is "if you don't value form factor over functionality, get a MacBook Pro and stop complaining already". If you're at Burger King and you don't want a hamburger, order a Chicken Sandwich, it's not like they don't make one.
BJ
How will the rMB morphing into a MBA be "progress"? The Air has ports and is thicker than the rMB. If Apple wanted to spruce up the MBA, they would have done it in 2015 in the first place. I think that the rMB will see significant upgrades in its second and third generations, going with Apple's track record with first generation products. Most likely, it will completely replace the MBA at some future date.
I think the rMB will eventually replace the MBA. Once they are able to get the price down and work out the kinks, the MBA will be phased out and the rMB will be the lower-cost more-mobile option along side the MBP.
I know this has been discussed ad nauseum here, but the launch of the rMB is so reminiscent of the launch of the MBA back in the day. Eventually the MBA price dropped, gained a better arrangement of ports, and replaced the MB.
I know this has been discussed ad nauseum here, but the launch of the rMB is so reminiscent of the launch of the MBA back in the day. Eventually the MBA price dropped, gained a better arrangement of ports, and replaced the MB.
Yes.
The Air will become the iPhone 5C of the MacBook range. The low-end notebook for emerging markets like China.
BJ
I agree with this but imagine if Apple could replace the pro and the air all at the same time with one machine. That is the promise the macbook has.
I think this is an evolutionary rather than a completely new product. The wow factor belonged to the macbook air when it was released a few years back. The current rmb is designed well and great to look at, but did not really "wow" me with its design. Nevertheless, after a few months of use, I have to say that I am liking this more than my previous MBA 11 2013.
What "waaaay higher specs" are you looking for?
When I see questions/statements like that, it sounds like you don't really understand how the technology works. 2.9GHz TB CPU, 8GB RAM, latest SSD tech, latest USB/TB tech, latest retina screen. Just from a performance standpoint, that covers about 90% of typical users usage.
Unfortunately hose looking for a FCPX/handbrake/gaming machine must look elsewhere, but that's not going to change anytime soon... CPUs/GPUs just run too hot... it would take a major advance in either CPU/GPU design or cooling systems (i.e. something that hasn't been invented yet).
I wouldn't necessarily call it an experiment as much as a field test. Apple doesn't release a product without having a pretty strong hunch that it will sell well. That said, like the original MBA, this new rMB generation is testing the waters a bit to see how the market reacts. Notice the smaller number of configurations for the rMB compared to the Air and Pro; this is indication (to me anyway) of an Apple field test.
That said, it's not hard to imagine Apple kicking the Air to the curb and releasing a fuller rMB line over the next year or two so that we'll have just MacBooks and MacBook Pros.
First, note above 2.9Ghz is incorrect.
What could be better:
Faster CPU
Better/Faster GPU
Faster SSD
More Memory
Better Battery
Additional USB-C port
Yes some design changes are needed to make these work and CPUs that have lower heat output are mandatory.
Please do tell me these are not in the demographic. The rMB has no demographic ... its an Apple experiment/proof of concept/pilot.
First, 2.9GHz TURBO BOOST is not incorrect - that's the actual clock speed the 1.3GHz CPU version is able to operate at as long as it doesn't overheat (i.e. for short periods of time... and short periods of time are all that's needed for typical usage... we're talking seconds at a time).
The question wasn't that it couldn't eventually be "better"... every computer could be "better" with faster everything. The issue is that the OP implies that it has crummy specs, and in the context of what most users need in a 12" ultra-portable laptop, the "underpowered" argument is largely a fallacy. Personally, I would say it's most significant short-coming right now is that it can't use external 4K displays @ 60Hz... but that goes for a few current Macs.
There's no doubt that the next version will be even slicker. You can call it whatever you want. We've been reminded that the Apple TV is a "hobby" in every MR article about it over the last 8 years, but I've had all four versions now, and I've enjoyed 8 years of great Apple TV boxes. I don't quite understand why people around here keep insisting on the rMP FUD, like the thing is half-glued together with weird things sticking out and parts falling off and the whole thing might just start spewing smoke at any moment.
Agreed. The MBA's death toll is ringing. Having said that, it may remain as the budget entry level laptop since it's filling that role quite nicely right now.
Like was said above, MacBook 12 was made to be an ultimate ultraportable and its great at that. I owned 3 high end sony ultraportables and I still own one however, this Mac works better as an ultraportable. Actually, with latest OS X updates there is no lag whatsoever when doing regular computer tasks.
Pretty much, this build is a bit of a lemon but they'll probably resolve the issues with the 2016 model. So I'd say avoid this model as it only has one external port.
Please put this in your sig so that people know your perspective:
* I don't own a Retina MacBook and have no intention to. I own a 2010 MacBook Air, the model that the new RMB has unfortunately rendered obsolete.
You can just copy/paste it. Thanks.
BJ
I think the single port is a strategic decision that will carry through to future models. I don't consider this a lemon in any sense of the word. Now don't get me wrong, I don't think it was a wise decision for a single port but the laptop is not a lemon. Its a well built machine that Apple decided to use a single port.
A single port is a killer to me. You need to juggle unless you buy the expensive dongle and it doesn't have a fan to stop the cup being throttled. If they added proper ventilation and at leasr one more port then it becomes more useful for users. Right now it doesn't even have a memory stick slot like my MBA so is functionally useless for simple data exchange with colleagues at work.
"I am completely disappointed with the Porsche 911 because I can't use it for carpooling or hauling lumber. How could Porsche have released such a useless car?"
BJ
Same here, I posted this thought in another thread.
I own a Surface Pro 3 with a docking station. For me to to use my desktop monitor, keyboard, external drives, all I do is plug it into the docking station.
If I were to do something similar with the rMB, I'd need a dongle, hubs, and some sort of HDMI to minidisplay port converter. Not a very elegant solution to what I consider an elegant computer.
Yes it would be useless, if your intended needs included carpooling which I would consider a typical usage case for a car. The typical usage case for laptop is using multiple ports.
What I don't get is why Apple didn't simply give the MBA a Retina display. The form factor is a winner and the connectivity is excellent. I think it's a marketing decision given there's no way to milk the current MBA due to its price point. Inventing this MacBook simply makes it an outlier any useless to the majority of Mac users.
May I suggest your workplace moves into the 21st century? At my workplace, all data exchange is done through the cloud.
Ah, the cloud, aka a remote insecure server not under my control. Yes, let me store my data there because I'm not a mug. But how does that help me get photos from my digital camera to my MacBook?