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The new MBP 13'' is a total fail.

It's pretty obvious to me that Apple did not want to spend the resources for any kind of hardware redesign/upgrade, thus why we are stuck with the same screen resolutions. come to think of it the only outer evidence of a refresh is the thunderbolt silkscreen change on the md port!

So basically, we got a speed bump when people where expecting major upgrades, i agree it's a huge disappointment, especially for 13" buyers like me who've been holding out for months. But at least we got i5/i7's, but yea it's really kind of a dick move not to have improved the screen res..
 
jp700p said:
I was considering a mb air but the air does not have a backlit keyboard which is a deal breaker for me.
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I said the same thing until I got it. It would be nice to have backlit keyboard but it is worth it not to! :-D

The MBA is seriously the BEST laptop I have ever owned, overall. Also, people still see it and stop to look at it! LOL


- Joe
 
KohPhiPhi said:
Agreed. Sand Bridge is great.



I see... so one year later we're happy to simply "keep up" with the old technology?



Again, I see... so we're now happy to still use the same hard drive with the same speed we used 4 years ago?



That is such a minimal upgrade that it's not even worth mentioning.



WTF?!?! so the justification is that "it is not less than the previous version!". I mean, are we serious here?!



Sorry, but as someone who's been waiting 4 months for this update, I feel that it's totally NOT WORTH the wait. I seriously believe that the 2010 model was stronger for 2010 standards than the 2011 is for 2011 standards.
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I was just mentioning that it could al be much better, but for a new buyer it isn't bad! I can feel there is a lot of anger here, haha. Not wanting to step on anyone's toes... I really can understand the disappointment when you're waiting a long time.

I'm also disappointed in the graphics card, as said earlier, just pointing out that for non-gamers like me, it's OK, and it saves some energy (yes, that's the only positive thing to say about it).

As for the hard drive, you can replace it with SSD if you want to, I think it is still too expensive to add a SSD, for it will go hand-in-hand with a price increase. Note: a 16GB SSD for the OS would be most welcome. Personally, I am glad that the DVD drive is still there...
Most laptops, whatever brand, still use 5400 RPM.

Don't get me wrong, I would really have liked the SSD instead of this!

If the memory did not have this upgrade, people would also be complaining about this, so it is worth mentioning.

1280x800 is a shame, I agree.
 
13 MBA > 13MBP

I think Apple is trying to tell us something with the new 13MBP. Basically, if you are looking for a 13" laptop now, the 13"MBA is the one to go with. The screen on the 13MBP is a deal breaker for a lot of people.
 
Depends, a new MBP + SSD option is roughly the same price as a MBA 13 + 4gb RAM, and in that case the MBP would smoke the MBA in raw performance.

Depending on the user needs though i agree, it's a tough call...
 
I'm a soon to be first time mac owner. A bit of Logic composition, light programming in Xcode will be the most CPU intensive things I do (i'm a student)

I've been waiting for the refresh for a few months now and although the bump wasn't as big as I had expected, I'm still very pleased I waited out.

A Sandybridge i5 is a huge leap forward from the C2D that I would have been stuck with if I had not waited. So for me I'm going to get the base 13" and with the money that I save from not getting the high end (that I would have got if i had not waited for the update) + 15% student discount, I'm going to stick in an SSD.

That's going to leave me with a snappy as hell laptop, with a state of the art processor, faster RAM and an adequate enough graphics processor for my needs for no more than £1000.

Thats cheaper and more futureproof than the 13" air.

I can't wait.
 
Vantage Point said:
Yes and No. Yes, you can. But viewing fixed pixel stuff like web images at something other than the native resolution means that the image gets a bit soft because it has to interpolate the actual data. I went through this with a 27" iMac.
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And that's your problem to deal with... You don't fix a problem by taking away features... that's called backwards progress! Why punish the majority for the sake of the minority? If you are old, that's fine, But don't expect everyone to cater to that... The majority of people are young, So we cater to them... Not the young, The Majority!

I think the 15" and 17" are great upgrades, But I hope apple pulls the "pro" from the 13 entirely, Its been a joke to 15" and 17" users for years now anyways...
 
Let's all just wait for the benchmarks to pop in

Maybe the performance of the 13" will blow the low resolution screen away..

Still hoping :rolleyes:

(/sigh)
 
Mojoz said:
Let's all just wait for the benchmarks to pop in

Maybe the performance of the 13" will blow the low resolution screen away..

Still hoping :rolleyes:

(/sigh)
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I was all ready to purchase. I love the update but that resolution is killer. For me the question is what gets updated first:
13" MBP to better resolution or
13" MBA to sandy bridge

1280*800 is worse than the 11" MBA. That's a joke for a Pro machine.
 
Gaming // Steam etc.

Does anyone have a good idea of the gaming potential of the new 13" MBPs in relation to those released last year with the 320M?

Cheers.
 
Mojoz said:
Let's all just wait for the benchmarks to pop in

Maybe the performance of the 13" will blow the low resolution screen away..

Still hoping :rolleyes:

(/sigh)
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Compared to a MBA? It will...

Sure the MBA does have a higher resolution screen, slightly better graphics (still be be determined) smaller size, SSD but benchmarks will show it to be about 1/2 the CPU bench (if that good), comes with and can only support HALF the RAM, has no optical or second drive bay, doesn't have a backlit keyboard, gets 2 hrs less less battery life, doesn't have firewire, doesn't have thunderbolt, doesn't have a SDXC slot, doesn't have a security slot, doesn't have ethernet and so on...

Those are important features to some people too!

I was hoping for at least a BTO option for the same screen as the 13" MBA and even better an anti-glare option... but it is still a really nice system.

BTW - Some Geekbench results posted. Sure not real world testing, but interesting

2.3Ghz 13" MBP - 5952
1.86Ghz 13" MBA - 2702
2.4Ghz 13" MBP - Last years - 3756
 
Last edited:
BMJT said:
Does anyone have a good idea of the gaming potential of the new 13" MBPs in relation to those released last year with the 320M?

Cheers.
Click to expand...

couple of pages back said that the 3000 HD is almost as good as 320m i believe
 
Strategically, it's a bizarre and awful 13" refresh. Given the lack of SSD by default, and the poor graphics, most will not see any performance increase from the 13" MBA, and most will in fact see a real-life decrease for everyday usage.

But, and this is the strangest part, the refusal to upgrade the screen is sheer idiocy. 1280 x 800 for a 'Pro' machine, and less than the 13" MBA? It just looks odd on the Apple website. It doesn't make any sense. Why did they do that? Why?

So, that's the choice: do you want a new, faster processor or a higher (and, in modern terms, good) screen resolution? Because, at the moment, Apple won't let you have both if you want to buy a 13" laptop.
 
They did it purposely for that reason, in order to leave some things going for the MBA and therefore guarantee ongoing sales and not render it obsolete with MBP refresh.. it's pretty evil, but it's pretty smart ..:rolleyes:
 
Welp, guess I will be waiting for Ivy Bridges. I'm really, really disappointed about the resolution - I was going to be buying one today but that was a deal breaker.
 
panzer06 said:
They could have ditched the optical drive and put dedicated ATI inside with i5 CPU that would have been great on the 13". Also, plenty of 1440x900 panels in this size, no reason not to improve the display.

If I buy a MBP it will be a refurb of the higher end 15" in a few months.

Cheers,
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Remove the optical drive? Are you kidding? People are going nuts because of still no Blue Ray...
 
The last 13" MBP "junior" was a fail. This refresh even more so.

Apple may as well just kill it and stick with plastic Macbooks for those on a budget, or 13" MBA's for those wanting portability in an aluminum case.
 
Yah it's definitely a so-so update. I wonder if they left the screen res the same so the integrated graphics doesn't totally struggle in games. I still don't think there's an excuse though for the integrated graphics in the pro machine while having dedicated in the consumer machine. Apple used to make 12" machines with dedicated gpus and they are a huge company with a lot of sway, if they really wanted to get it done they could.
 
Mike Biggen said:
Don't be too hasty until you see results from somewhere like Anandtech:

"Apple is using a new, more rigorous battery test that measures the results you can expect in the real world — like surfing your favourite sites in a coffee shop or catching up on the latest web videos. How does this MacBook Pro battery stack up against the previous generation using this new test? It delivers the same amazing performance."
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Source?


jp700p said:
True but how come the new 15" amd 17" models have the same 7hr battery life as the 2010 models?

Also the MBP are all using the new sandy bridge processors that are supposed to be efficient at drawing power....
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The 15 and 17 have more room for more battery.
 
The resolution did kill it for me. I would LOVE a Core i5, but it really isn't worth it if you can get an 11" computer with a higher resolution. I was hoping I would want to upgrade, but now I want them to come out with another revision later this year.
 
Wow, why are people whining about this update being a "so-so" upgrade. GO ahead and take the super outdated C2D, that my 5 year old Black MacBook had. I'll take the brand new i5 any day.
 
azentropy said:
Compared to a MBA? It will...

Sure the MBA does have a higher resolution screen, slightly better graphics (still be be determined) smaller size, SSD but benchmarks will show it to be about 1/2 the CPU bench (if that good), comes with and can only support HALF the RAM, has no optical or second drive bay, doesn't have a backlit keyboard, gets 2 hrs less less battery life, doesn't have firewire, doesn't have thunderbolt, doesn't have a SDXC slot, doesn't have a security slot, doesn't have ethernet and so on...
Click to expand...


Actually, the battery life on the 13" Air is 7 hours, just like the Pro. You are correct on the other points, though.
 
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