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The 'sealed-box' Mac: Cutting-edge design or planned obsolescence?
- Thread starter Bob Coxner
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The majority of Apple consumers are facebook users that need a trendy computer to feel cool as their friends.
To some others it's a machine that has to work and help productivity;
design can be pleasant but what's inside is more important when you work on a project and you have to meet a deadline. Surely you're not thinking "how cool is my rMBP so thin" ....
I didn't buy the retina because of the fact that it cannot be upgraded, I did buy the top of the line 13.3" and a week after swapped the HDD for a SSD and maxed the RAM out to 16 GB. I love it: portable and fast and I don't mind the extra weight, actually I like the feeling of a solid machine. I like apple products, I don't like the way Apple tries to tell me what I should need from my computer; In the past they had a better philosophy, today they are heading towards selling terminals and that would be the end of the personal computer...
To some others it's a machine that has to work and help productivity;
design can be pleasant but what's inside is more important when you work on a project and you have to meet a deadline. Surely you're not thinking "how cool is my rMBP so thin" ....
I didn't buy the retina because of the fact that it cannot be upgraded, I did buy the top of the line 13.3" and a week after swapped the HDD for a SSD and maxed the RAM out to 16 GB. I love it: portable and fast and I don't mind the extra weight, actually I like the feeling of a solid machine. I like apple products, I don't like the way Apple tries to tell me what I should need from my computer; In the past they had a better philosophy, today they are heading towards selling terminals and that would be the end of the personal computer...
One point these comparisons of cMBP vs rMBP missed a very important point: cost. Of course, self-upgrading the RAM to 16GB on a cMBP is cheaper than the Apple BTO option for the rMBP; but swapping the internal 5400rpm HDD on the cMBP to a 500MB/s SSD is going to cost you a lot more money, not to say the effort.
Well, what choice do you have if you buy a "sealed" macbook?
That's why the article was pointless. Not a lot of options after the sale. (actually, there are zero options if you wan't to keep your warranty intact).All MacBooks will have a 3 year time-bomb built into each unit which basically means that starting the 4th year you're on borrowed time.
Why?
The crucial m4 512gb costs actually $369. In few months it'll cost less and less. Installing the SDD and moving the HDD to optibay is not that hard... just follow the instructions on iFixit...
Well, what choice do you have if you buy a "sealed" macbook?
All MacBooks will have a 3 year time-bomb built into each unit which basically means that starting the 4th year you're on borrowed time.
You are right. So the question is: Should consumers accept or not the "sealed time-bomb expensive" macbook?
I hope the consumers will make a wise decision...
Of course they do that`s why Apple produce them, after all everyone wants thicker, heavier, slower portables, think about it...
Absolutely, most consumers want the latest & fastest computing experience. Owning a Retina MBP is not some exclusive club only for experts and professionals, requiring sanction from Tom Cook to buy one. The Retina is for anyone who wants one, and are willing to pay the price, demand alone illustrates that. If anything many professionals will be cautious due to the Retina`s present level of software compatibility.
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As with many things in life "common sense" dictates most people are not remotely interested poking about inside their computers, they are simply users the computer being a "means to an end". The only people really concerned with upgrades are enthusiasts such as those here. Like it or not this is the natural progression for portables in order to become lighter, faster and remain affordable.
Even the base Retina is a very strong system, outperforming the Mac Pro`s of just a few years back, and will be capable of serving the average user for several years...
My concern is not so much whether its upgradable but the worry is how much it would cost to repair parts (give stuff are soldered, glued, etc) after the 1st year . I know you can get the Apple Care but that will run you a few hundred extra.
You can find a Samsung SSD for around the same price as you'd pay through Apple. You do pay more for this stuff configured through Apple. There's no reason to deny that. What matters is whether it's worth it to you. The lack of an easily serviceable drive and battery bothers me. The ram is around $100 higher than you'd pay otherwise. It's mostly just annoying. I can personally run into ram starvation at 8. 16 sounds like a lot to most people, but it's just the next step up.
In terms of raw performance, expect it to be on par with similar internals from other brands. What makes me nervous is my experience with expanding batteries.
You have to get these matters into perspective, in that those who have issue will always vocalise, those that don't are by far the silent majority. From my own experience i have never had issue with a battery nor have i ever seen a Mac with a swollen battery. This doesn't mean such issues do not exist, however i propose that they are not widespread and not a significant problem to the brand.
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OWC is already selling SSD upgrades...and the computer is only a couple months old.
As for planned obsolescence. This computer is good enough to easily be up to date for about 3 years...at which time any computer would be deemed rather obsolete anyway. The only thing you would have upgraded in ANY laptop, Apple or other, would be the RAM or SSD....max ram and upgrade the SSD if you see the need...but the CPU/GPU, which would NOT be upgradable on ANY laptop will be what needs upgrading. So it's time to buy a new laptop regardless of the manufacturer.
If you want a ridiculous, badass portable desktop PC I would say go with an Origin PC. They have desktop component options that will make your computer scream hard. If you want something that A) is portable, B) gets great battery life, C) is still extremely powerful, D) use Mac OS...then the rMBP is for you. Otherwise, go check out origin.
They will most likely be the only ones. And it is not a true upgrade but more of a side grade. A hindsight grade, if I can coin a term. Either way I did what I could to stop the crazy iToying. I have issues with ewaste on the rMBP. Memory goes bad? Throw away the Logic Board (Unless they have some sort of recycling involved but I have heard of no recouping of precious metals) Memory goes bad fairly often. The screws just piss me off. If you can't open it legitimately you don't own it. It is a legal lease. If you're cool with that then that sucks for everyone unfortunately.
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Yes.
More expensive? NO. Giving less flexibility? NO.
I will not. This is not how the market works. I voted by buying non retina model.
Actually, I'm not even retina buyer, I do not need that display. Not yet at least. But I do not see why retina wouldn't sell in the "old" body with upgrade-able components.
I like the Air concept, especially in air 11" form - and I know I sacrifice upgrade-ability for a reason - mobility.
15" laptop is too big and too heavy anyways to be considered from mobility aspects.
So my opinion remains... if I needed retina, which is expensive... and I wanted to protect my investment so that it works for more time for me, - I'd have to pay even mode money to Apple to max it out... 'Cause they will not get money I will invest in my potential future non retina MBP upgrades.
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Yet they are selling them as fast as they can produce them, the average consumer is just not that concerned.
I concur those against the new Retina concept of design should vote with their $$$$, feedback is just something additional.
This is something that we here are not able to answer. Apple alone knows, one can surmise that it is a reflection of production cost, however it is more likely to be form over function. Apple have aways strove for thiner, lighter, faster. A beautiful product if you will, yet all the same one that offers a high level of performance. From an engineering point of view i don't see how Apple could meet the design criteria of the Retina and keep the user upgrade options.
The Air has sold phenomenally well, as Steve Jobs said this is the future of the Mac, the Retina now delivers this in the MBP format and sadly the traditional Unibody did not receive the Retina display as an option is very telling. Realistically i believe 12 -24 months the standard Unibody will be obsoleted and withdrawn from sale. I only see the standard Unibody surviving with a Retina display, if the present Retina flops which at present seems highly unlikely. Bottom line of course the standard Unibody would sell with a Retina option, Apple simply don't want this to happen, they want the "Next Generation" MBP to succeed; they will make more of them, systems will be more reliable, production costs will be less and under more direct control.
The Retina is a similar concept for those that need desktop performance on the go. i have a 13" Late 2011 Air myself and as much as i like it, the Retina far better suits my needs when mobile, the Air simply feels anaemic in comparison.
This is very much a personal call, for me the Retina is very close to being perfect. As with all there is always a trade off, footprint & weight versus performance and work area.
OK, a couple things. First, you see it as less flexible...because you can't do upgrades. Most buyers see it as just another computer that they'd never open up anyways. Whether we like it or not, Apple has grown to the point where they're marketing to the masses. For a lot of people, just the thought of opening up their computer is horrifying; it's something that should be done by a professional. Those are the people that make up the bulk of sales, instead of the smaller group of tinkerers that likes to swap their RAM and HDD.
A lot of people like the portability of the Air, but they also need a larger screen. You said the 15" MBP was too heavy, so they lightened it. Now it's more portable, plus it has the larger screen that many people want. And you're still not happy, because now you've lost upgradability. You can't have everything. Either it's thinner and lighter and more locked down, or heavier, thicker and you can do limited upgrades. You can never please everyone at the same time.
No matter what Apple does, people will be pissed off. There's complaints that they don't innovate enough and their designs have been stagnant...so they come out with a new product. Now the new product isn't upgradable so it's just awful and Apple must hate their biggest most loyal fans. The old version is still available, but it's too heavy to really be portable... And if they were to come out with a retina MBP that was thicker and upgradable like the older version, people would complain that there's too much fragmentation and it's too hard to decide what to buy. See what I'm saying here? Everyone wants something different. Apple is a company, and its goal is to make money. The best way to do that is to try to please the biggest group of people as often as possible.
Lol. So, the biggest group is a mix of wealthy people and fool people who are always in debt...
I've experienced it a couple times and seen it happen to others. Typically they think they're having trackpad problems, and the issue is pressure from an underlying battery. If I see such a thing, that's the first place I suggest they look in case real damage can be prevented. If they're able to make it to the Apple Store within a couple days, I suggest that. It's not the kind of thing you want to leave to get worse as by the time you start to notice an issue, it's already a real problem. These things seem to happen due to age, like if the cycle count is low enough that it's working, yet it's beyond a couple years in age.
I've already accepted that they will make whatever they want, yet I don't favor upgrade options so much. I dislike sealed expendable parts. By that I mean parts that are inherently prone to failure or likely to require replacement service within the usable life of the machine. I don't like it when things that should be of minor concern turn into a need to hand over the machine for several days. Looking at computer hardware in general, much of it should easily be fine for the general population for 3-4 years, but your battery may go bad before then. That is my concern. I also hate expensive repairs as they lead to more machines being retired earlier than necessary. Charger cords used to be a frequent issue, yet the entire brick had to be discarded rather than a cord attachment. This is the kind of thing that annoys me regardless of brand, and it was a common point of criticism when pointing at Windows PCs. People would mention the inherently long services lives of Macs compared to how many PCs ended up in landfills (in spite of it being illegal to throw out electronics in many places).
I totally agree. It's the old trick of making people believe that less is better but in reality it's just a simplification for the production line that requires less components and assembly steps. First they told us that we don't need a Blu-Ray drive because is dying already, now we don't even need an optical drive of any kind and we don't need to upgrade the memory or the storage anymore because the retina is so beautifully designed that is perfect the way it is out of the box.
The display and the design it's just an eye candy.
The rMBP it's far from perfect, after two months all these problems with the display and other issues feels like an expensive beta testing that can only benefit Apple.
I would wait a year at least before buying a rMBP just to see more software otpimized for the retina resolution and all the hardware problems that are coming out now, solved.
I love Apple's computers but I don't have the "be in line outside the store" syndrome to be the first to own the latest gadget. My hard earned money is more important to me than impressing others that's why I prefer to wait and see what goes on before jumping into it.
Good post. I agree with all your points except for the screen as "eye candy" because this is the component you will be interacting the most with your computer. Although I mostly do documents, I always make a point to buy good quality monitor for my Mac to work on because I was never happy with the built in screen.
However for me retina display is a break through because the text are clearer and in my personal experience, I get less eye strain going through long documents which is a big plus for me.
I work across the street from one of the 2 Apple Stores in Chicago, every day I walk pass it and when I'm not in a rush I spend some time inside and play with the rMBP, the display is amazing, no doubt about it
but as any other thing given few months we'll see Windows PCs with similar screens ect.My comment being the "eye candy" was aimed at the fact that to many buyers the display is the main thing that they look at while overlooking other very important hardware features like SSDs and RAM.