What made decide for or against the rMBP?

[bill-p]

1) cMBP costs more with the same spec, and thats without the awesome new chassis, cooling system, and screen.
2) Its 2012, no one using this machine the way its intended to be used will be using such storage mediums.
3) Fair enough.
4) It's been replaced by a far better technology, which is also nowhere near as expensive as some people are making out. Just because clueless companies like WD overcharge for their drives doesnt mean there arent cheaper alternatives.
5) Fair enough.
6) Why would you need it to be?
7) User dependant.
8) Did you expect them to? I mean, really? Pathetic point.
9) Mac's are built for gaming now?! ZOMG! EPIC!
10) Boo hoo, no 60fps scrolling on Facebook. Cry me a river.
11) A common problem with most of Apple's line of products, from screen adhesive issues with the ipod touch, to yellow imac screens, to image retention, etc. They have some of the worst quality control imaginable for such a huge company. This is not a negative against the rMBP, but Apple as a whole.
12) Again, not a negative, and completely down to the user's perception. I prefer to look at it as every other computer makes my rMBP look even better

1) cMBP only costs that much if you config with SSD. You don't have any option to take out SSD to reduce the cost of rMBP.

2) Occasionally, an old DVD or CD still needs to be backed up to digital format. Not everything is available in digital yet. With cMBP, there is no need to lug along an extra external optical drive for those occasions.

4) Firewire is not just for storage. It's also for some very old iPod models that required it.

6) Because I still own some older Mac. The rMBP is not my only machine.

7) I'd argue that the Retina Display is obviously geared toward photographers and movie editors. For those folks, 256GB is obviously not enough storage.

8) Uh... yes. You may not be in the same profession, but I paid easily many times the price of the rMBP for those softwares. Creative Suite 6 Design Premium is $1900 for a full license in case you haven't realized it. So I DO expect them to work with Retina. The fact that they don't right now is not Apple's fault, but it's still a strike against the rMBP as software support is not there yet.

9) No, but it's obvious that 1920 x 1200 scaled mode in Mac OS X is slower than BootCamp 2880 x 1800 in AutoCAD and Maya.

10) Try to manage 8 windows per desktop... on 5 different desktops in Mission Control. Not fun... ML is much better than Lion in that it doesn't freeze, but it's still no where near as smooth or responsive as my old Early 2011 MBP 15".

11) It's a negative against the rMBP that are affected. Mine isn't affected, by the way. I have a perfect screen on the first device that I took out of the box.

12) Well, it's a negative because... now, if I were to offer you a lower resolution laptop for trade with your rMBP, would you do it? No? Then that's the point. You simply don't want something that doesn't have a Retina Display.

Note that most of that (about 9 of those "negatives") actually don't apply to me. I'm only afflicted by no. 12, no. 10, and no. 8. Slow and stuttery performance doesn't bother me at all. In fact, it isn't any more laggy than my old MBP 17" 2010 model, and my 2008 iMac 24". It's totally acceptable. Just that my MBP 15" 2011 was on a whole other level of UI performance.

 

[derbothaus]

1) cMBP costs more with the same spec, and thats without the awesome new chassis, cooling system, and screen.

Not that simple. You also need to factor in all the TB>dongles to get it functionally the same. Also I would want a 256GB 2.6GHz model. I can't have that.

2) Its 2012, no one using this machine the way its intended to be used will be using such storage mediums.

Total wild conjecture. This is marketed as a "Pro" Macbook. Unless you consider yourself a design pro (Tht does not use Photoshop). An IT pro you are not.
DVD's, ethernet, Firewire, are still everywhere and my FW DAC cost more than my computer. Not giving that up for a Macbook Air "Pro". It's an awesome display but like Final Cut X, it is less than Pro. Also the actual pro apps most people use have not been updated yet so they look terrible on the new tech. Soon enough they will be but right now is a bad time. For those users a cMBP is a nice stop gap. Apple knows this. New adopters are not the Pro users yet. At least en masse. Bloggers yes. Audio and Video? No.

 

[nontroppo]

New adopters are not the Pro users yet. At least en masse. Bloggers yes. Audio and Video? No.

For my sins I've done a bit of video editing and post-production and know several people who work in production houses in London using the rMBP as a mobile workstation without issue; they snapped it up because dual thunderbolt means unheard of flexibility in the field. Running an AJA io-xt with external monitor + ref monitor and a RAID off the daisy chained TB port. And editing at 1:1 off HD proxies with lots of UI space to spare, wow.

A professional can't use the rMBP and its significant advantages because of a firewire adapter, or heavens forbid, a DVD?

Oh, and please please please stop repeating the fallacy of non-retina applications looking "terrible"!!! There is endless evidence that scaled applications display at the same resolution as a cMBP.

 

[nizmoz]

IMHO, the Retina Macbook Pro shouldn't be even called a Pro but it is.

I decided against it because the Retina is a marketing ploy for more money for just a screen that IMHO isn't going to be that much better than the best LCDs that Mac has.

Also for photo editing, the Matte screen is the recommended one and not the Retina. Better color accuracy.

I got a MBP ordered now, which has more features, better cooling because it's larger and has more space for air to flow, can have multiple hard drives if you remove the DVD drive, upgradeable, and for IT it supports the features I need without adding additional dongles.

 

[derbothaus]

A professional can't use the rMBP and its significant advantages because of a firewire adapter, or heavens forbid, a DVD?

Certain professionals dude. I was giving example based on the "no one" conjecture. Obviously some people. Like storage geeks can benefit with 2 TB ports but daisey chaining works on the 1 that they both have just as well and most external devices have 2 ports for this purpose. What are it's advantages other than screen? The dual TB channels have been seen as having issue doing more than 1 thing at a time.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6023/the-nextgen-macbook-pro-with-retina-display-review/11

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Oh, and please please please stop repeating the fallacy of non-retina applications looking "terrible"!!! There is endless evidence that scaled applications display at the same resolution as a cMBP.

I don't need evidence. I have one in my possession. Apps look terrible and blurry. Even scaled other than 1440x900 quad. You may be able to fix in terminal if the app was compiled correctly but most users wont do this. You can see the apps correctly on a regular external display just not on the retina. And also this just means you miss the entire point of "retina" for the time being.

 

[jacktorrance]

Why I went with the retina?

1) The ability to output more than 2 external displays natively without the use of USB to DVI/HDMI Adapters
2) SSD/Flash Drive
3) Beautiful screen (Although I have my rMBPr in clamshell mode 80% of the time)
4) Overall thin design


The small annoying bits,
1) Things are still buggy.
2) Not all apps are optimized
3) Image Retention? (I haven't experienced it and I've had my rMBP for over a month.

Why list it then?

 

[mjn298]

i got a cMBP because i like having native firewire for certain things (particularly pro tools doesn't "officially" support the t-bolt adapter but it does actually work)

but mainly

my mac comes on stage with me as i use it as a keyboard and guitar modeler and $h*t happens.. i was a little scared of the rMBP's lack of that extra layer of glass in front of the display that the cMBPs have.. i also have had MBPs knocked down on stage and always appreciate the ability to swap out busted HDDs (though SSDs probably render this irrelevant)

basically i have a specific set of concerns and they may not even be legit ones but they were important to me.

 

[LeeM]

i wanted upgradeability and prefer portability of 13"
i could have been swayed to a retina 13" but again prefer to be able to have 2 hard drives and add ram. got 8gb, a 128gb ssd and 500gb hdd at the minute but in 12 months when prices drop ill add 16gb a 512gb ssd and 1tb hdd

 

[bill-p]

Oh, and please please please stop repeating the fallacy of non-retina applications looking "terrible"!!! There is endless evidence that scaled applications display at the same resolution as a cMBP.

Yes, they do, but when you are surrounded by higher resolution elements on the screen, the lack of resolution and details in the non-Retina applications really show.

It's obvious even at 1920 x 1200 scaled mode.

So they look blurry because you have something that's super sharp right next door, not because they originally don't look sharp.

It's just a matter of "perspective".

 

[Ledgem]

I had been waiting for a Macbook Pro with a Retina display, but avoided it because of the inability to do self-upgrades. Maxing out RAM and upgrading the hard drive are nice ways to extend a system's life and squeeze more performance out, and it's always cheaper to wait (prices are always dropping with time) and do it yourself.

My hope is that Apple will bring the Retina display to the unibody form factor Macbook Pros, or redesign it so that users can service it. Realistically, though, the 2012 unibody Macbook Pro may be the last user-serviceable laptop that Apple releases.

 

[nontroppo]

Certain professionals dude.

You mentioned video and audio, and I've met a few people using the rMBP for the flexibility of the dual TB ports and the IPS panel with 220DPI for video post-production. I wasn't trying to argue about how many % of rMBP owners are bloggers vs. videographers, which as you rightly say, is all wild conjecture...

I don't need evidence. I have one in my possession. Apps look terrible and blurry.

There was someone on the Microsoft office thread who was indignantly insulting others as it was "obvious" the rMBP was "more fuzzy", until several people provided screenshots of cMBP vs. rMBP, and the images were identical. Here is my comparison of my 2010MBP vs 2012rMBP on Photoshop, which people have said is unusable for professionals on the rMBP but is great for professionals on the cMBP:

You should read the post of bill-p:

So they look blurry because you have something that's super sharp right next door ... It's just a matter of "perspective".

Yes absolutely correct, although it is then fallacious as a reason to not get the rMBP!

 

[All Taken]

rMBP - just so I could make the people who bought the old and bulky, poorer screen cMBP feel angry and hit out at this new technology!

'Those darn kids and their mobile phones' Your cMBP days are numbered, it's inferior. rMBP FTW!!!!!!, sorry couldn't resist

P.S the guy who mentioned the rMBP shouldn't be called a pro. WOW. That's just sad, it has two thunderbolt ports, solid state storage, a retina display and a more portable form factor. To a PRO who would rather time be used making money instead of worrying about an upgrade to a two year old machine it's a no-brainer.

 

[derbothaus]

I do agree with all your points theoretically but it kind of all comes down to what is viewable on the screen for me (not a specs battle). The resolution of elements is what it is until updated. It is blurry on a rMBP and not blurry on the agreed upon inferior cMBP screen. I don't zoom my screen, don't care what DPI I am looking at or why it is what it is at the time. It is not blurry at regular standard native resolutions as it has been that way for the last 20 years. CRT-LCD-??? 800x600 - 2650x1600. Office and Adobe were made with standard dot pitch in mind. Times have changed and if users don't want to see blurry they will have to wait it out a bit and as a professional we buy whats work at the time not for future. If you are a regular consumer you may have a more lenient timeline. I am not arguing whether the screen is better or anything of the sort. The thread was about why you passed or didn't on buying. I think my concerns are legitimate for passing but I also understand that as an Apple professional I am in the minority (clearly when looking at their present decisions moving forward). I am glad there is choice during whatever type of transition we are undergoing (Always undergoing)

 

[golf1410]

Are we doing SWOT analysis on MBPr here?

 

[derbothaus]

rMBP - just so I could make the people who bought the old and bulky, poorer screen cMBP feel angry and hit out at this new technology!

Everyone has a choice. I'm not jealous. Money was not a factor. I bought a new 2012 cMBP after I saw a rMBP and had it for a few hours building it for a user. Doesn't fit the bill for my current professional uses. The type of "pro" that makes ALL their money from Mac's. I need to resurrect Hard Drives and reconstruct data. Do you think everyone has a TB external HD for this? Most Mac users were sold on FW back in the day and still have those enclosures. I need all the ports and options I can get. If they still had express slots for SATA2-3 I'd get that too. I need mass connectivity not less.

 

[vet]

I had a 2011 MacBook Air 13" before the rMBP. What made me switch was the IPS display, USB 3.0 and extra power without too much difference in weight. Did I care about the retina aspect? Not really, but the inclusion of an acceptable panel for photography and graphic design is a major benefit for me.

 

[nontroppo]

It is blurry on a rMBP and not blurry on the agreed upon inferior cMBP screen ... if users don't want to see blurry they will have to wait ...

I just provided side-by-side evidence they are the same! I will leave it here; because if screenshots can't explain visually why you are incorrect nothing will...

 

[MCAsan]

All solid state YEA
No deadend FW Double YEA
USB 3 Triple YEA

 

[clyde2801]

I had a 2011 MacBook Air 13" before the rMBP. What made me switch was the IPS display, USB 3.0 and extra power without too much difference in weight. Did I care about the retina aspect? Not really, but the inclusion of an acceptable panel for photography and graphic design is a major benefit for me.

Same situation as you, but I found a great deal on a almost new late 2011 2.4 i7 17" on CL instead. Love the large glossy Samsung screen on it, and frankly my middle aged eyes aren't sharp enough to tell that big of a difference between the two panels. Being able to cheaply go to 16 gigs of ram and a 512 gb m4 crucial SSD was a factor as well.

And at the time I bought my 17", Pages was not optimized for the retina display, and looked like....well, crud. There was also no word on when the app would be updated at the time.

No regrets about my purchase, and I'm tickled pink about it. I don't think you can really go wrong with buying either machine.

 

[nizmoz]

rMBP - just so I could make the people who bought the old and bulky, poorer screen cMBP feel angry and hit out at this new technology!

'Those darn kids and their mobile phones' Your cMBP days are numbered, it's inferior. rMBP FTW!!!!!!, sorry couldn't resist

P.S the guy who mentioned the rMBP shouldn't be called a pro. WOW. That's just sad, it has two thunderbolt ports, solid state storage, a retina display and a more portable form factor. To a PRO who would rather time be used making money instead of worrying about an upgrade to a two year old machine it's a no-brainer.

Pro means for the professional. When they took the ports all away and made it more like a MacBook air is when it lost that. Also the fact it isn't upgrade able really. There is a reason why the Mac pros have all those ports. Also like professional pc systems.

 

[bill-p]

I do agree with all your points theoretically but it kind of all comes down to what is viewable on the screen for me (not a specs battle). The resolution of elements is what it is until updated. It is blurry on a rMBP and not blurry on the agreed upon inferior cMBP screen. I don't zoom my screen, don't care what DPI I am looking at or why it is what it is at the time. It is not blurry at regular standard native resolutions as it has been that way for the last 20 years. CRT-LCD-??? 800x600 - 2650x1600. Office and Adobe were made with standard dot pitch in mind. Times have changed and if users don't want to see blurry they will have to wait it out a bit and as a professional we buy whats work at the time not for future. If you are a regular consumer you may have a more lenient timeline. I am not arguing whether the screen is better or anything of the sort. The thread was about why you passed or didn't on buying. I think my concerns are legitimate for passing but I also understand that as an Apple professional I am in the minority (clearly when looking at their present decisions moving forward). I am glad there is choice during whatever type of transition we are undergoing (Always undergoing)

The thing is... you don't even need to "zoom" in to see that. I can see the blurry text and screen elements from... something like 18 - 24 inches away. It's that noticeable. My eyes have "adjusted" to the Retina quality by now, and it's hard to go back.

Of course, it is by no means a negative remark for the display or for the apps, but rather, it is one consideration for those who are looking to purchase the rMBP and expecting those apps to work. I think most people would look at a Retina Display and wonder how their Photoshop workflow would change (less zooming), or how their texts would look in the Office suite. It's normal reaction. It doesn't really have anything to do with whether you are a professional or not. I think it's more about whether it's the "right time" for someone to even consider the rMBP in their upgrade path.

Personally, I actually love my rMBP to death and back. It has tremendously improved my workflow and allowed me to see more information on the screen at once... while shaving off weight on my back and space in my bag. It's a sizable difference to me... and that's beyond the resolution and all this talk about blurry texts and what-nots.

 

[Geekbabe]

My reasons aren't big or fancy & the list numbers only 2

1. My 13 inch July 2011 MBA had only been in my hands about 8 months when the Retina Pro was released. I'm a hardware Ho but even I have my limits. I can hold onto what is still one of the nicest notebooks made while I wait for reason number 2 below

2. My hope that a 13 inch form factor Retina will released within the next year.

 

[mykelala01]

But in 3 to 5 years, there would be another "Latest and Greatest Rev A" product.

Then you buy the latest and greatest Rev A product (you are my guinea pig)... and I will buy the more matured rMBP by then.

 

[okgavin]

Why I bought rMBP? 10 reasons

1) it's thin
2) Mac OS
3) Spec just fit
4) its design
5) laptop without disc drive is future trend (i think)
6) Apple care
7) a device that will not be forgotten by the manufacturer right after it shipped
8) screen looks good
9) bootcamp <-- yes, so that i know if i don't like OSX i can still have a window installed
10) Steve Jobs

 

[rockyroad55]

Why I bought rMBP? 10 reasons

1) it's thin
2) Mac OS
3) Spec just fit
4) its design
5) laptop without disc drive is future trend (i think)
6) Apple care
7) a device that will not be forgotten by the manufacturer right after it shipped
8) screen looks good
9) bootcamp <-- yes, so that i know if i don't like OSX i can still have a window installed
10) Steve Jobs

None of those made any sense to me besides 1 and 4.