I have been reading some people's concern on the size of the text on Retina Display on 12" Macbook. Since I will be a long hour daily user of the screen and i never own a rMBP, can someone produce a mockup screen size for us all to check? Will this be too small? I know this can be subjective but it never hurts to hear people's experiences.
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Will Retina display size too small for 12" macbook
- Thread starter wisestar
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I am now temporarily using a 11'' Macbook Air, just to get an idea how the 12'' retina Macbook will be.
It's a small screen, and I am also wondering if I gain a lot with just 1 inch bigger screen (besides Retina ofcourse)
It's a small screen, and I am also wondering if I gain a lot with just 1 inch bigger screen (besides Retina ofcourse)
Going to be tough for me. I am moving from a 15 inch rMBP. so the new MB will just be for traveling for me, while the 15 incher will be exclusively home use now
It's going to be about the same as the Surface Pro 3's scaling considering they both essentially have the same resolution except for the aspect ratio. It's probably about 1.5:1 ratio rather than full 2:1 since text would be too large if it is.
The default scaling that Apple uses on the MacBook is 4:1 which will make it 1152x720 which will actually make things larger than on the 11" Air. You can choose the 'more space' options to get more real-estate for the trade-off of smaller text and elements.
For what it's worth, the 11" MBA is actually 11.6" diagonal. Assuming the 12" spec on the rMB is correct, it's only .4", or roughly 3/8", bigger.
That seems too big. At least with retina you can easily change the resolution scaling to 900p rather than 720p.
I currently use a 15" MBP, I will be switching to the rMB. I had a friend bring his girlfriends MBA over so I could compare and I can't believe the difference. The screen is honestly too small for my liking, but I love everything else the rMB has to offer. If there was a 14", it would literally be perfect for me. I'm going to give it a try, I can always return it after a few days or sell it. My MBP is almost 6 pounds, I need something much lighter to bring along with me. Hopefully the size doesn't bother me enough to be unable to keep it.
The 12" screen probably won't be too bad if you use the 'more space' options. I switched from a 14" 1920x1080 Thinkpad to the 12" Surface Pro 3 and have been surprised at how usable it is.
If the 12" does really end up too small, don't discount the 13" rMBP. It's actually a smaller footprint than the 13" MBA and only 3.5lbs - just 1/2lb heavier than the 13" Air.
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The new MacBook is 16:10 to the Air's 16:9 so that will further tilt in favor of the MacBook for screen area.
And, because the aspect ratio changes from the 11" MBA to the 12" rMB, you really only gain vertical space (although that is what the 11" MBA is missing anyway). The horizontal size stays nearly the same.
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The dumbest thing about this, though, is that the default resolution leaves you with less vertical space than an 11" Air. You definitely need to run this in the 900p scaled resolution in order to get any use out of the more productivity friendly 16:10 aspect ratio. Then you are taxing the GPU unneccesarily. I think I am just going to try to run it at the full 1440p and see how that works for me. I would have at least liked them to give us 2560x1600 so we could run 1280x800 as default.
The aspect ratio change is an xcellent point!
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From the Dept. of a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Thanks!
woww...I compared it to an iPad, which I have with me at home, and 12inch seems pretty small....I used to have a 13inch and i found it good but this seems too small maybe??
This thread made me realize that I wont be ordering it...I think it would be best for me to see it in stores first...
This thread made me realize that I wont be ordering it...I think it would be best for me to see it in stores first...
There's a thread on here somewhere with an actual photo showing how much the rMB will be able to display on its screen at the Best for Retina resolution. Size is a non-issue for me, I'm coming from a 13" Mac so this is only a difference of 1 inch. And this will be my only Mac, so obviously I value screen size.
How are you just realizing now that it'd be too small? There are people who use the 11-inch Air as their only computer, but this 12" MB actually has a 16:10 ratio.
Well I never took the time to check out a 11inch at the store...And I dont know really, it just seemed small...but like you said, its just an inch.
And its my secondary machine...so yeah I should shut up lol
Well I never took the time to check out a 11inch at the store...And I dont know really, it just seemed small...but like you said, its just an inch.
And its my secondary machine...so yeah I should shut up lol
As PDFiero posted above, this is basically the 11.6" MBA screen with about 3/8" extra vertical space. I'd be surprised if you found it inadequate, especially for a secondary machine. Checking out the 11" MBA would give you a good starting point to evaluate.
am I the only one hoping when Apple said 12 inch, it's more like 12.9 inch?
kinda like 11 inch MBA is more like 11.6 inch
kinda like 11 inch MBA is more like 11.6 inch
am I the only one hoping when Apple said 12 inch, it's more like 12.9 inch?
kinda like 11 inch MBA is more like 11.6 inch
Nope. If anything, I was thinking like 12.2