Apple launches new 12-inch MacBook with Retina display, refreshes MBA and MBP

Sad Professor

Ridiculously thin and light without sacrificing battery life, but no ports, no MagSafe and an energy efficient CPU.

Who's getting one?

Tokyo

Pros
Retina display
size
fanless
new touchpad sounds like it's a step up from the old one.

Cons
no ports - everything through single USB-C port.
dongles from older MacBooks incompatible
very little key travel - from all accounts it sounds not very comfortable to type on.

Not sure there's enough there for me to hand over that kind of money for.

Zapp Brannigan

Who is it aimed at? Less power than a Macbook Air it would seem, yet it's priced higher? I'm confused with the direction they're taking this.

Sad Professor

It’s basically the new MacBook Air. And like the first gen Air, it will take a while for component costs to come down. The Retina display being the big one.

Zapp Brannigan

Over here in the UK it's gonna be more expensive than the MBPr 13". Madness.

BetterThanThou

Macbook Air practically craps all over it, and it works out a good bit cheaper. Can't understand the need to make a laptop that's even more compact than the Air, I have a 13 inch Air and it's roughly the same thickness of my iPhone at the thickest part, it takes up roughly the same amount of space in my bag as an A4 copy, I genuinely don't see the need to make a laptop any more compact than that. The lack of a USB port is ridiculous, I understand there's adapters, but this isn't like getting rid of a CD drive or ethernet port, a USB port is important, and there's no signs of it being replaced, whereas CD drives and ethernet ports are pretty much useless these days to most people. The retina display is something I'd like, but the extra money along with the reduced power and lack of USB ports simply kills it for me. I'd like a Macbook Air with a retina display to be released. But this is just pointless if you ask me, absolutely no reason to pick this over the Air or the Pro.

Idleater

BetterThanThou wrote: »

I'd like a Macbook Air with a retina display to be released. But this is just pointless if you ask me, absolutely no reason to pick this over the Air or the Pro.

It's like an osx enabled iPad with an attached keyboard.

The single port is interesting, from a design point of view, but for me, I need to connect some peripherals thus would need to keep track of the expansion adapter. I'd also require a bit more grunt than a core m for my development and virtual machine environments. As it is on its own, it serves the same use as my iPad At thrice the price.

The mpb13r might be worth investigating. I was going to wait for the new chipset mbp15 r.

BetterThanThou

Mr.S wrote: »

It has a usb port...

It has a USB-C port, which I suppose is technically a USB port, but it's not compatible with normal USB devices without a dongle, and due to the single port , unless you're willing to spend nearly $79(so probably similar or more in euro) for a dongle, which allows it, you can't charge it while having something plugged in.

Zcott

If you're going on a plane journey or doing any kind of long journey with no access to power, a port to plug a printer in isn't really what you need. You want it to be so light you hardly notice it, and battery life that lasts all day.

whiterebel

No ports, not even a card reader. Not much use to me, its more like a very expensive iPad. Don't like the idea its fanless though.Space grey looks nice though.

Sad Professor

It’s clearly at aimed at the iPad part of the market. People looking for something ultra-portable albeit with a keyboard and desktop operating system. What’s wrong with that?

People compare it to the iPad like it’s a bad thing. Love or hate it, the iPad redefined what portable means. A 15-inch or even 13-inch laptop with ports and card readers galore ain't portable anymore. I learned this when I had to had to lug my MBP into college every day. I’m planning to go travelling later this year and even my 11-inch Air seems like more than I want to carry.

Personally I think it looks fantastic. Potentially the best notebook Apple has ever made.

whiterebel

Sad Professor wrote: »

It’s clearly at aimed at the iPad part of the market. People looking for something ultra-portable albeit with a keyboard and desktop operating system. What’s wrong with that?

People compare it to the iPad like it’s a bad thing. Love or hate it, the iPad redefined what portable means. A 15-inch or even 13-inch laptop with ports and card readers galore ain't portable anymore. I learned this when I had to had to lug my MBP into college every day. I’m planning to go travelling later this year and even my 11-inch Air seems like more than I want to carry.

Personally I think it looks fantastic. Potentially the best notebook Apple has ever made.

I don't think the iPad is a bad thing, far from it, I've got 2. iPad is less than half the price. My MBA has thunderbolt, 2 x Usb and a card reader, most days all of them in use. And it's still very portable. When I think back to when I went "high tech" 10/11 years ago, I had to lug around a 12" PowerBook (still going strong but weights a ton) and a huge Epson projector. Now I use an iPad mini and a projector less than 2/3 the size of a Mac mini. Problem is now I'd need a combo Vga/power adaptor if doing all day sessions for the new MB. Looks lovely, though, I have to say.

imitation

I just can't see how having no ports is a feature, it would drive me mental. Its not like 2 usb ports would detract from it in any way. Instead you'll have to install some monster hydra cable if you want to use a memory stick and charge your laptop at the same time..

Elessar

imitation wrote: »

I just can't see how having no ports is a feature, it would drive me mental. Its not like 2 usb ports would detract from it in any way. Instead you'll have to install some monster hydra cable if you want to use a memory stick and charge your laptop at the same time..

I get where you're coming from but this is the way things are heading. Intel's Skylake platform (late this year/early next) will arrive with wireless connections as a major feature. Intel wants to "eliminate PC cables" by 2016. Everything is moving to a wireless connection - charging, keyboard, mouse, monitors. Everything.

Have to say I love the look of the new Macbook, but give me this design for a 15" MBP please

Dman001

What can we expect out of the Core M? I'm not expecting any major Video/photography editing capabilities, but I worry it's basically a rebranded/fanless Atom??

Delighted they went for the black bezel, as opposed to the aluminum bezel like on the Air. It looks hideous, and so outdated on the Air. I do wish though they stuck to a 13" display though.

As tempting as it is to go for one, being a consumer to a first gen Apple device never goes down well a year down the line!

Sad Professor

This is pretty funny.

Doodah7

Dman001 wrote: »

Delighted they went for the black bezel, as opposed to the aluminum bezel like on the Air. It looks hideous, and so outdated on the Air. I do wish though they stuck to a 13" display though.

This.

The one main standout reason I chose a 13" cMBP over a 13" MBA a few years ago. I cannot stand the grey bezel on the MBA. I think it is really cheap looking and the colour accentuates the size of the bezel also...

K.O.Kiki

I haven't been this turned off an Apple laptop since the original Air.

Gonzo

I used to really like Apple products, have a Macbook Pro from 2009, however i'll never be buying anything apple ever again. There software quality over past 2 years has been questionable and now they compromising their hardware as well for inflated prices. This is pure Ryanair stuff but at a premium price.

Zcott

You know you don't have to buy it?

ukoda

Gonzo wrote: »

I used to really like Apple products, have a Macbook Pro from 2009, however i'll never be buying anything apple ever again. There software quality over past 2 years has been questionable and now they compromising their hardware as well for inflated prices. This is pure Ryanair stuff but at a premium price.

when you say software quality you mean OS X? its bound to be a bit slow buggy on a 6 year old laptop, you wouldn't fair much better with a windows machine

ukoda

its clearly aimed at people who want a very portable laptop thats mostly for watching TV shows / Movies, web browsing, checking mail, Skype etc, its not for everyone, it will suit a lot of people tho.

I for one can't remember the last time i plugged anything into my MacBook Pro, yet id prefer a laptop like this to my iPad for more functionality and a real keyboard

Doodah7

ukoda wrote: »

its clearly aimed at people who want a very portable laptop thats mostly for watching TV shows / Movies, web browsing, checking mail, Skype etc, its not for everyone, it will suit a lot of people tho.

I for one can't remember the last time i plugged anything into my MacBook Pro, yet id prefer a laptop like this to my iPad for more functionality and a real keyboard

So you never insert a USB hard drive/memory stick SD card into your computer?? If so, you are very much in the minority and an atypical laptop user.

Gonzo

ukoda wrote: »

when you say software quality you mean OS X? its bound to be a bit slow buggy on a 6 year old laptop, you wouldn't fair much better with a windows machine

I mean in terms of their OS just not as good as they used to be. I know about 7 people with macs, 5 of them had to roll back to Mountain Lion from Yosemite due to a whole host of problems from bad wireless connectivity/dropped connections to keyboards and mice not responding or random freezes. At this stage there is not much difference between Apple and Microsoft.

Im refusing to upgrade to Yosemite and refusing to upgrade my pc from Windows 7 to 8 so not too happy with both platforms right now.

ukoda

tallpaul wrote: »

So you never insert a USB hard drive/memory stick SD card into your computer?? If so, you are very much in the minority and an atypical laptop user.

Nope never do, my internet is wireless, even when traveling I use a MiFi device, icloud means I don't need to transfer any photos between devices, my work is all accessed via a VPN and even if I wanted to use a USB stick they aren't allowed, I can't think of a single reason to plug something into my laptop and I don't think I'm atypical at all, are there any stats or surveys you are basing that on?

EDIT: im backed up via time capsule btw so that's all wireless too

Sad Professor

Even before Dropbox, which I’ve been using since it launched, I never had any use for memory sticks. Too small, prone to failure and easy to lose. There was always better ways of transferring files.

Same goes for SD slots. I’ve never used the one in my MBP.

Sad Professor

Gonzo wrote: »

I mean in terms of their OS just not as good as they used to be. I know about 7 people with macs, 5 of them had to roll back to Mountain Lion from Yosemite due to a whole host of problems from bad wireless connectivity/dropped connections to keyboards and mice not responding or random freezes. At this stage there is not much difference between Apple and Microsoft.

Im refusing to upgrade to Yosemite and refusing to upgrade my pc from Windows 7 to 8 so not too happy with both platforms right now.

I’ve experienced none of those with Yosemite.

jaymcg91

Sad Professor wrote: »

I’ve experienced none of those with Yosemite.

Nor me.

I was a little surprised about the lack of USB ports until I really thought about it, and realized I never use them either (apart from backing my stuff up once a month or so). This is definitely the way things are going, and I think in the next few years we'll look back and laugh at how wired up we were.

NetNinja

I rarely use the USB ports in my macbook air but...

USB keys are very handy for doing a clean install of OSX. Yes I realise it can be done over wifi but it's slow.

HardenendMan

I also have rarely used the available USB ports on my retina MacBook Pro. I do use the HDMI out a lot - I presume Apple will sell adapters to use HDMI with the USB-C? And can you charge at the same time?

If not this would be a deal breaker. I often go to watch a movie outputted to HDMI TV only to find the battery charge too low for the movie duration, so have to connect the charger while playing.

ukoda

HardenendMan wrote: »

I also have rarely used the available USB ports on my retina MacBook Pro. I do use the HDMI out a lot - I presume Apple will sell adapters to use HDMI with the USB-C? And can you charge at the same time?

If not this would be a deal breaker. I often go to watch a movie outputted to HDMI TV only to find the battery charge too low for the movie duration, so have to connect the charger while playing.

Yeah they have them alright.

K.O.Kiki

Cloud storage is great until you find yourself in an area without internet - and this being Ireland... :rolleyes:

Zcott

I went into Apple in Belfast the other day and the 13" machines have the new force touch trackpads. Honestly, I had to check three times that this machine didn't have any moving parts under the trackpad. That thing is made of Magic.

bidiots

Sad Professor wrote: »

I’ve experienced none of those with Yosemite.

Gonzo wrote: »

I mean in terms of their OS just not as good as they used to be. I know about 7 people with macs, 5 of them had to roll back to Mountain Lion from Yosemite due to a whole host of problems from bad wireless connectivity/dropped connections to keyboards and mice not responding or random freezes. At this stage there is not much difference between Apple and Microsoft.

Im refusing to upgrade to Yosemite and refusing to upgrade my pc from Windows 7 to 8 so not too happy with both platforms right now.

Yosemite has a few issues alright, wireless dropping constantly is probably the biggest one I've come across, especially with the MacBook air....

PaddyFagan

bidiots wrote: »

Yosemite has a few issues alright, wireless dropping constantly is probably the biggest one I've come across, especially with the MacBook air....

My own experience was that changing the power save settings to stop the hard drives being put to sleep made my WiFi more reliable with Yosemite.

Paddy

Sad Professor

Wifi has been fine for me on two MacBooks, one of which I never turn off or sleep except to update. A lot of these wifi issues only affect certain machines and you just have to wait it out. My old white iMac had no wifi at all for the first year after I bought it.

bidiots

Sad Professor wrote: »

Wifi has been fine for me on two MacBooks, one of which I never turn off or sleep except to update. A lot of these wifi issues only affect certain machines and you just have to wait it out. My old white iMac had no wifi at all for the first year after I bought it.

That's just not acceptable when paying a lot of money for a laptop, imo

ukoda

bidiots wrote: »

That's just not acceptable when paying a lot of money for a laptop, imo

True, but its not a problem limited to Apple or MacBooks, all brands suffer from issues like this and some customers are just unlucky

s8n

any idea when the new 12" will be available here ?

Elessar

Friday I think.

s8n

where are people buying this for the best price with dollar being so strong ?