MBP 15" retina 3-4 weeks!!

[rp2000]

"slightly higher resolution"

The increase is not slight - it's huge

It's higher than my 27" desktop monitor... something that I hate living without - even going back to 1920x1080 feels like a significant downgrade.

With this new laptop - I have even more screen real estate.

When you're using it for work, this extra real estate is incredibly useful.

There is 0 competition for this at the moment.

Plus there's decent spec + industry-leading build quality + decent keyboard + decent mouse.

Apple have the edge in the market, by a large margin currently.

Whilst the laptop spec and design is very good you seem confused about the "real estate". You only have 1920x1200 (at most) so that is only marginally more than your other 1920x1080 display.

Many monitors (and some laptops) exist that give you more screen estate than that. Apple already offered the iMac and the now discontinued 17 inch with high res display with same or higher resolutions.


rp2000

 

[MikeHunt79]

I wasn't really worrying about problems within the warranty period, moreso the lifespan of the product. To pay such a high price for something, whereby if the ram becomes faulty you literally have a motherboard level repair on your hands is a tad worrying.

You worry too much.

If there was a known defect then Apple have even replace logic boards out of warranty.

Older Macbook Pro's with Nvidia GPU's spring to mind.

 

[crinkleshoes]

Whilst the laptop spec and design is very good you seem confused about the "real estate". You only have 1920x1200 (at most) so that is only marginally more than your other 1920x1080 display.

Many monitors (and some laptops) exist that give you more screen estate than that. Apple already offered the iMac and the now discontinued 17 inch with high res display with same or higher resolutions.


rp2000

No confusion here... it's at your end buddy.

The screen is not 1920x1200 - the resolution is 2880x1800 and Apples moronic software 1920x1200 limitation is easy to bypass

It has more screen real estate than my U2711 & it'll be running windows a heck of a lot more than OSX

The previous 17" MBP had a resolution of 1920x1200... so this is a BIG increase

 

[rp2000]

No confusion here... it's at your end buddy.

The screen is not 1920x1200 - the resolution is 2880x1800 and Apples moronic software 1920x1200 limitation is easy to bypass

It has more screen real estate than my U2711 & it'll be running windows a heck of a lot more than OSX

The previous 17" MBP had a resolution of 1920x1200... so this is a BIG increase

Ah, I did not realise the screen resolution had been bypassed already (I assume you mean for OS X). I saw Anandtech showed it at full res, but that was in Windows. Can you share here how it is done (I can't really justify getting an MBPR now, but I will at some point and like the idea of experimenting with other resolutions)

Personally, I wish it was just released with 1920x1200, I think that offers the right amount of real estate for "pro" users considering the 15 inch physical screen. I don't like the idea of down scaling as every laptop I have ever used you can tell the difference in "crispness" a mile off between a scaled and native resolution. Need to see one in person before I am convinced (although that could lead to a pricey impulse purchase!!)


rp2000

 

[Metalface Mark]

what size ssd did you get? could you please look in the Disk Utility & tell me if you hard dive model starts with an S or a TS after the Apple SSD Part?

thanks

StevenG

Starts with an S.

 

[asim18]

It's expensive certainly. However, it's also cutting-edge technology and that always costs a premium.

Cutting-edge technology? There's nothing cutting edge about the technology they've used. The only cutting-edge thing about Apple is the hype-inducing trademarks they plaster over years old technology which they subsequently market like it's never been done before.

Looking at the technical specifications on their website.

• Retina Display - 1080p+ displays have been out for years.
• Intel Core i7 - Years old
• DDR3 - Years old
• Flash and SSD - Years old
• Intel & Nvidia 6 GPUs - Years old
• Dual display - Years and years old
• 720p webcam - 1080p webcams years old
• Magsafe 2 - "2" must mean they've invented something new again? lol
• Thunderbolt - just another proprietary connection
• USB3 - technologically the most "cutting-edge" thing about this laptop
• 802.11n and bluetooth - Years old
• NR microphones and line-out - Years and years old
• Backlit Keyboard - Years and years old
• Multi-touch - years and years old
• "Up to 7 hours wireless web" - Yeah, I could load up OcUK and leave it there for 10 hours and call it "Up to 10 hours wireless web".

There is nothing cutting edge about this product. But don't get me wrong, I do think it's a great, impeccably deigned and brilliantly produced product.

 

[Amp34]

"slightly higher resolution"

The increase is not slight - it's huge

It's higher than my 27" desktop monitor... something that I hate living without - even going back to 1920x1080 feels like a significant downgrade.

With this new laptop - I have even more screen real estate.

When you're using it for work, this extra real estate is incredibly useful.

There is 0 competition for this at the moment.

Plus there's decent spec + industry-leading build quality + decent keyboard + decent mouse.

Apple have the edge in the market, by a large margin currently.

So a 15" 1080p display is going to look so much worse? How close do you sit from your screen?! Lets face it, the main reason for the resolution that high is to continue their "retina" marketing. As for the screen estate I'm intrigued, isn't everything (well almost all third party apps) upscaled 2x so everything is the same size as what you would get on the normal 15" Macbook? It's probably one of the main reasons for the display of that resolution.

As for the other four points, it does have the edge in a few specs compared to the Series 9 (most specifically the RAM) but all the rest are broadly speaking the same. The 9 is gularly considered the best looking notebook at the moment and is just as well built as a macbook, the keyboard is beautiful and the touchpad is pretty good as well. All down to personal opinion really for those though.

My point still stands, great laptop, but nothing particularly revolutionary, just a very nice ultrabook with a display largely designed (at the moment) as an advertising tool (oh look, 200dpi, apparently still Retina due to Apples proprietary marketing terminology/science).

So yes there is competition, just depends exactly what you want from an ultra thin laptop and whether you are pigeonholed into the Apple laptop brand or buy sample the delights of all laptops before buying.

 

[Amp34]

You worry too much.

If there was a known defect then Apple have even replace logic boards out of warranty.

Older Macbook Pro's with Nvidia GPU's spring to mind.

That was more to do with a group law suit against Nvidia IIRC and it affected all manufacturers that used that particular GPU, not just Apple.

 

[Alpherah]

That was more to do with a group law suit against Nvidia IIRC and it affected all manufacturers that used that particular GPU, not just Apple.

White macbook hinge and palm fractures is probably a better example of Apple doing repairs out of warranty.

Also, I don't think you mean the Samsung Series 9, spec wise they are more comparable to MBA's then MBP's ?
Infact most reviews are saying the Series 9 is a 13" (15" in some) MBA 'clone' with inferior hardware, battery life, keyboard and trackpad .. but cheaper.

 

[Amp34]

I take back some of my comments about the screen then if the resolution limit and upscaling has been bypassed (at least in windows). Still, whether you really get much benefit is another question.

Ah, I did not realise the screen resolution had been bypassed already (I assume you mean for OS X). I saw Anandtech showed it at full res, but that was in Windows. Can you share here how it is done (I can't really justify getting an MBPR now, but I will at some point and like the idea of experimenting with other resolutions)

Personally, I wish it was just released with 1920x1200, I think that offers the right amount of real estate for "pro" users considering the 15 inch physical screen. I don't like the idea of down scaling as every laptop I have ever used you can tell the difference in "crispness" a mile off between a scaled and native resolution. Need to see one in person before I am convinced (although that could lead to a pricey impulse purchase!!)


rp2000

Don't you mean upscaling? Most apps are upscaled 2x and Engadget at least state you can really see the effect and it's not very good. I'd agree with you too 1920x1200 would be my preference, anything more really isn't going to provide you with much real world advantage (even in something like photo editing) on a 15" screen. Apple wouldn't have quite the pazazz if they had released one (loads already out) and they would have had to stretch the marketing terms even more (Retina...). Still, it's good to see them (and most other manufacturers) pushing the resolution of their displays up, they have been far too stagnant for too long (and I like Apples insistence of still using 16x10, although that does have the negative of losing 160px on the long side at 1440x900).

 

[Alpherah]

Screen resolution has been bypassed in OSX as well, but its pointless because every things so damn tiny.

Still, i played with one in store and in the 2x default mode everything looked so much sharper then 'normal', which is all I really care about.

Must admit, wasn't sold on the idea of uber-pixel display but after seeing it..

 

[Amp34]

Cutting-edge technology? There's nothing cutting edge about the technology they've used. The only cutting-edge thing about Apple is the hype-inducing trademarks they plaster over years old technology which they subsequently market like it's never been done before.

Looking at the technical specifications on their website.

• Retina Display - 1080p+ displays have been out for years.
• Intel Core i7 - Years old
• DDR3 - Years old
• Flash and SSD - Years old
• Intel & Nvidia 6 GPUs - Years old
• Dual display - Years and years old
• 720p webcam - 1080p webcams years old
• Magsafe 2 - "2" must mean they've invented something new again? lol
• Thunderbolt - just another proprietary connection
• USB3 - technologically the most "cutting-edge" thing about this laptop
• 802.11n and bluetooth - Years old
• NR microphones and line-out - Years and years old
• Backlit Keyboard - Years and years old
• Multi-touch - years and years old
• "Up to 7 hours wireless web" - Yeah, I could load up OcUK and leave it there for 10 hours and call it "Up to 10 hours wireless web".

There is nothing cutting edge about this product. But don't get me wrong, I do think it's a great, impeccably deigned and brilliantly produced product.

There is a bit cutting edge, it's certainly not your run of the mill product, however it certainly isn't revolutionary for a lot of the points you have highlighted.

White macbook hinge and palm fractures is probably a better example of Apple doing repairs out of warranty.

Also, I don't think you mean the Samsung Series 9, spec wise they are more comparable to MBA's then MBP's ?
Infact most reviews are saying the Series 9 is a 13" (15" in some) MBA 'clone' with inferior hardware, battery life, keyboard and trackpad .. but cheaper.

We're obviously reading different reviews then. The Series 9 is a bit more similar to the air you're correct, it's significantly thinner than the new Pro (and the 13" is thinner than the Air) but it actually has a similar battery life (around 7 1/2 hours), and PC vantage scores (3D is a lot worse but then how many people will really need that extra graphics grunt, certainly not photo editors). It's also similar in price to the Air (in fact was more expensive when the first was released). Again generally considered one of/ the best laptops around. Certainly not inferior (the 13" model anyway), but different.

I'm not saying the Series 9 is better than the "retina", just that there isn't quite the leap here that people think. At least now the 15" Series 9 reviews can say one competitor rather than "none".

 

[Beasty]

A minor thing but the speakers are fantastic actually, I have come from a 13" though so maybe that's a reason for the big jump.

 

[Alpherah]

a bit closer to the Air? it has no GPU and a low-power 2 core CPU .. its 100% closer to the air then the pro

 

[Metalface Mark]

Cutting-edge technology? There's nothing cutting edge about the technology they've used. The only cutting-edge thing about Apple is the hype-inducing trademarks they plaster over years old technology which they subsequently market like it's never been done before.

Looking at the technical specifications on their website.

• Retina Display - 1080p+ displays have been out for years.
• Intel Core i7 - Years old
• DDR3 - Years old
• Flash and SSD - Years old
• Intel & Nvidia 6 GPUs - Years old
• Dual display - Years and years old
• 720p webcam - 1080p webcams years old
• Magsafe 2 - "2" must mean they've invented something new again? lol
• Thunderbolt - just another proprietary connection
• USB3 - technologically the most "cutting-edge" thing about this laptop
• 802.11n and bluetooth - Years old
• NR microphones and line-out - Years and years old
• Backlit Keyboard - Years and years old
• Multi-touch - years and years old
• "Up to 7 hours wireless web" - Yeah, I could load up OcUK and leave it there for 10 hours and call it "Up to 10 hours wireless web".

There is nothing cutting edge about this product. But don't get me wrong, I do think it's a great, impeccably deigned and brilliantly produced product.

Obvious troll is obvious.

 

[AbsenceJam]

Cutting-edge technology? There's nothing cutting edge about the technology they've used. The only cutting-edge thing about Apple is the hype-inducing trademarks they plaster over years old technology which they subsequently market like it's never been done before.

Looking at the technical specifications on their website.

• Retina Display - 1080p+ displays have been out for years.
• Intel Core i7 - Years old
• DDR3 - Years old
• Flash and SSD - Years old
• Intel & Nvidia 6 GPUs - Years old
• Dual display - Years and years old
• 720p webcam - 1080p webcams years old
• Magsafe 2 - "2" must mean they've invented something new again? lol
• Thunderbolt - just another proprietary connection
• USB3 - technologically the most "cutting-edge" thing about this laptop
• 802.11n and bluetooth - Years old
• NR microphones and line-out - Years and years old
• Backlit Keyboard - Years and years old
• Multi-touch - years and years old
• "Up to 7 hours wireless web" - Yeah, I could load up OcUK and leave it there for 10 hours and call it "Up to 10 hours wireless web".

There is nothing cutting edge about this product. But don't get me wrong, I do think it's a great, impeccably deigned and brilliantly produced product.

 

[StevenG]

Starts with an S.

Fantastic, Samsung SSD you have yourself there, hoping i receive the same.

nice speed results there, can you upload some more images / benchmarks?

StevenG

 

[Metalface Mark]

Sure what do you want? Let me know and Ill do them tomorrow at work.

 

[Amp34]

a bit closer to the Air? it has no GPU and a low-power 2 core CPU .. its 100% closer to the air then the pro

Yet in benchmarks equals it.

Now considering most people will not be using all the power it's a pretty comparable machine.

I guess in a couple of months Samsung could bring out a fatter machine with a full fat processor either way.

I'd still go with a Z series tbh, smaller but stupidly powerful. At least the new Retina MBP makes it look average priced.

 

[sbi5ar]

Cutting-edge technology? There's nothing cutting edge about the technology they've used. The only cutting-edge thing about Apple is the hype-inducing trademarks they plaster over years old technology which they subsequently market like it's never been done before.

Looking at the technical specifications on their website.

• Retina Display - 1080p+ displays have been out for years.
• Intel Core i7 - Years old
• DDR3 - Years old
• Flash and SSD - Years old
• Intel & Nvidia 6 GPUs - Years old
• Dual display - Years and years old
• 720p webcam - 1080p webcams years old
• Magsafe 2 - "2" must mean they've invented something new again? lol
• Thunderbolt - just another proprietary connection
• USB3 - technologically the most "cutting-edge" thing about this laptop
• 802.11n and bluetooth - Years old
• NR microphones and line-out - Years and years old
• Backlit Keyboard - Years and years old
• Multi-touch - years and years old
• "Up to 7 hours wireless web" - Yeah, I could load up OcUK and leave it there for 10 hours and call it "Up to 10 hours wireless web".

There is nothing cutting edge about this product. But don't get me wrong, I do think it's a great, impeccably deigned and brilliantly produced product.

Taken individually then you may have a point... Putting it all together into something that is 18 mm thick then you are certainly mistaken!

Edit: Even individually some of your arguments are highly flawed... Troll elsewhere