The New Macbook
Discussion
Right, mine turned up today and whilst I've not given it a proper test out yet, here's the initial thoughts.
Keyboard - Really strange to type on initially, but after a couple of hours you get used to it. Feels like you've got to hit the keys hard to get the press.
Screen - I really feel like Apple have pulled the wool over my eyes here. Boasting 2403x1440 resolution which I was looking forward to. Only to find out that that resolution is only available via the thunderbolt port and an external monitor. The highest resolution on the screen is only 1440x900 (NOT EVEN HD!) - BIG CON in my eyes. How can they call this Retina????
Nice and snappy with Chrome installed, web browsing fast.
I'll report back with video editing speeds and usability with photo editing later
Keyboard - Really strange to type on initially, but after a couple of hours you get used to it. Feels like you've got to hit the keys hard to get the press.
Screen - I really feel like Apple have pulled the wool over my eyes here. Boasting 2403x1440 resolution which I was looking forward to. Only to find out that that resolution is only available via the thunderbolt port and an external monitor. The highest resolution on the screen is only 1440x900 (NOT EVEN HD!) - BIG CON in my eyes. How can they call this Retina????
Nice and snappy with Chrome installed, web browsing fast.
I'll report back with video editing speeds and usability with photo editing later
2304x1440 resolution at 226 pixels per inch with support for millions of colours
16:10 aspect ratio
Supported scaled resolutions:
1440x900
1280x800
1024x640
ie. it's putting everything on screen at the same size as they'd be on a 12" 1440x900 display, just sharper. You still get all the pixels, it just won't let you scale everything down to absurdly tiny.
16:10 aspect ratio
Supported scaled resolutions:
1440x900
1280x800
1024x640
ie. it's putting everything on screen at the same size as they'd be on a 12" 1440x900 display, just sharper. You still get all the pixels, it just won't let you scale everything down to absurdly tiny.
The misses picked one up recently and I must be honest, I really like it! The 512GB jobbie.
I do find that I reach for hers now over my Macbook, however mine is now 7+ years old (Aluminium unibody MacBook, not Pro).
As I've gone along, I've just bunged more RAM into my MacBook and 6 months ago whacked in a 1.5TB hard drive. All is well with the world.
I recently treated myself to a GoPro Hero 4 Black 4K super duper thingy. The GoPro software was starting to struggle on my MacBook - it still completed the tasks but it took a little time. The new MacBook processed the same footage quicker. I know that's not a conclusive test, but it is indicative to me.
Perhaps I need to treat myself to a new MacBook Pro Retina...
I do find that I reach for hers now over my Macbook, however mine is now 7+ years old (Aluminium unibody MacBook, not Pro).
As I've gone along, I've just bunged more RAM into my MacBook and 6 months ago whacked in a 1.5TB hard drive. All is well with the world.
I recently treated myself to a GoPro Hero 4 Black 4K super duper thingy. The GoPro software was starting to struggle on my MacBook - it still completed the tasks but it took a little time. The new MacBook processed the same footage quicker. I know that's not a conclusive test, but it is indicative to me.
Perhaps I need to treat myself to a new MacBook Pro Retina...
Well, a bit more testing and it can handle Final Cut Pro ok, nothing spectacular, but not too bad. Certainly not as bad as I was expecting. Battery life is amazing, and despite there being no fans, it doesn't get hot at all.
I've decided I'm not keeping it, so if anyone fancies an immaculate 1.2ghz 512gb SSD 8gb RAM for £850 + p&p at cost then send me a PM.
I've decided I'm not keeping it, so if anyone fancies an immaculate 1.2ghz 512gb SSD 8gb RAM for £850 + p&p at cost then send me a PM.
Hello, I'm typing this on my space grey 2015 MB.
For those who are interested I'll tell you how I've got on with mine. I've had it for about 2 months now (the base model, £1049 & 128GB drive)
How is it? Well, I absolutely love it and it has performed brilliantly so far. However, I would say that this laptop is not the best choice for everybody. I use mine for writing mostly, with internets/youtube/movies and so on and for that it is brilliant. Before it I had a 2009 unibody MB which I had killed through heavy abuse, and was looking for a replacement. I decided to get something cheaper so started looking at PCs and windows tablets including the Surface.
I must have looked at fifty different laptops and tablet combos before realising that whilst I could find ones that did most of what I wanted, the only one I could find which did everything was a MacBook.
My personal needs were:
As said though, it won't be right for everyone - I bought my missus a MBr instead as she does design work and it has more power.
-Robsa
For those who are interested I'll tell you how I've got on with mine. I've had it for about 2 months now (the base model, £1049 & 128GB drive)
How is it? Well, I absolutely love it and it has performed brilliantly so far. However, I would say that this laptop is not the best choice for everybody. I use mine for writing mostly, with internets/youtube/movies and so on and for that it is brilliant. Before it I had a 2009 unibody MB which I had killed through heavy abuse, and was looking for a replacement. I decided to get something cheaper so started looking at PCs and windows tablets including the Surface.
I must have looked at fifty different laptops and tablet combos before realising that whilst I could find ones that did most of what I wanted, the only one I could find which did everything was a MacBook.
My personal needs were:
- Must be small and portable - must be able to be used on a plane and on a lap
- Must have a good keyboard, preferably backlit
- Must have great battery life
- Must have a good screen
- Needs to be able to take a few knocks
- Really would like a responsive and accurate touchpad too
- Must have a proper OS - I had previously lost a lot of work using iOS and Android
As said though, it won't be right for everyone - I bought my missus a MBr instead as she does design work and it has more power.
-Robsa
Beefed up my Macbook by replacing it with a 512gb (Thanks Audi321) and much more useable for my needs now. Got rid of my 256gb and forgot how portable and small this is. A few questions regarding accessories:
1) Has anyone purchased a nice slim professional carry sleeve for the laptop? Any recommendations?
2) Charger - any recommendations for an extra charger (USB-C) so I don't have to carry one to the office every day. Im looking for a couple of cheap and cheerful ones from Amazon etc but none seem to have any reviews.
3) One thing I did like about my MPR 13" was the HDMI port which I would use to watch films on the TV with, nice and simple plug and play. What is everyone's experience with Apple TV and a Macbook 12? Is the picture and sound smooth/good quality with no lags?
1) Has anyone purchased a nice slim professional carry sleeve for the laptop? Any recommendations?
2) Charger - any recommendations for an extra charger (USB-C) so I don't have to carry one to the office every day. Im looking for a couple of cheap and cheerful ones from Amazon etc but none seem to have any reviews.
3) One thing I did like about my MPR 13" was the HDMI port which I would use to watch films on the TV with, nice and simple plug and play. What is everyone's experience with Apple TV and a Macbook 12? Is the picture and sound smooth/good quality with no lags?
RikonLondon said:
1) Has anyone purchased a nice slim professional carry sleeve for the laptop? Any recommendations?
I've got one of these for mine, and it fits really well. Soft interior, looks smart and it has a little cut-out so you can charge it while inside the case.http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00UGBAU5I
Just to add to the comments on here - I've had mine about 6 weeks now, and agree it isn't for everyone although I'm really pleased with it, and it's pretty much perfect for what I want to use it for. I mostly use it for web browsing and writing blog articles, but I took it on holiday with me a couple of weeks ago and used it almost every night to edit my photos with Lightroom.
I wasn't expecting fantastic performance doing photo editing, but I was pleasantly surprised - it even coped well with 50MP images from my Canon 5DS-R, and although wasn't quite as snappy as my desktop Mac Pro, it was more than useable. It did get quite warm though when I was processing and exporting multiple photos, but not uncomfortably so. Battery life is usually around 9 hours, but obviously under heavy load it drops a lot more quickly.
I like the keyboard, and haven't had any problems typing long documents. The screen is fantastic, and the touch-pad is probably the best I've ever used.
leglessAlex said:
RikonLondon said:
You mean you used a lightening charger on the Macbook 12?
I imagine he means he used the 2.1A plug with a USB-C cable attached.robsa said:
Yes, this. Hard to say whether it was actually feeding any juice into it or not - the laptop said it was charging, but it was going down slowly. This was using a usb C cable connected to a 2.0 fast charger
I plug mine into a standard charger, 2 or 3 amps I think, when I am away from home. It charges between 3-7W which if it is asleep means it charges up, light browsing stays roughly the same and demanding tasks goes down slower than if not charging.Not ideal but ok for free as I use it to charge back up overnight, albeit much slower than using the supplied charger.
As for the machine itself I love it, perfect form factor and powerful enough for me with my usage to not notice any difference to my desktop mac. I would love it if it had 2 usb connectors like the pixel, purely so I could charge it on the right hand side as that is where my power is. Possibly the best bit is no fans, no more blaring fans while watching videos.
Keyboard is ok, not the best but I can type fast on it and it is a worthwhile compromise for the space gained. Typing on my old macbook air at the weekend felt very mushy, not bad just different. If this is version 1.0 then version 2.0 should be an absolute cracker.
How are owners of the 12" Macbook finding them in every day use?
I'm heading to Florida on Thursday and noticed an online sale at Best Buy for the Macbook so I've ordered one for collection on boxing day. I currently have a 2014 MBA 11" (which I will advertise on PH classifieds) which I love but I really want the better screen and the extra storage will be handy - I know it's slower/compromised etc but I am not a heavy user.
I'm heading to Florida on Thursday and noticed an online sale at Best Buy for the Macbook so I've ordered one for collection on boxing day. I currently have a 2014 MBA 11" (which I will advertise on PH classifieds) which I love but I really want the better screen and the extra storage will be handy - I know it's slower/compromised etc but I am not a heavy user.
Edited by tim0409 on Saturday 23 January 18:33
cb31 said:
I plug mine into a standard charger, 2 or 3 amps I think, when I am away from home. It charges between 3-7W which if it is asleep means it charges up, light browsing stays roughly the same and demanding tasks goes down slower than if not charging.
Not ideal but ok for free as I use it to charge back up overnight, albeit much slower than using the supplied charger.
As for the machine itself I love it, perfect form factor and powerful enough for me with my usage to not notice any difference to my desktop mac. I would love it if it had 2 usb connectors like the pixel, purely so I could charge it on the right hand side as that is where my power is. Possibly the best bit is no fans, no more blaring fans while watching videos.
Keyboard is ok, not the best but I can type fast on it and it is a worthwhile compromise for the space gained. Typing on my old macbook air at the weekend felt very mushy, not bad just different. If this is version 1.0 then version 2.0 should be an absolute cracker.
I've got a quick question ref the 1A / 2.1A issue, not restricted to Macbook though.Not ideal but ok for free as I use it to charge back up overnight, albeit much slower than using the supplied charger.
As for the machine itself I love it, perfect form factor and powerful enough for me with my usage to not notice any difference to my desktop mac. I would love it if it had 2 usb connectors like the pixel, purely so I could charge it on the right hand side as that is where my power is. Possibly the best bit is no fans, no more blaring fans while watching videos.
Keyboard is ok, not the best but I can type fast on it and it is a worthwhile compromise for the space gained. Typing on my old macbook air at the weekend felt very mushy, not bad just different. If this is version 1.0 then version 2.0 should be an absolute cracker.
I've got some 2.1A plugs, does the USB cable I use make any difference? I know you can get 'fast data' USB cables but does that marry over to power too?
tim0409 said:
How are owners of the 12" Macbook finding them in every day use?
I'm heading to Florida on Thursday and noticed an online sale at Best Buy for the Macbook which works out at £700 so I've ordered one for collection on boxing day. I currently have a 2014 MBA 11" (which I will advertise on PH classifieds) which I love but I really want the better screen and the extra storage will be handy - I know it's slower/compromised etc but I am not a heavy user.
Very happy with mine still. Replaced a 2011 MBA 11". Main improvements are the performance, better screen and longer battery life. Impressive how they managed to pack all of that into a smaller chassis! Definitely recommended I'm heading to Florida on Thursday and noticed an online sale at Best Buy for the Macbook which works out at £700 so I've ordered one for collection on boxing day. I currently have a 2014 MBA 11" (which I will advertise on PH classifieds) which I love but I really want the better screen and the extra storage will be handy - I know it's slower/compromised etc but I am not a heavy user.
How is the MacBook for photo editing?
All of my main editing is done using Lightroom CC on my iMac, but when I'm travelling I have been using my iPad with Lightroom Mobile for copying images from my camera and basic editing etc.
The tablet form factor isn't really working for me, a small portable laptop would work better, so I'm looking at either the new retina MacBook, or the 11" MacBook Air. I would spec up the Air to 256GB and 8GB RAM, so they are pretty much the same spec and similarly priced.
I see the benefits of the Air to be more ports and a more powerful processor, whereas the MacBook has the retina screen. Which would be a better bet for Lightroom and general computing?
All of my main editing is done using Lightroom CC on my iMac, but when I'm travelling I have been using my iPad with Lightroom Mobile for copying images from my camera and basic editing etc.
The tablet form factor isn't really working for me, a small portable laptop would work better, so I'm looking at either the new retina MacBook, or the 11" MacBook Air. I would spec up the Air to 256GB and 8GB RAM, so they are pretty much the same spec and similarly priced.
I see the benefits of the Air to be more ports and a more powerful processor, whereas the MacBook has the retina screen. Which would be a better bet for Lightroom and general computing?
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