12 inch Retina MacBook

[smackababy]

Rumors seem to be pointing this to be true. And, it is unclear whether it is a MBP or a MBA, but leaning towards MBA type portability.

I guess some of you are getting your wish!

http://9to5mac.com/2014/07/23/os-x-...pple-preps-4k-desktop-12-inch-retina-macbook/

 

[Eug]

Saw that article. Dubious sources. However, it's not a matter of "if", but of "when". Some people think it may not be until 2015, or else late 2014 at the earliest.

I'm not really keen on the rumour of the clickless trackpad though.

Rez of 2304x1440 would be sufficient, as long as it's a good quality screen (viewing angles, etc.).

 

[Sattern]

You can expect it to come by the end of next year at the latest.

Most manufacturers take a couple months before they release anything new because they have to test the prototypes and make sure a small sample size of people who may be interested in the product appreciate the value of the item.

 

[Eug]

You can expect it to come by the end of next year at the latest.

Most manufacturers take a couple months before they release anything new because they have to test the prototypes and make sure a small sample size of people who may be interested in the product appreciate the value of the item.

Apple prototypes these things for years before they're released.

Furthermore, they sometimes get the CPUs before the other OEMs, and even sometimes get custom CPUs.

 

[Kaido]

4K Air please.

 

[TheStu]

4K Air please.

Why?

Using Apple's 2x method, that means the 'regular' panel size is 1920*1080... I mean, they exist, but that's just awfully small and ridiculous.

 

[vbuggy]

Yeah, even my mom is going 'when are they going to come out with something which looks different?'

Given the years that have passed, I'm thinking it'll probably be the lead of a new design direction in the manner of the '08 Air.

In the manner of that Air, I'd also expect it to be public alpha grade hardware for an eternally forgiving bunch of Applezombie amnesiacs, along with the predictable kid-gloves handling of His Anandness as well.

 

[Eug]

Core M?

​Intel: With Core M, there's finally a reason to upgrade your laptop

Compared with the comparable fourth-generation Core chips, the Intel Core M is 50 percent faster at computing and 40 percent faster at graphics, the company said. But Intel prefers to compare the Core M's performance to that of the chips in the many 4-year-old laptops still in use today. There, the Core M doubles computing power and improves graphics performance sevenfold, Intel said.

This applies to me. My MBP is five years old, doesn't have Retina, and is too heavy.

“Hello, Computer” – Intel’s New Mobile Chips Are Always Listening

A new line of mobile chips unveiled by Intel today makes it possible to wake up a laptop or tablet simply by saying “Hello, computer.” Once it has been awoken, the computer can operate as a voice-controlled virtual assistant. You might call out “Hello, computer, what is the weather forecast today?” while getting out of bed.

Fanless Retina MacBook with voice activation announcement in two days?

 

[TreVader]

Core M?

​Intel: With Core M, there's finally a reason to upgrade your laptop

Compared with the comparable fourth-generation Core chips, the Intel Core M is 50 percent faster at computing and 40 percent faster at graphics, the company said. But Intel prefers to compare the Core M's performance to that of the chips in the many 4-year-old laptops still in use today. There, the Core M doubles computing power and improves graphics performance sevenfold, Intel said.

This applies to me. My MBP is five years old, doesn't have Retina, and is too heavy.

“Hello, Computer” – Intel’s New Mobile Chips Are Always Listening

A new line of mobile chips unveiled by Intel today makes it possible to wake up a laptop or tablet simply by saying “Hello, computer.” Once it has been awoken, the computer can operate as a voice-controlled virtual assistant. You might call out “Hello, computer, what is the weather forecast today?” while getting out of bed.

Fanless Retina MacBook with voice activation announcement in two days?

Hmmm the fan is already pretty darn quiet on my MBA. If you asked the average MBA owner "does the fan in your laptop bother you?" they'd usually say "what fan?".


At what point did we get so unconstrained in TDP, battery life and CPU/GPU performance in the ultrabook form factor that the tiny fan in the MBA became the biggest priority?



I guess I won't miss the fan itself, but I think I will miss the loss in TDP. Unless Apple wants last year's 11" MBA totally wrecking their 12" Retina version in every CPU and GPU benchmark they better find some new way of transferring heat.

 

[TreVader]

I mean, if they can get rid of the fan by all means throw it out.




I'm waiting for a presentation by Sean Connery about the new "Caterpillar Heatsink" that is both totally silent and fanless.

 

[sze5003]

Every time I'm almost ready to buy a macbook something new is about to come out. Macbooks are probably the only Apple product I would buy since I've moved away from iPhones and prefer android devices for tablets and phones.

 

[Eug]

Hmmm the fan is already pretty darn quiet on my MBA. If you asked the average MBA owner "does the fan in your laptop bother you?" they'd usually say "what fan?".

At what point did we get so unconstrained in TDP, battery life and CPU/GPU performance in the ultrabook form factor that the tiny fan in the MBA became the biggest priority?

I guess I won't miss the fan itself, but I think I will miss the loss in TDP. Unless Apple wants last year's 11" MBA totally wrecking their 12" Retina version in every CPU and GPU benchmark they better find some new way of transferring heat.

I have long since been much less interested in performance in my laptops. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that my 13" MacBook Pro has mediocre battery life, is heavy, and doesn't have Retina, I'd continue to use it. Performance-wise, it's perfectly fine for everything I do.

So, yeah, I want something lighter, with longer battery life, and which has Retina. These new Core M CPUs are perfect for this. Ultra-low TDP, but twice the CPU performance (representing an upgrade for me), and 7X the GPU performance (meaning Retina is easy).

And ultra-low TDP means not only means no fan and longer battery life, but it means smaller volume and lesser weight, including from the smaller batteries necessary.

Think iPad, but with laptop-class performance and a keyboard. In fact, it almost makes you wonder if this rumoured new laptop will be a touchscreen device, although I don't think it will be.

 

[sze5003]

My only concern with the retina devices is you can't upgrade ram or hd on your own later if needed.

 

[TheStu]

My only concern with the retina devices is you can't upgrade ram or hd on your own later if needed.

Just the RAM is soldered (for now). The SSD is a proprietary blade (because at the time it was the only PCIe option they had I guess), that can be replaced.

 

[sze5003]

Just the RAM is soldered (for now). The SSD is a proprietary blade (because at the time it was the only PCIe option they had I guess), that can be replaced.

Interesting I didn't know that. I wonder how hard it would be to take it apart compared to the last gen models.

 

[TreVader]

Every time I'm almost ready to buy a macbook something new is about to come out. Macbooks are probably the only Apple product I would buy since I've moved away from iPhones and prefer android devices for tablets and phones.

At some point you just have to bite the bullet. I did with the late 2013 rMBP (and many macs before then) and I promise coming from any windows laptop, you won't be disappointed.


You can also run windows on it. If you're into S&M.

 

[sze5003]

At some point you just have to bite the bullet. I did with the late 2013 rMBP (and many macs before then) and I promise coming from any windows laptop, you won't be disappointed.


You can also run windows on it. If you're into S&M.

Yea you're right. With Windows 8 and the touch screen options on the new Windows laptops, I feel like if I were to own a laptop now I may as well get a mac. Good for in home development and browsing, general lazy use. I don't do photo editing so I'm not sure how useful retina is to me, especially if I am getting a 13 inch macbook.

 

[TreVader]

I have long since been much less interested in performance in my laptops. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that my 13" MacBook Pro has mediocre battery life, is heavy, and doesn't have Retina, I'd continue to use it. Performance-wise, it's perfectly fine for everything I do.

So, yeah, I want something lighter, with longer battery life, and which has Retina. These new Core M CPUs are perfect for this. Ultra-low TDP, but twice the CPU performance (representing an upgrade for me), and 7X the GPU performance (meaning Retina is easy).

And ultra-low TDP means not only means no fan and longer battery life, but it means smaller volume and lesser weight, including from the smaller batteries necessary.

Think iPad, but with laptop-class performance and a keyboard. In fact, it almost makes you wonder if this rumoured new laptop will be a touchscreen device, although I don't think it will be.

Well, my mid 2011 MBA is still pretty snappy with a 1.7Ghz (2.7 turbo) sandy bridge i5, so I will agree with you that it can certainly give a great user experience with that much CPU/GPU.


I would take intel GPU claims with a grain of salt until I see benchmarks. When they say 7x the GPU performance they usually means a practical 20% improvement. I still think it will be enough for retina, not games tho.

 

[Eug]

Mine is only a 2.26 GHz Core 2 Duo, with GeForce 9400M. Interesting if they do announce a 1.1 GHz Core M based 12" Retina MacBook on Tuesday. 5 years later, and I'd upgrade to a machine with less than half the clock speed.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8475/intels-core-m-strategy-cpu-specifications-for-9mm-fanless-tablets

Actually, I don't expect it Tuesday. I could see it being announced by November though if they could get stock on shelves before Xmas.

 

[TreVader]

I hope it comes Tuesday. I swore they'd never do it but the rumors have to point to something new.


The 10Y is the only SKU I'd consider tho. No 800mhz laptop what is this 2002?

 

[TheStu]

Interesting I didn't know that. I wonder how hard it would be to take it apart compared to the last gen models.

It's about 10 screws on the bottom, pentalobes, so you'll need a special screwdriver, but ifixit can hook you up. And then it's 1 screw holding in the blade.

OWC makes replacement SSDs, but I don't think they've made any for the newest Macs yet.

 

[sze5003]

It's about 10 screws on the bottom, pentalobes, so you'll need a special screwdriver, but ifixit can hook you up. And then it's 1 screw holding in the blade.

OWC makes replacement SSDs, but I don't think they've made any for the newest Macs yet.

Well that's good news. I was worried about being stuck with a 128gb ssd. I would probably want a 256gb at the least and 8gb of ram. That should last me a while. I'm going to wait until they reveal the 12 inch air models to see if I could benefit from those as opposed to a macbook pro.

 

[Eug]

OWC's SSDs are custom, and aren't exactly cheap. Plus I sometimes question their choice of chipsets.

If you're really thinking about getting an OWC SSD for your Retina MacBook Pro, you might actually be better off selling your MacBook Pro and buying a refurb.

Just buy what you need right off the bat, if possible.

For my next Mac laptop, it will have 8 GB RAM minimum, but possibly 16, and 256 GB SSD. (I currently have 4 GB and 120 GB which are actually OK for the time being for me, since my needs are relatively light for my laptop.)

My bigger issue is my 2010 Core i7 iMac. No SSD in it, but its CPU is already faster than I need it to be for most of my usage these days.

Mind you, maybe I'll get a Retina iMac when it becomes available, so I don't really want to spend the cash on an OWC SSD upgrade kit for the iMac. Plus I'm told it's quite a difficult install.

Anyhoo, maybe we'll know more about a Retina MacBook 12" in a day. We'll see.

 

[Essence_of_War]

OWC's SSDs are custom, and aren't exactly cheap. Plus I sometimes question their choice of chipsets.

Yeah, until VERY recently, they were preposterously overpriced. Even now, they're still quite overpriced compared with models from Crucial and Samsung. As other re-branders are discovering, the SSD game is brutal if you aren't fabbing your own NAND.

My bigger issue is my 2010 Core i7 iMac. No SSD in it, but its CPU is already faster than I need it to be for most of my usage these days.

The 2010 imac's can boot from an external firewire SSD, though. FW is obviously not as fast as the SATA bus in sequential transfers, but most of the qualitative feeling of speed of an SSD comes the random read/write perf, both of which FW800 will be plenty fast for.

 

[Eug]

The 2010 imac's can boot from an external firewire SSD, though. FW is obviously not as fast as the SATA bus in sequential transfers, but most of the qualitative feeling of speed of an SSD comes the random read/write perf, both of which FW800 will be plenty fast for.

I tried this back in 2011... sort of.

Luckily I found my post on another forum about this, so I can give you my results:

---

I put an SSD in my MacBook Pro, and then put the MacBook Pro in FW800 target mode, and booted the iMac off it.

I was unimpressed. Boot time and application loading weren't really improved all that much. I guess the lower latency helped a bit, but I guess the poor transfer rates limited it. I benched it, and was only getting about 42 MB/s (340 Mbps) out of FW800, which is rather unimpressive as it isn't even as high as theoretical FW400 speeds. I'm not sure why it was so slow, because on my iMac I can get much higher speeds out of my FW800 Compact Flash reader. Maybe the chipset in the MacBook Pro isn't as fast?

Furthermore, that's not much faster than even USB 2. For my USB 2 enclosure, I was getting maybe 38 MB/s (300 Mbps) out of the drive.

---

What's more important though is the fact that my results with Firewire boot drives in general is hit and miss, so I didn't want to go there. I hear the same is true with Thunderbolt boot drives, but I don't have Thunderbolt anyway, so it's moot.