12" rMB Owners Check In

[TheStu]

I picked up a Space Grey rMB a week or so ago, and have been loving it. It's just tons faster and more responsive compared to my 2010 11" MBA.

To you other owners, what dongles/hubs have you picked up, and do you like them? The single port isn't actually going to be too terribly limiting 90% of the time, but for that 10%, I'd like some expansion, so what's good?

Ideally, I'd like a USB 3/.1 Type C hub, or something like this, but something that's actually available for purchase today.

Also, any other cool accessories out there?

 

[Eug]

I'm not an owner but I will have to say, the 12" form factor is exactly what I had been clamouring for ever since the first Air was released, and then when Retina made an appearance, I started asking for a 12" Retina. I never did like the Airs, partially because of their "wrong" font sizing for OS X, and because the 11.6" had a pretty mediocre quality screen.

Finally they released one in 2015 so of course I checked one out. The resolution is exactly what I wanted, with its pixel density of 226 ppi. That is pretty much identical to the 13" MacBook Pro Retina, which IMO is just about perfect.

The full sized keyboard is nice, but I find the low travel hard to get used to. However, since I don't own one, perhaps if I gave it more time I'd get more used to it. The Force Touch trackpad is OK, but also something that is hard to get used to. It's actually a different feel than the MBP Retina Force Touch trackpads. The MBP Retina Force Touch trackpads feel closer to the older mechanical trackpads. Regardless of the setting I find I can't replicate that feel in the 12" MacBook trackpad. But it's OK.

The single USB C port concerns me.

Also, the machine is sufficiently fast, but doesn't actually feel that much faster than my Core 2 Duo. OTOH, the Retina Pros feel very noticeably faster than both.

For all these reasons, despite the fact the 12" Retina is what I've been asking for for YEARS, I've decided to hold off for the time being.

I'll wait for either a Retina Pro form factor update - thinner and lighter 13" Pro, or else an update for the 12" MacBook, preferably with an additional port and a faster Kaby Lake CPU.

 

[Tegeril]

Got one right at the beginning. I have Apple's HDMI+USB+USBC dongle and I backed the Hydradock on Kickstarter (not the Hub+ which seems like it'll never exist) for way less than it's gonna retail for (hard sell on that retail price tbh). That thing ships in February it seems, so I'll be able to report more then, but it seems to be the ultimate docking station of sorts for USB-C. Seems it will also be forwards compatible to Thunderbolt 3 over USB-C if Apple does that next, allowing for 4K@60Hz over DisplayPort...but not on the current Macbook because it's only got 5Gbps of bandwidth to share on its USB-C port.

I bring it around in this case http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VMVY6DS which is pretty perfect for it, the charger, cable, and dongle.

The Anker accessory you linked looks like it solves the one issue of the Apple adapter...needing a second USB port. Might be a better pick than Apple's adapter when it comes out finally. The other thing I have is a USB->USB-C cable for charging it off Anker's batteries. I have Anker's last gen 25600mah battery that can push out 2.4amps which doesn't really charge it while the laptop is running, but if you shut it down, you can charge it a few times over at that lower rate without issue.

I don't plan on getting the next one, but not because of this one...just because I have high hopes for a redesigned 15" pro that sweeps me off my feet

 

[rugby]

I have a maxxed out Gold model. I have the Anker battery that can charge the macbook and the Apple Digital adapter. I have an Anker USB3 hub connected to the digital adapter and a Samsung 4K monitor being driven by HDMI. Sucks that it's 1080P but whatever.

I can't wait for the next gen macbook with TB3 that will be a LOT more future proof than the current USB-C. Same form factor, MUCH more bandwidth.

 

[Excelsior]

Eug echoes my sentiments exactly. I feel like the replacement for my aging C2D is just around the corner in 2016 or 17.

 

[Tegeril]

I picked up the rMB as an interesting interim between my original 2012 15" rMBP and whatever next rMBP there is. The next rMB is just not going to be enough horsepower for my sole laptop (as I have come to the conclusion through use of this one), so I'm kind of excited to transition this to a super-portable and unburden it from all kinds of work-related stuff it doesn't have business doing.

 

[Tyranicus]

I picked up the rMB as an interesting interim between my original 2012 15" rMBP and whatever next rMBP there is. The next rMB is just not going to be enough horsepower for my sole laptop (as I have come to the conclusion through use of this one), so I'm kind of excited to transition this to a super-portable and unburden it from all kinds of work-related stuff it doesn't have business doing.

Is your 2012 rMBP actually showing its age? Mine still seems more than capable of handling anything I throw at it.

 

[Artdeco]

Happy owner here, it's my main PC, got the Apple dongle and use it in clamshell mode once in a blue moon.

It's likely I'll never own another Windows based device.

I originally bought it because I needed an ultra portable stock trading platform on a laptop, it was really difficult to trade options on a phone or even an iPad, I could use a MBA at this point, but I really like the rMB form factor, and will probably stick with it through my next laptop as well.

I originally bought an 11" MBA, but returned it for the rMB, have been very happy with it. You'll laugh at why I switched, I like the short travel keyboard better, must be from using screen keyboards so much, felt like I was typing on tiny pillows on the MBA, LOL.

Haven't needed extra ports, and it's perfect for what I do. Was on the fence till I watched M Brownlee's review, where he called it essentially a tablet replacement, sounds sort of crazy, but it's flipping thinner than the original iPad.

Congrats and hope you like your rMB as much as I do mine.

 

[Tegeril]

Is your 2012 rMBP actually showing its age? Mine still seems more than capable of handling anything I throw at it.

It was more showing its weight and fan noise and lack of force touch and keyboard age. Performance was still fine in general.

 

[Eug]

I don't really think of Force Touch as being an advantage on the MBP. And in the 12" MB, it's a disadvantage.

 

[Artdeco]

What's the problem with Force Touch?

Seems pretty bulletproof to me.

 

[Eug]

What's the problem with Force Touch?

Seems pretty bulletproof to me.

The feel of Force Touch on the 12" MB is not as nice as either the old mechanical touch pads or Force Touch on the Retina Pros.

It's acceptable but noticeably different. IMHO that "different" also is "inferior" but others would disagree I'm sure.

 

[Artdeco]

The feel of Force Touch on the 12" MB is not as nice as either the old mechanical touch pads or Force Touch on the Retina Pros.

It's acceptable but noticeably different. IMHO that "different" also is "inferior" but others would disagree I'm sure.

I'd counter argue it's a lot better, no dead spots like the old touchpad

 

[Eug]

I'd counter argue it's a lot better, no dead spots like the old touchpad

Even if so, it feels noticeably different than the Force Touch of the current Retina Pros, and IMHO inferior to those.

 

[weevilone]

I picked up a 1.3GHz / 512GB SSD model a few weeks ago. I wish I could wait for the Skylake update, but work is paying for this one and sometimes you have to strike when the opportunity is there.

The front right foot of the Macbook doesn't (didn't I guess) touch the desk when in use, so that's annoying. After researching it a bit, I've torqued the device and bit and now it seems normal. Apple wasn't too excited about swapping it out without me being without a device for several days, which sucks. If I hadn't bought it when B&H had their sale, I'd just re-buy. I'm using that for a credit card price match.

 

[Tegeril]

Even if so, it feels noticeably different than the Force Touch of the current Retina Pros, and IMHO inferior to those.

My work machine is a 13" rMBP with force touch so I've got the history of all three choices. I'd take both force touch trackpads over the older option and I actually like it more on the rMB.

 

[TheStu]

Had an interesting experience recently. I mirrored my rMB to my TV over AirPlay, and the rMB switched to a simulated 1920*1080 resolution, which was hilariously small, and borderline unusable. I'm surprised that it did it at all, and didn't put the TV at 1440*900.

Anyone know of a way to push the simulated res higher? There's no reason to confine ourselves to anachronistic resolutions, anything that fits the aspect ratio would work.

 

[Eug]

Had an interesting experience recently. I mirrored my rMB to my TV over AirPlay, and the rMB switched to a simulated 1920*1080 resolution, which was hilariously small, and borderline unusable. I'm surprised that it did it at all, and didn't put the TV at 1440*900.

Anyone know of a way to push the simulated res higher? There's no reason to confine ourselves to anachronistic resolutions, anything that fits the aspect ratio would work.

Actually there is. Many TVs don't accept "odd" resolutions like 1440x900. It's in Apple's best interest to use only standard resolutions.

 

[TheStu]

Actually there is. Many TVs don't accept "odd" resolutions like 1440x900. It's in Apple's best interest to use only standard resolutions.

I presume that "actually there is" was based on this:

"There's no reason to confine ourselves to anachronistic resolutions, anything that fits the aspect ratio would work."

Sorry if I wasn't clear, I want the MacBook's screen to be a different, higher simulated res than its current maximum of 1440*900.

 

[saratoga172]

I presume that "actually there is" was based on this:

"There's no reason to confine ourselves to anachronistic resolutions, anything that fits the aspect ratio would work."

Sorry if I wasn't clear, I want the MacBook's screen to be a different, higher simulated res than its current maximum of 1440*900.

Do you have an option of 1600x900 or 1368x720? The 720 will scale to your TV and the 1600x900 should scale to the TV.

I assume you were mirroring to the TV? Try extending and see if that gets what you want. You may also have to turn off scaling. I don't think I tested airplay when I had mine for a couple weeks.

 

[Tegeril]

I presume that "actually there is" was based on this:

"There's no reason to confine ourselves to anachronistic resolutions, anything that fits the aspect ratio would work."

Sorry if I wasn't clear, I want the MacBook's screen to be a different, higher simulated res than its current maximum of 1440*900.

I run my Macbook at 1920x1200 at all times. Retina Display Menu (RDM), explained in this article http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...na-display-hack-to-run-native-resolution.html (it's a dropbox link, here: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/87351306/RDM.tar.gz), will give you all the options you can have on the machine.

Whether or not Airplay mirroring will respect those choices, is a different story. It's unlikely to let you have a 16:10 aspect ratio at all when mirroring to the ATV so in that mode you'll likely only get 720p or 1080p if you get any options at all other than 1080.

 

[TheStu]

Do you have an option of 1600x900 or 1368x720? The 720 will scale to your TV and the 1600x900 should scale to the TV.

I assume you were mirroring to the TV? Try extending and see if that gets what you want. You may also have to turn off scaling. I don't think I tested airplay when I had mine for a couple weeks.

I run my Macbook at 1920x1200 at all times. Retina Display Menu (RDM), explained in this article http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...na-display-hack-to-run-native-resolution.html (it's a dropbox link, here: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/87351306/RDM.tar.gz), will give you all the options you can have on the machine.

Whether or not Airplay mirroring will respect those choices, is a different story. It's unlikely to let you have a 16:10 aspect ratio at all when mirroring to the ATV so in that mode you'll likely only get 720p or 1080p if you get any options at all other than 1080.

Thanks Tegeril, RDM seems to work. 1680*1050 I think is about as high as I want to go, but it is a little fuzzier than the 1440*900 that I'm at now, I'll play around with it.

I don't care about the TV resolution, that's not something that is going to come up more than once a year probably. I care about the resolution on the laptop. And while 1440*900 is nice, i wouldn't mind it a /little/ higher.

 

[FearoftheNight]

It was more showing its weight and fan noise and lack of force touch and keyboard age. Performance was still fine in general.

hmm is forcetouch that great? haven't had a chance to try it. I think the main thing that keeps me from it is the battery

 

[Tegeril]

I like the force touch trackpad - it's by no means a make or break feature.

 

[Eug]

I actually prefer the mechanical trackpad, but the Force Touch trackpad on the Retina MacBook Pro is also very good. I'm not as enamoured with the 12" MacBook's Force Touch trackpad. I think the one in the Retina MacBook Pro is superior. Yes, strangely enough, the feel isn't exactly the same, although I would have guessed they would be.