With the Retina MacBook Pro, Apple once again proves it is a company that refuses to sit still and get comfortable. It redefined the ultraportable laptop with the MacBook Air, and has now altered the concept of the “pro” laptop. Going lighter and smaller was expected, given how Apple does things, but the change in feature set will have current MacBook Pro owners reexamining their needs.
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The Retina MacBook Pro, however, is the future of Apple’s laptop line—and it’s a bright, shinning symbol of excellence. The Retina display is something to be marveled at, and the lightweight, smaller design addresses the demand for our devices to be even more portable. You’ll have to make a few adjustments, but fortunately, you don’t have to sacrifice performance. The Retina MacBook Pro is quite a remarkable laptop.
Every review I’ve read of the new “MacBook Pro with Retina display” has sung its praises. (The Verge gave the poorly-named machine a 9, for example.)
While I haven’t seen the new machine in person, I plan on taking a trip to my local Apple Store this weekend.
And I’m a little afraid.
The first Mac that I used full-time was a Power Macintosh G3 (Blue & White). Shortly afterwards, I switched to a work-provided Titanium PowerBook G4 and loved it.
I still miss that machine. Mine was maxed out, with a 1 Ghz G4 processor with 1 GB RAM. It was a screamer.
After that, I upgraded to a 15-inch 1.33 Ghz aluminum PowerBook G4, then eventually several models of the 15-inch, pre-unibody MacBook Pro.
These days, my personal machine is 13-inch MacBook Air. While it’s got less screen real-estate than my old 15 inch machines, the resolution is great, and the chassis is nice and thin, despite the numerous ports I used to use often on bigger, heavier machines.
I don’t think I’m alone in switching from a full-blown MacBook Pro to the smaller, thinner, less powerful Air.
At WWDC, Apple referred to the MacBook Air line as its “consumer” line. The MacBook Pro is the middle-of-the-road notebook, with the new Retina machine the full-blown powerhouse.
Now, I’m not what I would consider a regular consumer when it comes to Apple hardware and software, but the company’s “low-end” notebook is more than enough for me. Thanks to the nice processor and super-fast SSD, the machine is faster than my brain thinks it should be.
All of that said, I’m nervous about seeing the new MacBook Pro this weekend at the Apple Store. I don’t mind the size and weight of the old 15-inch machines, so the new one won’t be a problem, either. Being an Air user, the new Pro offers more options when it comes to I/O and power.
I’ll keep you posted if I do something silly.