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Engadget's new buyer's guide picks: the MacBook Pro, Moto E and more!
It's been one busy month for reviews: Engadget has published seven in the past four weeks alone. That means we've got quite a few additions to our various buyer's guides. First up: the HTC One M9. No, we don't like the camera quite as much as the UltraPixel shooter on last year's M8, but on the whole, the M9 is still among the best Android handsets you can buy right now. We've also made a nod to the new and improved Moto E, which remains one of the best budget phones on the market. Meanwhile, we have not one, but several new favorite laptops. This includes the refreshed 13-inch MacBook Pro (even despite its slightly less comfortable trackpad) and the much-improved Chromebook Pixel. Also, we'll soon be adding the Samsung Galaxy S6 and HP Spectre x360, both of which were still being testing as we were putting this latest guide together. Check back soon to find those listed, and stay tuned to see what else we might add -- we can tell you now we already have some more big reviews in the works.
MacBook Pro with Retina display review (13-inch, 2015)
Nope, it's not the new MacBook. That review will need to wait until next month. What we have here is the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. For all intents and purposes, it's the same one we last tested in late 2013, except for one important thing: It swaps out the old trackpad in favor of a pressure-sensitive "Force Touch" pad that responds differently depending on how hard you bear down on it. (A hard-press on the skip button in QuickTime, for instance, will let you fast-forward at warp speed.) In addition, the new MBP brings all the spec upgrades you'd expect in a system refresh, including faster SSDs, fresh graphics and Intel's latest Core processors. At $1,299-plus, it's priced the same as before, and since the design and Retina display haven't changed, you're likely to enjoy it as much as you did the last-gen model. I can't promise you'll love the new touchpad, though.
IRL: The Retina display MacBook Pro and Sony's SRS-BTX300 Bluetooth speaker
We've got a twofer this week, folks. As that lead shot up there suggests, we'll be revisiting the Retina display MacBook Pro -- the 13-inch version, to be exact. And then, past the break, we'll also give you a mini-review of Sony's SRS-BTX300 Bluetooth speaker.
Apple to fix 'unresponsive' 13-inch MacBook Pros
A few early adopters of Apple's new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro are reporting problems with the keyboard and trackpad not working properly. Apple confirmed on its support site that a fix is on the way. While you wait for the patch to arrive, Apple says you can close the display for 60 seconds and then open it to reset the affected hardware. [Via Engadget]
MacBook Pro with Retina display review (13-inch, 2013)
When Apple held its last big keynote, it unveiled some new iPads, just like we knew it would. But it also used the 80-minute news conference to refresh its Mac lineup, announcing a new Mac Pro desktop and some slimmed-down MacBook Pros, all running Apple's brand-new operating system, OS X 10.9 Mavericks. In particular, the MacBook Pros sort of flew under the radar that day, mostly because they look more or less like last year's models, just with slightly thinner chassis. There wasn't a lot to say -- at least not after a few minutes of hands-on time. That doesn't mean this isn't a meaningful upgrade. This time around, as you'd expect, Apple used Haswell processors, though it also went with Intel's brand-new Iris and Iris Pro chipsets, which haven't actually been used in that many notebooks yet. Meanwhile, Apple moved to PCI Express SSDs for much-improved transfer rates, and upgraded the wireless card to 802.11ac for faster streaming. Sounds like a simple sales pitch: They're thinner, lighter and speedier. And, in the case of the 13-inch model, it's cheaper too: The starting price is now $1,299, versus $1,699 a year ago. So does that mean the 13-inch Retina display MacBook Pro offers better value than it did then? More importantly, with a lower price, lighter design and a claimed 10 hours of battery life, is it starting to veer into MacBook Air territory?
Apple dumps 'highest-resolution notebook ever' tagline thanks to Chromebook Pixel
Apple's 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro was advertised as the world's second-highest resolution notebook, sitting right behind the company's 15-inch Retina model. That coveted position changed hands when Google introduced its Chromebook Pixel and grabbed that number two spot. As noted by 9to5Mac, Apple has modified the advertising taglines for its MacBook Pro to reflect this change. The hallmark feature of the 12.85-inch Chromebook Pixel is its high-resolution display that checks in with 2,560 x 1,700 pixels. Though this screen doesn't beat the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro and its 2,880 x 1,800 display, the Pixel does edge out the 13-inch Retina model, which has a 2,560 x 1,600 display. On Apple's website, the Retina MacBook Pro models are no longer advertised as being "The highest-resolution notebook ever. And the second highest." Now, the tagline for the Retina MacBook Pro claims, "High performance has never been so well defined." A similar re-wording is also present on the webpage that describes the major features of the Retina MacBooks. On this Features page, Apple now claims the 13-inch model is "just as impressive" as the 15-inch model. The pair are no longer "in a class of their own," which is how Apple previously described its Retina notebook models.
Apple releases updates to MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, lowers starting price
Apple is updating specs and dropping prices on select MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models. According to a company press release, the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro will now start at US$1,499 for the base model with 128 GB of flash storage, down from the original $1,699 price tag. The premier 13-inch Retina model will get a processor boost to 2.6 GHZ and a similar price drop from $1,999 to $1,699. The lower-end (if such a phrase can apply in this case) 15-inch model Retina MacBook Pro will keep the same price tag, but it will be boosted to a 2.4 GHz quad-core processor in the base model. A new 2.7 GHz quad-core processor will replace the current 2.6 GHz CPU in the top-of-the line model. The MacBook Air will keep the same specs, but will now set you back $1,399. The updated MacBook Pro with Retina display and MacBook Air models are available today through Apple's Online Store, Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. Show full PR text Apple Updates Processors & Prices of MacBook Pro with Retina Display CUPERTINO, California-February 13, 2013-Apple® is making the MacBook Pro® with Retina® display faster and more affordable with updated processors and lower starting prices. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display now starts at $1,499 for 128GB of flash, and $1,699 for a new 2.6 GHz processor and 256GB of flash. The 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display now features a faster 2.4 GHz quad-core processor, and the top-of-the-line 15-inch notebook comes with a new 2.7 GHz quad-core processor and 16GB of memory. Apple today also announced that the 13-inch MacBook Air® with 256GB of flash has a new lower price of $1,399. The MacBook Pro with Retina display features the world's highest resolution notebook display. Whether you're reading emails, writing text, editing home movies in HD or retouching professional photography, everything appears vibrant, detailed and sharp, delivering an unrivaled viewing experience. The MacBook Pro with Retina display features flash storage that is up to four times faster than traditional notebook hard drives, and delivers improved reliability, instant-on responsiveness and up to 30 days of standby time. Pricing & Availability The updated MacBook Pro with Retina display and MacBook Air models are available today through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. Pricing details, technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at www.apple.com/macbook-pro and www.apple.com/macbookair.
Retina MacBook Pros now fully stocked in Apple Stores
Now that the initial ordering rush has subsided, the online Apple Store (US) has dropped the wait time associated with the MacBook Pro with Retina display and is showing that all models are in stock. The entry-level model gained a few configurable options in early August. [via CNet]
Photoshop CS6 and Lightroom 4 will support HiDPI, MacBook Pro Retina Display in 'the coming months'
You know who's likely to buy the MacBook Pro with Retina Display? Creative professionals (obviously). So you know what programs should really be optimized for that 2,880 x 1,800 screen? Try Photoshop, or Lightroom. Adobe hears your frustration, and apparently empathizes mightily: the company just posted a blog post promising Photoshop CS6, Lightroom 4 and Photoshop Touch will support HiDPI, including the MacBook Pro's Retina Display, within the "coming months." (No, this near-term update does not include Photoshop Elements, unfortunately.) While that timetable is on the vague side, the outfit says having a Creative Cloud membership will ensure you get that update sooner. Until then, your frankengadget renders will still look a little blurry, sorry.
Are Retina MacBooks displaying screen issues?
If a 56-page discussion thread on the Apple Support forums is any indication, there appears to be a problem with some MacBook Pros with Retina displays. The Retina displays with the issues show image retention and burn-in; others do not. TUAW reader Joe K. sent us a note about the issue, which appears to be happening to MBPs with displays manufactured by LG; other displays made by Samsung don't have the problem with image retention and burn-in, are brighter, and seem to display colors with more accuracy. To determine the make of the Retina display installed in your MacBook Pro, Joe supplied a helpful terminal command: ioreg -lw0 | grep \"EDID\" | sed "/[^<]*</s///" | xxd -p -r | strings -6 It's basically the same command seen on OSXDaily to check for LG screens on MacBook Airs, which will also tell you how you know if you have a Samsung or LG display. If your display code begins with "LP," it's an LG display. Mike Rose has verified that with his LG panel he sees faint ghosting of Finder windows when he goes into a PowerPoint slideshow with a gray background. Those who own a MacBook Pro with Retina display and see this problem as described in the thread should contact their local Apple Store or AppleCare for resolution.
WaterField Designs: Protecting your 15" Retina display MacBook Pro with panache
As an admitted computer bag fanatic, I have a special affinity for the creations of WaterField Designs in San Francisco. I personally use one of their bags (the Travel Express) to carry either my MacBook Air, two iPads, or the MBA and an iPad. That bag has gone through a lot in the last three years, but it still looks like it just came out of the box. When Heidi the PR lady at WaterField Designs told me about the line of new bags that they've specially created for the Retina display MacBook Pro, I decided to jump on getting some review products to try out and to give away to TUAW readers. In this review, I'll talk about both the Smart Case (US$99.00) and City Slicker ($149.00) for the 15" Retina display MacBook Pro, and then at the end you'll have an opportunity to win one from TUAW courtesy of WaterField Designs. Smart Case Let's start with the Smart Case. While it's not a total "bag" for your Retina MBP, it's designed to offer protection to your baby while you toss it into a briefcase, backpack, or any other larger bag. What's great about the Smart Case (as with all of WaterField Designs' products) is that it has padding everywhere you can imagine. There are high-impact rigid plastic inserts to keep your MBP safe from bumps and bangs, and it's cradled inside an Ultrasuede liner. The outside of the case features water-resistant nylon in a choice of six colors -- black, pearl, pine (dark green), green, flame (orange), and copper (tan). There's no stitching visible on the outside of the case, and the sides are encased in distressed brown leather trim. On the back side of the Smart Case is a stretchable pocket for carrying your power adapter and other cables. %Gallery-161878% The Smart Case is designed to hold your machine so snugly that it won't slide out, yet it's easy to pull it out for security checkpoints or doing work. While the video below shows the version of the Smart Case that's available for the 11" and 13" MacBook Air rather than the Retina Display MBP model, it still provides a comprehensive look at the features of the Smart Case. City Slicker A case is supposed to be something you buy after you get a new MacBook or iPad, and the City Slicker almost makes me want to go out and buy a new MacBook Pro just so I can get the case! The top and front of the case are nicely protected by luscious leather. The sample case I received used distressed, naturally tanned dark "Chocolate" leather -- you also have a choice of black or lighter tan "Grizzly" leather. What's nice about any leather surface like this is that it gains character over time as it is bumped, spilled on, and otherwise abused by life. The City Slicker comes initially without a handle or strap. The handle (a $10 option) is a rather tight fit, even for my small hands, but allows you to carry the bag just like a briefcase. You can also get D-rings ($5) attached if you have a favorite strap already, purchase a "Simple Strap Mini" for $12, or go all out and get the "Suspension Strap" for $22. My suggestion? Go with the high-end strap -- it's very comfortable and allows you to juggle papers and iPhones with your hands while you're carrying the bag. %Gallery-161879% The protection built into the City Slicker is awesome. Just under the outside later is a hard plastic insert, then a layer of spongy neoprene, and then the interior lining of the bag. There's extra padding in the bottom, since that's the spot that gets the most abuse when you place the case onto tables, desks and other surfaces. For all of the other things you'll want to carry along with your $2,200 laptop, there are two pockets. They're made of a stretchy material that lets you see what's in the pocket while ensuring that the contents aren't going to fall out. The video below once again shows the features of the MacBook Air version of the City Slicker; just scale this bag up to the size of a Retina display MacBook Pro and you have a perfect idea of how it looks. Conclusion Sure, you can buy less expensive computer and tablet bags elsewhere, but wouldn't you rather purchase something that is going to last and also looks great? (Also, did we mention that $2,200 sticker price for the Retina MacBook Pro? Skimping on protection seems short-sighted.) WaterField Designs bags do exactly that; they're cases that protect your investment in Apple equipment for years and that will gain the envy of anyone who sees them. If you need a way to keep your Retina display MacBook Pro safe and protected inside another bag, the Smart Case is perfect and is also reasonably priced. But if you need a new case for that beautiful Retina MBP, seriously consider the City Slicker. It's a gorgeous bag that offers unparalleled protection as well. If you're not impressed with either the City Slicker or Smart Case, I suggest that you take a look at the other designs that are available for the MacBook Pro with Retina display. Pros Distressed leather highlights on both the Smart Case and City Slicker are both beautiful and protective WaterField Designs' multi-layer protection keeps your Retina display MacBook Pro safe from impacts and scratches The bag and case are surprisingly thin considering the protection that they offer Made in the U.S.A in San Francisco Cons The handle on the City Slicker is a bit tight on your hand; I'd recommend forgoing the handle for the top-of-the-line Suspension Strap. Who are they for? Owners of Apple's new MacBook Pro with Retina display who want the best possible protection while exhibiting some style Giveaway We're kind of in a giveaway frenzy this week, and the first two items we're giving away are these wonderful cases from WaterField Designs. Here are the rules for the giveaway: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button. The entry must be made before August 9, 2012 at 11:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time. You may enter only once. Two winners will be selected. One will receive a WaterField Designs Smart Case for MacBook Pro with Retina display valued at US$99.00, while the other will receive a WaterField Designs City Slicker (with optional handle) valued at $159.00. Click Here for complete Official Rules. Loading...
Entry Retina MacBook Pro now available with 512 GB, 768 GB drives
In a silent update to the online Apple Store, the entry-level model of the MacBook Pro with Retina display gained a few configure-to-option upgrades that can now be selected by buyers eager for the latest MacBook Pro. Initially, the entry-level Retina MacBook Pro could only get an upgrade from the standard 8 GB of RAM to 16 GB; no upgrades to faster processors or more storage than 256 GB were available without moving to the high-end model. Now Apple's made it possible to select from the base 2.3 GHz Quad-Core Intel i7 CPU, a 2.6 GHz model (for $100 more) or a 2.7 GHz version (for an extra US$350). Even better, there are now larger storage options available for the base Retina MacBook Pro. Instead of just the 256 GB SSD, you now have the choice of a 512 GB drive for $500 more or a 768 GB monster SSD for a cool $1000. However, before you rush to the Apple online store and order your new Retina MacBook Pro you might want to wait until things settle down a bit. Some commenters at MacRumors were reporting issues with adding the new options to their shopping cart, while others couldn't even see the new options. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
How the new MacBook Pros got EPEAT Gold rating
Apple's recent relationship with the EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) environmental rating is getting even more interesting. First, we reported on Apple dropping its entire product line from the program upon realizing that the new Retina display MacBook Pro models wouldn't get the coveted Gold rating due to their almost-impossible-to-recycle glued-in batteries. Then retiring Apple VP Bob Mansfield kissed and made up with the group later in the week. Now we're finding that Apple gave the MacBook Pro with Retina display the EPEAT Gold rating ... although it doesn't merit it. Fortune's Philip Elmer-DeWitt reports that Apple put all eligible products back on the Green Electronic Council's registry, thus clearing the way for purchases by schools and governments that are required to purchase EPEAT-approved computers. However, Apple also added the Gold label to all four models of the new MacBook Pro with Retina display. Almost immediately, the Electronics TakeBack Coalition took offense with what had happened. Barbara Kyle, the National Coordinator for the ETBC said "We seriously doubt that these MacBooks should qualify for EPEAT at any level because we think they flunk two required criteria in the 'Design for End of Life' section of the standard." Those criteria include 4.3.1.3, which states that "External enclosures shall be easily removable by one person alone with commonly available tools" and 4.3.1.5, regarding "Identification and removal of components containing hazardous materials." Basically, Apple just gave itself the rating against the EPEAT criteria. An EPEAT review has not yet happened, and the group could require Apple to remove the Gold label from the MacBook Pro models in question. Elmer-DeWitt also commented on the timing of Apple's withdrawal from EPEAT, noting that the AAPL Sanity board (membership required) pointed out that the annual fee for getting on the registry and fees for all listed products -- which can be in the millions of dollars -- came due on July 1. [via The Loop]
Daily Update for July 16, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Apple posts FAQ regarding MacBook Pro Retina display
Apple has released a FAQ that covers the new Retina MacBook Pro. This list of questions adds to the information that is found on the notebook's product page and focuses on issues that arise when you start using the machine. You can learn how to adjust the resolution of your Retina display and how to setup an external display. Current and prospective MacBook Pro with Retina Display owners can read the FAQ on Apple's website. [Via Electronista]
Servicing MacBook Pro with Retina display requires special classes and test
It's no secret that the MacBook Pro with Retina display is a difficult machine to service. Now it turns out that Mac Geniuses and technicians at Apple-Authorized Service Providers need to take two special classes and pass an exam to be qualified to service the device. As noted in a post on 512 Pixels, there are two self-guided online courses that are prerequisites to grabbing your pentalobe screwdriver and popping open the Retina MacBook Pro. The first is a general "MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012) self-paced training course", while the second "Embedded Battery Safety self-paced training course" deals with the glued-in battery pack in the device. The post includes a link to a take-apart guide for the newest MacBook Pro, which states that the non-removable battery is not a replaceable part, and that the entire top case assembly needs to be replaced to service a faulty battery. That guide also shows the location of ten Liquid Contact Indicators that are built into the Retina MBP; damage due to liquids isn't covered by the Apple warranty or AppleCare, and it appears that Apple's going to be very sure that your device hasn't gone for a swim before offering to repair it.
Daily Update for June 21, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
More MacBook Maintenance Malarky: examining the arguments that none of it matters
Last week I wrote a rather, shall we say, "robustly worded" post discussing the lack of upgradability in the new MacBook Pro with Retina display (MBPwRD). This contentious post turned into one of my highest-traffic articles for TUAW ever, and certainly my highest-commented one (possibly helped a bit by Livefyre being the best comment system we've ever had). I am grateful to everyone who took the time to write one of the 192 (and counting) comments on my original post, even the ones who voted for "Gaywood is an idiot!" in my tongue-in-cheek poll. Many of you disagreed with me, and in so doing, raised a number of counter-arguments again and again; I want to dig a little deeper into those counter-arguments in this post and explore some of the issues I hadn't fully thought through when I wrote my first one. Since my post there has been a wave of great articles around the web exploring the same topic: some decrying the MBPwRD, others asking what the fuss is about. Kyle Wiens (co-founder of iFixit), writing for Wired, boldly dismissed the MBPwRD as "Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable" and OWC asked "was the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display originally a MacBook Air?" Many people, like John Gruber, dismissed these posts because both iFixit and OWC have a financial stake in repairable Macs, leading to an undeniable conflict of interest. Personally, I felt both posts were written from the heart, rather than the wallet, but I urge you to read them and judge for yourself. Felix Salmon for Reuters picked up on my post and responded, calling the MBPwRD "Apple's strategy of built-in obsolescence." He said: [This] means that the Apple ecosystem has just closed in much further - while on every previous Pro machine consumers could fiddle around quite a lot, this one is a completely inaccessible box. It's about as far as you can get from the Apple 1, which came as a kit. The control-freakery which started in the operating system and then moved into software is now very much built into the hardware as well. Matthew Yglesias for Slate dismissed Salmon's argument, however, and defended Apple's alleged price protectionism as part of its "relentless war against commoditization and the total collapse of profits." Meanwhile, Christina Warren, formerly of this parish, kept it really simple: "Screw Upgrades: The New MacBook Pro IS the Future." Garrett Murray shrugged and said "It's just progress, folks," and Andre Torrez waxed philosophical: "I give up... Being cynical about any new bit of technology that doesn't fit into my view of how stuff should work has been a dragging anchor in my life." Counterbalance Before we dive into the detailed arguments, I'd like to say some conciliatory things that should probably have been in my original post. Yes, the MacBook Pro with Retina display has some rather unusual choices: soldered RAM integrated onto the logic board, a proprietary SSD, extensive use of near-permanent glue in the battery assembly and the screen housing. All of these impair repairs and prohibit upgrades, it's true. But each one of these is also totally defendable from an engineering standpoint, if we imagine that Apple's brief to its engineers as "make the thinnest, lightest desktop replacement laptop you can without compromising battery life" -- which is a noble goal, for sure. The oddball, tiny, bare-board SSD saves considerable space over a standard 2.5" unit. Leaving the optical drive out entirely saves even more space. Even the soldered RAM and the glued battery saves space, because there's no need for housing and slots and reinforcing struts and other gubbins. It might not save that much -- but look at the iFixit teardown again; there's barely a cubic millimetre to spare in there. Apple made every scrap count. I'm not sure the space saving alone is that significant a step forward. Sure, the MBPwRD looks great because it's a quarter-inch thinner than the standard one, but if we're all honest with ourselves isn't that more about aesthetics than practicalities? It's not like the standard-issue MBP, at less than an inch, was exactly unwieldy to start with. It's not like the Air, which is thin enough to put itself in an entire different product category. Put it this way: when have you ever said to yourself "if only this laptop was a quarter of an inch thinner, then I could fit everything I wanted into this bag"? But the weight... Ah! Having now played with a MBPwRD, and felt the heft of it (under the watchful eye of the Apple Store staff), I must concede that the loss of a half-kilogram (one pound) of mass is a really useful upgrade. I imagine it'd be more comfortable used in your lap (although maybe the heat it can put out might be off-putting). I'm certain your shoulder would thank you for choosing an MBPwRD after a particularly fraught cross-terminal dash to make a connecting flight. I undersold this point in my first post. Mea culpa. Plus the screen absolutely rocks my world. I'm not remotely tempted to buy one -- like Marco Arment, I'm going through a period in my computing life where I am uninterested in desktop replacement laptops. I have a 27" iMac, an iPad 3, and a very-much-secondary-computer 2009-era MacBook Pro and I'm perfectly happy with that combination for the time being. However, a brief spell in the Apple Store gawping at a Retina display did make me really, really want a HiDPI iMac. Oh, finally, one last thing: the MBPwRD has a standard HDMI port right there on the side of it, no awkward dongle needed or anything. Can we all take a moment to say a silent prayer of thanks for this sudden outbreak of common sense? OK, let's move on. The Tinkerer's Curse There is a school of thought that says you don't truly own a thing if you can't take it apart, change some of the bits, then put it back together again. This is particularly prevalent amongst computer nerds, because not so very long ago, these abilities were absolute prerequisites to owning any sort of computer at all. I am exactly such a person, and this is how I feel about computers, as well as lots of other stuff. It makes me uneasy about the sealed-up buttoned-down MBPwRD, and somewhat less uneasy about the MacBook Air and the iPad -- the latter devices being considerably cheaper, I'm more accepting that they might have a shorter lifespan because I can't retrofit some upgrade that I didn't know I'd need. This mentality has driven me to try custom firmwares on ADSL routers and televisions; to experiment with jailbreaking my iOS devices; to do my own car maintenance; to cure my own corned beef; to shun jarred marinara sauce in favor of making my own. Sometimes, this sort of thing saves me time or money. More often it doesn't, and that's fine because deep down I'm doing it for fun, not profit. I wrote my earlier post from the gut and off the cuff, and it was largely driven by this sentiment. Many of you don't share these concerns. Nor should you! I accept that I'm unusual in this regard. I cannot reasonably expect my feelings on this matter to sway many folk. My imp of the perverse wants to ask one question though: if you guys are all so dead set against tinkering, why do our jailbreaking posts get so much traffic? So, now that I've come clean about my biases, I'd like to address the specific counter-arguments that were repeatedly levelled at my last post. "This is just progress." Possibly the most common response. "It's newer and better, this is what the world looks like, get used to it. Apple made it this way because this was the best way to make it. Go away and stop bothering me with your conspiracy theories, you nutcase." On the one hand, I can see this. As I noted above, this is absolutely an extraordinarily powerful laptop for its size and weight, and Apple couldn't have managed that without making it this way. On the other hand... As Macworld senior contributor Glenn Fleishman put it, 'Glue and pentalobe screws and unnecessary solder are not "tradeoffs that go into product development".' Put it this way. Let's give Apple the benefit of the doubt and suppose the managers simply told the engineers: "go make the best damn laptop you can." The engineers came back and said "we did that, but there's one thing -- the users can't change the RAM or the drives any more. They'll have to pay us for our premium-rate BTO models instead." I think you'd be very naive indeed to imagine the managers did anything other than give a wide grin and say "that's quite alright, boys. Win/win!" "I don't care about fiddling with upgrades." "Pro doesn't mean upgradeable," many people said, "it means powerful. I'm a pro, and I don't want to think about upgrading my computer; I just want to get things done with it." This is a perfectly valid line of reasoning, to my mind. I'm a software engineer by day, with 20 years experience of bending computer software to my will; when I think "pro" I think of my profession, and the demands we place on hardware -- that we can adapt it to new software, for example. But of course there's legions of professionals -- photographers, video editors, designers, artists, musicians, writers, and on and on -- for whom a Mac is merely a tool. A vital one, but still just a tool, to be used until it wears out and then discarded. Still, though. My 2009 MacBook Pro has had two drive replacements (from the stock 320 GB to 500 GB when my Aperture library grew too large, and then to a 64 GB SSD), a RAM upgrade (to compensate for Lion's memory hunger), and a replacement battery (the old one simply wore out). Without those changes, I'd probably have given up on it; as it is, it's still rocking along. None of this was in any way difficult to fit. It's a bit of a dirty secret in the PC industry that anyone with the ability to manage IKEA flatpack furniture or a middling compexity LEGO model can manage most computer modification. Plus, the upgrades bought several years into the computer's life were significantly cheaper years later than if I'd bought them up front, which is an important point that's been overlooked in much of this debate. Like most people, I'm always happy to not spend any more money than I have to. There's also the cost of some of Apple's BTO upgrade options. When I bought my iMac in January 2012, it came with 4 GB of RAM. Upgrading to 8 GB cost £160 ($251) and to 16 GB cost £480 ($754). Instead, I kept the 4 GB it came with, and bought an additional 8 GB from Crucial for £35 ($55). In the last round of product launches, Apple halved those prices... so it's now charging a mere $250 premium to do a laughably easy task for you. If that doesn't strike you as egregious, you must earn a lot more money than I do. "I don't know how to repair my laptop, so I don't care about repairability." The main problem I see with this line of reasoning is that the MacBook Pro with Retina display isn't just harder for you to fix; it's harder for anyone to fix, including independent specialists you may be used to using. Sure, you can always pop into an Apple Store... unless you can't. Some people live hours and hours away from their nearest store; some people live in countries where there are no official stores at all, just a handful of authorized service centers. With the older Unibody MacBooks (which offer above-average repairability), you could go to Apple, or you could save a good chunk of change going to an independent shop, or you could save even more buying the parts yourself and asking any expert you know to do the work for a case of beer. There was a big market, and markets create competition and keep everyone honest. The smaller that market shrinks, the more Apple can charge what it wants for aftermarket work. That's not in anyone's interests, except Apple's. Think I'm being alarmist? My MacBook is powered by an aftermarket battery, purchased for less than a third of Apple's price. How many of you would snicker at someone who paid $19 for an official Apple cable, when far cheaper alternatives exist and work just as well? It's the same principle, just for parts on the inside of your computer. Or how about this: this week, Macworld's Lex Friedman suffered a MacBook/glass of water intersection incident that destroyed the hard drive. Apple quoted him $180 to replace the 500 GB hard disk, generously saying there would be "no labor fee." That's a $100 premium over a $70-80 off-the-shelf part that can be safely fitted in minutes by a total amateur armed with nothing more exotic than a screwdriver. In the end, Lex spent slightly more than Apple wanted and bought an OEM SSD instead, which he successfully fitted himself. In the process, he's significantly upgraded his system. If Apple can charge that sort of fee today, what would it charge if no-one had the choice to go elsewhere? However, I must concede an important point: it seems likely the MBPwRD won't break very often. It's true that RAM and SSD can fail, yes; but neither thing happens particularly often, and certainly a well-designed SSD should be far more reliable than the spinning mechanics of a HDD. About half the RAM problems I've seen have been due to thermal creep loosening the memory in its slot, requiring it to be removed and replaced ("re-seated", in tech jargon); clearly Apple's soldered-on RAM is immune to this. The new MacBook also represents Apple's final solution to the lousy reliability track record of the SuperDrive. There's that glued-in battery, of course. It's one of Apple's fancy new ones, but it's still not going to last forever. "1000 full charge and discharge cycles before it reaches 80 percent of its original capacity" and "a lifespan of up to 5 years" (emphasis mine) is what Apple promises you. This battery tech is too new to know if Apple's marketing claims are accurate or not, so it must remain something of an unknown quantity for now. "I only keep my computers for two years, so it doesn't matter to me." A valid answer, but perhaps a little short-sighted I think, unless you literally throw the machine away when you're done with it. In my experience, Macs have always enjoyed a rather longer lifespan than PCs; whether through reselling or hand-me-downs or simply clinging to life, I think you'll find far, far more five year old Macs in use today than you would PCs of a similar vintage. Indeed, I know more than one person who has rationalized the higher purchase price of a Mac by saying "it's OK, it'll still fetch a good price on eBay in three years." I think compromised repairability risks eroding this part of the Mac value proposition, by making it more likely that a middle-aged Mac would suffer a failure that rendered it beyond economic repair. "Apple has always been this way." I don't agree with this one at all. Apple shipped the first tool-less tower chassis I'd ever seen, in the form of the PowerMac G3 Blue & White; to this day, the Mac Pro has an elegant, flexible design that invites modifications and add-ons. The latest Mac mini design is the most internally-friendly Apple has ever shipped, with simple user access to the hard drives and RAM. All the Unibody MacBooks have been easy to work on too, supporting users who wanted to change drives and memory. The more consumer-ish Macs -- the iMac, the MBA -- have tended to be rather more sealed-up, but the "Pro" models have definitely not. "I have AppleCare, so repairability doesn't matter to me." It's certainly true that if you don't mind the expense ($349 for a MBPwRD, as much as 16% of the purchase price) AppleCare provides a fantastic service. I've always been very, very well taken care of when I've had to avail myself of the facility. Still, I (predictably) have two objections to this argument. Firstly, AppleCare doesn't last forever. It's two years on a Mac, on top of the year you get for free. As I mentioned earlier, my 2009 MacBook Pro is still marching along. Had I bought AppleCare for it, it would have expired by now, but I'll get a year or so more use out of it as a secondary machine before recycling it as a test box for beta OS X versions, or a OS X Server box, or something of that ilk. If I'm spending $3,000+ on a top-of-the-line MacBook Pro today, I'd like to hope it'll still be of some use in three or four years, even if it's no longer my main computer. Secondly, did I miss a memo somewhere that we all decided that extended warranties were a good deal now? We all scoff when Best Buy tries to sell us warranties on TVs, right? Why is AppleCare any different? Whenever I bring this up, I am rebuffed by dozens of anecdotes of great experiences with AppleCare -- and in the spirit of full disclosure, I have to admit that I have some myself. AppleCare has replaced my iPad once, my iPhone twice, and paid for two repairs on my wife's MacBook. But ponder for a moment what AppleCare covers. It's not accidental damage (except for the newfangled AppleCare+, which isn't available in the UK anyway). It only pays for instances where a device stops working in the second or third year of ownership. Shouldn't we be taking it for granted that Apple devices that haven't been accidentally damaged be capable of lasting three years without suffering random failures? Should we really be boasting that Apple sells us insurance for this? If Apple Care is such a great deal, doesn't that mean Apple products break too often? Oh, and finally, AppleCare doesn't cover accidental damage, and accidents happen. "It doesn't matter because it's going to sell in huge numbers." Cannot argue with this one. If I was an Apple shareholder (I'm not), I'd be extremely pleased with the MBPwRD, which appears certain to be a runaway success and pile even more money onto the mountain of bills Apple has tucked away in Cupertino. People vote with their wallets; they voted for the MacBook Air and they're voting for the MBPwRD. But don't forget -- McDonalds, Justin Bieber, and Windows all sell in huge numbers too. It doesn't make them laudable, tasteful, or, fundamentally, any sort of good idea. Popularity suggests the retina MacBook Pro is good, for sure -- but it doesn't mean it's flawless. People don't buy the perfect thing, because the perfect thing doesn't exist; they buy the best thing they can, but there's always room for improvement. It doesn't mean we shouldn't stop to examine the pros and cons of the new MacBook from all angles. "It's just like with cars." "Cars changed just like this. They stopped being user serviceable and everyone got used to it. Get with the program, Grandpa." This was an extremely common reply. I also feel it was one of the weaker responses, on numerous levels. One: practically everyone I know has a story about a dealer franchise ripping someone off in some dubious manner, having used the trust people have in the brand to convince people they need to pay over the odds for basic maintenance or repairs. I don't see anything to celebrate about Apple moving closer to this model. Two: actually, what happened to cars was that most of the oily bits stopped requiring user maintenance. That's not the same thing. I've set points gaps (rotor gap, to you Americans) and greased nipples and tuned carburetors, and that stuff went away because it stopped being necessary, not because the car manufacturers hid it away behind proprietary screws and glued-on panels. The process for maintaining stuff that still has to be changed regularly -- tyres, brakes, oil, filters, batteries -- hasn't changed much in decades. In contrast, there's nothing about the MBPwRD's innards that makes it any less likely to break or be accidentally damaged than other laptops. It's not magically proof against spilled liquids or electromigration. Three: the government doesn't keep releasing new roads that make different demands of your car, but that's exactly what happens with computers. As I've already mentioned, I found after upgrading to Lion that my MacBook was struggling with 4 GB of RAM. Unless you think the MBPwRD is literally the fastest computer that will ever exist, the metaphor is fatally flawed. "I can't upgrade my 50" TV to an 80" model either." This one is just silly. No-one's complaining about being unable to upgrade their television's size because that's not physically possible. Making computers with upgradable RAM or replaceable drives is physically possible. Citation: almost every computer ever made. "Apple does say the RAM isn't replaceable!" In my original post I whined that Apple doesn't tell people that the RAM is soldered. Several commenters pointed out I was wrong, but it took me a while to work out why. It doesn't say it on the landing page or the tech specs page or the store page. Where it does say it is on the BTO specification page, but only if you click the "Learn more" link next to the Memory section. That's... not exactly obvious, in my opinion. Similarly, when I was in the Apple Store looking at the MBPwRDs, I overheard two customers ask two different sales representatives about the soldered RAM issue -- "so, I can't upgrade the memory later, right?" Neither rep understood the question, and neither of them could answer it. I'm still not convinced Apple is doing enough to come clean with people here, or to train its frontline staff. I can forgive this on the Air, but this is a "MacBook Pro", and every MacBook Pro since the line launched in 2006 has had replaceable RAM. It would be perfectly understandable for users to simply assume this one is the same, and feel let down when they discover their mistake too late. The twist is that being more upfront with shoppers could only encourage upsell to the 16 GB option, making more money for Apple in the process. So I'm sure this is an oversight, rather than due to any sinister motives. TL;DR On the Internet, it often seems that everything must be compressed to a one-bit image: black or white, triumph or catastrophe, the very best or the absolute worst. It is my position that the MacBook Pro with Retina Display, like almost everything once you think about it hard enough, is neither. It's an extremely nice laptop with a first-of-its-kind screen and a reparability downside that ranks somewhere between "utterly irrelevant" and "a bit worrying", depending on your prejudices and desires. Almost 4,200 words later, do I expect any of you to have changed your mind about this? Well, probably not. Confirmation bias is a funny old thing. But if I have made you think twice about the complexities here -- even if I've just convinced you there are complexities where before you saw none -- then please let me know in the comments. If I'm really lucky, someone buying a MBPwRD will be able to make a more informed decision after reading this -- about the laptop itself, or about the BTO options they should be selecting. That's really all I want to happen.
iFixit examines the MacBook Pro Retina display
Last week, iFixit took apart a Retina MacBook Pro, and, this week, the repair company takes a closer look at the display assembly. In a 16-step guide, iFixit removes literally everything from the display assembly. It's impressive to see all the films, sheets and other components that go into the LCD display. Not surprisingly, iFixit doesn't assign a repairability score to the component because there is no way to repair the display assembly. The company concludes that "if anything in the display assembly breaks, you'll need to replace the whole thing."
Daily Update for June 15, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
