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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.
Apple will fix your older MacBook Pro's video problems for free
Did you snag a MacBook Pro before 2014 only to run into corrupted video, no video at all or spontaneous reboots? You won't have to shell out for a fix if you're out of warranty. After more than a year of reports, Apple is launching a repair program that will mend your laptop for free if its graphics are going haywire. You're covered so long as you bought a 15- or 17-inch MacBook Pro between early 2011 and the end of 2013, including the first two generations of Retina models. The program will be available as of February 20th if you're in the US or Canada, and a week later in the rest of the world. Only a "small percentage" of systems are affected, Apple says, but it won't hurt to check coverage even if everything is hunky dory.
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.
Laptop and tablet deals of the week: 4.11.14
Laptops allow you to get work done on the go and tablets are certainly nice to have around, but the price of admission for both can be a significant investment. That's where we come in. We've compiled a list of tempting options for both of those categories, all with price cuts that'll tempt wallets. Jump down past the break and take a look for yourself and start the weekend with a new gadget purchase. If there are other laptops that you're after that we haven't included here -- join us and add them to your "Want" list. Every time there's a price cut in the future, you'll get an email alert!
Daily Update for January 13, 2014
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some of 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 player at the top of the page. The Daily Update has been moved to a new podcast host in the past few days. Current listeners should delete the old podcast subscription and subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
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?
Daily Update for October 25, 2013
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
iFixit tears down new MacBook Pros
What would the announcement of new Apple equipment be without an iFixit teardown a few days later? Don't even think about it, because it will never happen. This week, iFixit eagerly tore into the newly introduced MacBook Pros. Both the 13- and 15-inch models of the Retina display MacBook Pro (late 2013) were given the pentalobe screwdriver, spudger and heat gun treatment to take them down to the component parts. We'll cut to the chase -- there are a lot of nice new components inside each of the boxes, but they're even less repairable than last year's kitten-infused models. iFixit scores repairability on a 1 to 10 scale, with 10 being the best. Both new MacBook Pros ended up with a score of 1. Why such a low repairability score? Well, the battery is glued into place to cover screws that may need to be removed to access other components; the Retina display is one big unit; RAM is soldered into place; and the devices use non-standard SSD drives. One interesting fact: the battery size has been reduced in both of the new models, and the MacBook Pros rely on the power-sipping Intel Haswell processors and the power management capabilities of OS X Mavericks to improve battery life. In a few years, when advances in both the size and complexity of applications and files make these portable speedsters seem like slowpokes, you won't be able to extend their lives by popping open the hood and upgrading the SSD and RAM. Hopefully by that point we may not need notebook computers.
Apple announces new Retina display MacBook Pros with Haswell processors and cheaper pricepoints
Apple today announced some great new enhancements to its MacBook Pro with Retina display lineup. What's more, the base price on both the 13- and 15-inch models have been reduced by US$200. Phil Schiller was on notebook duty, announcing first that Apple's new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is now both lighter and thinner. Specifically, the new 13-inch model weighs just 3.46 pounds and is only 0.71 inch thin. As expected, the new notebook is powered by Intel's Haswell processor, resulting in improved battery life of up to nine hours. Driving the point home, Schiller noted that the new MacBook Pro has enough battery life to allow users to watch the entire Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy on just one charge. As for other enhancements, the notebook comes with faster 802.11ac WiFi, faster PCIe-based flash storage, Thunderbolt 2 support and, of course, OS X Mavericks. The base model comes with 4 GB RAM, 128 GB of storage and, best of all, starts shipping today for just $1,299. Apple also updated its 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. Along with a faster and more energy-efficient processor, it also features a GeForce GT 750M graphics card, faster WiFi, Thunderbolt 2 and PCIe-based flash storage. The base model ships with 8 GB RAM and a 256 GB of flash storage. It too starts shipping today and will set you back $1,999.
Apple unveils Haswell-based MacBook Pros with Retina display, starting at $1,299 (update: non-Retina 15-inch is gone)
If you've been waiting for the MacBook Pro with Retina display to get a big processor upgrade, today's your lucky day. Apple has just refreshed its high-end portable line with Intel's Haswell chips, delivering Iris graphics and battery life improvements much like those from the recent MacBook Air update. The 13-inch model manages nine hours of battery life, and the 15-inch unit can last for eight hours on a charge. Both computers carry faster PCI Express solid-state drives, Thunderbolt 2 ports and 802.11ac WiFi, while a higher-end 15-inch variant ships with dedicated GeForce GT 750M video. Either new Mac costs less than its predecessor, too. The 13-inch system starts at $1,299 for a model with a dual-core 2.4GHz Core i5, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD; its 15-inch counterpart starts at $1,999 with a quad-core 2GHz Core i7, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. Both laptops are available today. Update: Apple has quietly axed the non-Retina 15-inch model; you can still buy its 13-inch sibling (unchanged since its early 2013 update) at a lower $999 price.
WWDC 2013: the rumor roundup
It's that special time for Apple devotees: WWDC 2013 is next week, and that means a customary glimpse of where iOS and the Mac are going next. However, we're getting everything but business as usual this year. The crew at 1 Infinite Loop has shaken up its software strategy, putting much of its emphasis on Jony Ive's design chops and tighter collaboration between teams. Is Apple about to deliver major OS refreshes that some say are long overdue? And what about hints of new hardware introductions at the same time? We've gathered together some of the more notable rumors to help understand what Apple may introduce on June 10th -- and what's likely to remain wishful thinking.
MacBook Pro tops on best-performing Windows laptop list
Soluto has ranked a few different brands of Windows laptops based on their performance against trouble and crashes, and here's a fun twist: Apple topped the heap. That's right, on a list of laptops that included Acer and Dell, an Apple MacBook Pro running Windows via Boot Camp got Soluto's best rating, the lowest score based on "a combination of crashes, hangs, BSoDs, boot and background processes." Soluto says the reason Apple scored so well is probably because this was a "clean" Windows installation, which means that it didn't have any of the crapware that PC manufacturers usually have to install on their sold devices to try and turn a profit (buying a computer with something installed on it that you don't want -- can you imagine?). But Soluto also says there are obvious issues with running Windows on a Mac, first and foremost that drivers for any accessories (customized keyboards or mice) may not work correctly. Still, if you want a trouble-free Windows experience, Soluto says running it on a Mac is the way to go. Apple showed up on the list twice, once for the 13-inch MacBook Pro and also for the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. The 15-inch model boasted slightly more crashes than the smaller model -- maybe because of the display? At any rate, it's a sad situation for PC manufacturers when Apple claims two of the industry's most trouble-free spots. [via Lifehacker]
Daily Update for March 26, 2013
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 sued over defective MacBook Pro Retina displays
A lawsuit has been filed in federal court in California alleging that Apple is misleading consumers by not advertising that there are two different types of displays used in its MacBook Pros with Retina displays. The issue stems from widespread reports that MacBook Pros with Retina displays that use display panels from LG suffer from ghosting issues. MacBook Pros that use Retina displays from Samsung reportedly are not affected by the same issues. ArsTechnica reports that the class action lawsuit says that because the two makes of the Retina displays "exhibit different levels of performance and quality" Apple is wrongly marketing the MacBook Pro with Retina display as one product when instead it should be marketed as two different products -- the difference being which display, LG or Samsung, is used in the laptop.
MacBook Pro with Retina users report fan issue
A number of early 2013 Retina MacBook Pro owners are reporting fan speed issues, according to plenty of reports around the web including on Apple's own discussion forums. Specifically the issue is about the laptop's fans kicking on when there is no need to. Users report only stressing the laptop minimally, such as just having a web browser open with a few tabs, will cause the fans to spin for minutes at a time. Users also report that the laptop isn't even warm while the fans spin. Geek.com suggests the issue could be due to a fan management software glitch in MacBook Pros using new SanDisk SSDs. Apple switched from Samsung SSDs to SanDisk SSDs in some units of the latest MacBook Pro with Retina display. There's been no official comment from Apple at this time, but some users have been able to get their MacBooks replaced when reporting the issue. Other users have been told it's a normal occurrence. If a fix does come, many suggest that it would be through a software update and that no replacement of parts would be required.
Primate Labs benchmarks new Retina MacBook Pro models
Apple bumped the processors in the Retina MacBook Pro line last week, pushing the 15-inch model to the 2.4, 2.7 or 2.8 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 and the 13-inch to 2.5, 2.6, 2.9 or 3.0 GHz dual-core processors. As usual, Primate Labs grabbed a handy copy of their "flagship product" -- Geekbench -- and tested each model's performance. The 100 MHz increase in processor speed across the board on the 15-inch MacBook Pros was responsible for a 3 to 5 percent increase in performance as measured by the Geekbench 2 scores. Likewise, the 13-inch models received a bump in both speed and performance. Primate Labs noted, though, that the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro models ship with both old and new processors. The new processors are only available in 13-inch models that start with 256 GB of storage, while the machines that start with 128 GB of storage retain the older, slower processors. John Poole at Primate Labs notes that the new Intel processor architecture, Haswell, is forthcoming later this year, so it's not surprising that Apple decided to outfit the Retina MacBook Pro line with the latest in Ivy Bridge processors. However, he's curious about why the non-Retina MacBook Pro line didn't receive the same speed bump, and speculates that the current line of Retina-free MBPs might be the last.
The Daily Roundup for 02.13.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Henge's horizontal dock will be a great investment for your Retina MacBook Pro
For Retina display MacBook Pro owners, the Henge Horizontal Dock will be the best investment you can make in your system beyond the computer itself, especially if you utilize multiple displays. Originally unveiled at CES, the US$249 system nabbed a Best of Show award at Macworld/iWorld 2013, and a brief demo proves that it deserves the status. This meaty dock boasts an impressive 14 ports, including two audio ports, six USB 3.0 ports, FireWire 800, Ethernet and an SD card slot. It can also manage up to three external displays, as seen above. A push button neatly ejects the MacBook Pro from the dock, and software will allow you to configure your screens so everything snaps into place once you plug it in. There will be two flavors of the horizontal dock: one with Thunderbolt support ($349) and one without. The horizontal dock without Thunderbolt support will be released during the third financial quarter of 2013, the one with Thunderbolt during the fourth quarter. The docks will accommodate MacBook Pros with Retina displays and all MacBook Airs.
