Macbook Pro with Retina Display review

Apple again cemented its reputation as manufacturer of lust-worthy electronics with the introduction of a new 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display before 5,000 jubilant developers at this year’s WWDC keynote. But is the latest model worth the extra dough, especially with several key features missing in action that pro users depend upon?

The answer depends on how deep your pockets are, with the sleek new model starting at $2199 and topping out at $3749 (before tax) including build-to-order options (faster processor, more memory, higher capacity storage). However, if you rely on CD or DVD media, Gigabit Ethernet or FireWire 800, you’ll want to budget $137 on top of that to replace features lost as a result of slimming down the notebook by 25 percent.

Apple ditched the internal SuperDrive, requiring users to fork over $79 for an external model; likewise, $29 will buy back a Gigabit Ethernet port using a dongle that attaches to one of two Thunderbolt ports. (A similar accessory will be available in July to restore the lost FireWire 800 port.) These now optional features are the price you pay for being on the bleeding edge - but unless you're a dyed in the wool Microsoft fan, need a computer you can tinker with, or do as much gaming as work on your computer - that’s just about where the minuses end.

The Display

If you’ve handled the latest iPad, you know how compelling Apple’s Retina Display technology can be. Making the leap onto a notebook’s 15-inch display is an impressive feat, densely packing 5.1 million pixels at 2880 x 1800 resolution into a screen with a larger resolution than a 60-inch HDTV.

To accomplish this, Apple enhanced its Displays preference pane with five methods for adjusting how pixels are displayed. “Best for Retina display” is the middle option used by default, but users can decide whether they want to see larger text or have more space on the screen. (We’ve been rocking with the fourth option, adding extra real estate while keeping text large enough to read comfortably.)

Like the iPhone and iPad, applications that run on this modified version of OS X Lion (or the forthcoming OS X Mountain Lion) need to be upgraded to really take advantage of the extra resolution. Apple’s key Mac apps (Mail, Safari, iCal and even Final Cut Pro X, Aperture, iPhoto and iMovie) have already been updated, and they look stunning. Reading on-screen text is akin to wearing glasses with a new prescription – everything is suddenly sharper, clearer and more finely detailed than before.

Non-Retina apps continue to work just fine, but the operating system doubles pixels accordingly to keep everything the same relative size. Viewed up close, users will notice some fuzziness with UI elements, but most of the apps we tested (Microsoft Word, Firefox 13, Spotify) were acceptable viewed at normal distance. Developers are already hard at work on Retina updates, including Adobe Photoshop CS6, which Apple demonstrated during its WWDC keynote.

Apple’s IPS display features a higher contrast ratio (29 percent better) and much wider viewing angle (178 degrees) than previous models, which only poses a problem for business travelers looking for a little privacy while working on the go. For everyone else, this display is unequalled, and for some, well worth the price of a new MacBook Pro.

We also had no problem writing some of this review outdoors on a bright, sunny day while wearing polarized sunglasses (even with brightness below maximum), and the screen remained vibrant, colorful and rich in contrast. Apple has done a remarkable job reducing overall glare on the glossy display (they say by as much as 75 percent), allowing users to focus on the software without surrounding distractions.

Design and Internals

However, the display is only part of this awesome upgrade. The new MacBook Pro with Retina Display is 25 percent thinner, largely thanks to losing the aforementioned optical drive. In its place comes room for extra memory (up to 16GB, a MacBook first), a larger battery and up to 768GB of flash storage, the first time such technology has been used exclusively in place of a traditional hard disk on a Pro model.

If you haven't used it yet, flash storage is life changing – for example, the notebook is ready to go almost immediately after waking it from sleep. Even with a long list of startup items installed and several open apps set to auto-resume, our custom-configured 2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 model with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage booted up in a mere 20.3 seconds, including auto-mounting three network-attached storage devices. (Never again shall we be afraid to install software requiring a restart!) Read and write times were equally impressive at 440.8MB per second and 403.9MBps, respectively.

Speaking of speed, Intel’s Ivy Bridge processor finally brings USB 3.0 to the Mac. With a port on each side of the notebook (both backward compatible with USB 2.0), users can finally enjoy faster transfer rates from inexpensive external hard drives without breaking the bank on Thunderbolt-equipped storage.

While it's obviously a long time coming, USB 3.0 on the Mac is nothing to sneeze at, clocking nearly 80MBps read and write from a 3TB external Seagate GoFlex Desktop drive. Copying a 30GB ProRes 422 QuickTime video from an external LaCie portable drive took a mere seven minutes compared to 17 minutes on our USB 2.0-equipped iMac.

The Battery

Our review unit likewise smoked Mac competitors – with the exception of far costlier eight and 12-core Mac Pros – clocking 13522 with Geekbench. Miraculously, Apple manages to maintain the same battery life as previous models: Up to seven hours of “wireless web” use and 30 days of standby time from the sealed, 95-watt lithium-polymer battery.

The first battery test we conducted was a less impressive five hours, but considering that the display was bright and awake the majority of the time as we downloaded and installed software, browsed the web, transferred files over our local network and generally abused the battery as best we could, we’re not complaining. (A second test looping a DVCPro HD movie in QuickTime Player shaved only 15 minutes from our initial results.)

What About Gaming?

MacBook Pro with Retina Display is likely to be a revolution for Mac gamers. All models come equipped with NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M graphics in addition to Intel HD Graphics 4000, capable of driving the built-in display plus two external displays at up to 2560 x 1600 each with millions of colors.

Finally, this is not a computer for tinkerers: Like Apple’s mobile devices, everything is sealed tight. You’ll want to make decisions about how much memory you’ll need prior to buying, because RAM is soldered to the motherboard and can’t be added later (Apple charges a somewhat reasonable $200 to bump it to 16GB). There’s also currently no way to swap flash storage with a larger capacity, but this could become a third-party option in the months ahead.

Rounded out by 720p FaceTime HD camera, slimmer MagSafe 2 power port, built-in HDMI, SDXC card slot and a pair of the most awesome notebook speakers we’ve ever heard, Apple’s MacBook Pro with Retina Display sets a new benchmark for portable computers. In fact, the new model makes choosing one of the company’s “classic” models instead a downright dubious decision.

Conclusion

After contemplating that sweet Retina Display, lightning-fast (and ample) flash storage and the potential for 16GB RAM which isn’t an option on the classic notebooks, the $400 jump between base models is easily justified by the thinner (0.71 inches), lighter (4.46 pounds) newcomer. While we applaud Apple for sticking with classic models for those who can’t afford the next generation (or who prefer legacy features over a cutting edge display), it’s not hard to imagine an all-Retina, all-flash future for the Mac line – and this notebook proves that future is already here in the present.




Source : ign[dot]com