Apple today announced the latest addition to its MacBook lineup, the 12-inch Retina MacBook, and many members of the press were able to go hands-on with the new machine after the event. We’ve collected some of the best videos below to give you a better look at the new machine.
The overall consensus among those who have tried the MacBook seems to be that while it’s not the most powerful computer on the market, its size makes it an impressive feat of engineering. The new Force Touch Trackpad gained praise, and the redesigned keyboard is said to be impressive.
However, due to its size, slower processor, and lack of ports, the MacBook may not be the perfect choice for every Apple customer. You can see all of the hands-on videos below:
TechnoBuffalo
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bhsG8k7GvI&ab_channel=TechnoBuffalo]
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GttoIyB_lEQ]
TechCrunch
CNET
The Verge
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_U2X1iSN00&ab_channel=TheVerge]
SlashGear
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CupaD2GkA9M&ab_channel=SlashGear]
Bloomberg
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4189sb7hCN8&ab_channel=BloombergBusiness]
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Never really been interested in MacBook but this is stunning.
OMG, now for once I’m agreeing with Aunty, what the hell?
Stunning to say the least. Best notebook out there. Wish it was $999.
Even as an Apple fan, this is far from the best notebook out there.
Core M is a middling CPU. I understand entirely why Apple used it and I hope it drives Intel to produce something better for next year’s model.
If anything, this confirms that the MacBook Air or 13″ Retina MacBook Pro is the best notebook out there.
i’d argue for the 15″ rMBP, just ‘cuz it’s got the quad core i7 available. This new thing reminds me a lot of the original MBA, underpowered and unencumbered by too many ports. The MBA never became more than a novelty until it gained more power and ports. Maybe we’ll see the same thing with this model. I also expect to see very expensive hubs come on the market to add the ports Apple failed to add.
Perhaps “best” doesn’t capture it the way that “insanely popular” might. For every person who “needs” a quad-core i7 and an array of USB and Thunderbolt ports, there are likely 200 that don’t, and their needs and money are just as real. My hunch is that this MacBook is a harbinger of what is to come; just as the original iMac heralded the end of the floppy, the end of various wired interfaces is nigh. And in a few years we won’t care, anymore than we do about floppies, parallel ports and DVD drives.
For now, “Pro” means that you still need these items (and may for some time yet). As much as I enjoy my Retina MBP, silliness like HDMI and SD slots will not be missed.
As the owner of a maxed-out 15″ late-2013 MacBook Pro, I think I can safely say that this is not the best notebook out there. ;)
Agreed. Hope they add more ports when designing the new 15″ version of this. I *like* being able to run 3x monitors without any dongles.
However, I think the sweet spot is at least two USB-C ports.
Still – the BlackBook is back *drool*.
Maybe not best notebook (considering the slow processor speed), but it does have a great design. $999 would be the ideal price considering what you’re giving up.
Reblogged this on Mark Phillips and commented:
I can’t wait!
I understand the need to minimize ports. But I’d much rather have another USB port than an audio jack, the latter could have been handled by an adapter. I’m almost always plugged into another USB port for one reason or another. And almost never have audio plugged in.
that’s a personal choice, not a logic one, at the end of the day Apple is a music company with iTunes, iPod and Beats, it makes a lot sense to include an audio jack because it is very small as well, moreover this is just like an iPad or iPhone as it has a power port and a headphone jack, just those two.
Correct. But if it was a USB port with an audio jack adapter, it would be more versatile. Now it’s for sound only.
Why the choice? Put 2x USB-C and an audio jack.
– for the latter – I use my BT headsets with my phone. Currently very few headsets support simultaneous multi-device pairing – and so I use wired headsets when talking using the Mac (not going to do the switch device two-step while a Skype or FaceTime is incoming)
Audio is much more a “portable” need than another USB port so I can see where they went but… still they could’ve done both.
The one and only USB port to be used for everything is a bit of a deal killer at the moment. I need a wireless mouse and there are almost none on the market at the moment that are decent AND hook up via bluetooth. So am I expected to have some cables hanging out of this thing all the time just to use it? My MBPr has a tiny little dongle in one of its USB ports all the time, and it can get annoying as hell on that only have one available for storage devices. I couldn’t imagine how painful it would be to operate this device with no USB ports available.
I would buy one if it had a touch screen :-(