Many will bristle at the implication, but as the MacBook Air inspired the Ultrabook, mainstream laptops will likely seek to ape the Retina Display MacBook Pro, sorry, MacBook Pro with Retina Display. The clunky name aside, it seems that the next generation of devices will ditch disc drives and Ethernet ports in favor of pixel-dense displays and reduced weight. But did Jonathan Ive’s trash can get too full? If you’ve been using one, do you still ache for those phantom limbs, or is it peaceful on that side of the river? Folks, for the last time this year, we’re inviting you to share your thoughts and feelings on how you’d change the MacBook Pro with Retina Display, and from all of us, have a Happy New Year.
We’re not sure if it’s just a slow news day (since it’s Friday and all), but we’re hearing rumors of something that’s extremely likely to happen anyway, that it shouldn’t even be a rumor — that being a Retina display on the second-generation iPad mini. Apple didn’t stuff one in with this first iPad mini, which was disappointing to a lot of users, but it seems the company is finally ready this time around.
DigiTimes is reporting that market observers say it’s “highly likely” that the second-gen iPad mini will get a Retina display, which means that they’re not 100% sure if the new iPad mini will get the upgrade, but it’s pretty likely — about the same conclusion that you or I could come up with based on what we know about Apple.
Of course, we usually don’t put all of our trust into rumors from DigiTimes, but this is certainly one rumor that anyone can jot down in the “obvious” column. On top of the Retina display, though, we can also definitely expect some other spec bumps with the processor, RAM, and maybe even the two cameras for improved FaceTime quality and better photos.
The iPad mini was released earlier last month, and it was essentially Apple’s answer to the 7-inch tablet market, it has a slightly larger display with an even larger price tag. It uses Apple’s last-generation A5 processor with a surprisingly-low resolution of 1024×768. However, that certainly didn’t take away from our iOS experience. Take a look at our full review to learn more.
It’s time again to bring on the fashion-forward collections of Moshi, that accessory maker that’s made some of our favorite Apple-loving cases and coats of all kinds over the past year. The folks at Moshi have today announced three new products, each of them working with a different appendage of yours – starting with Digits. With the Digits touchscreen-capable gloves, you’ll be tapping away not only with warm fingers, but with a user-friendly amount of fit for all sizes – dual-layered with conductive fibers in each fingertip.
Digits features a new solution for glove-wearing touchscreen-loving individuals with what they call GripTalk – this is a silicone pattern that sits inside of each glove for both right and left-handed users, this working well with the gloves’ microfleece inner lining. Available in both dark gray and light gray – hot!
Next there’s the iGlaze for MacBook Pro with Retina Display. This unit you’ll recognize from our iGlaze for MacBook Air and iPad 3 review from earlier this year. This is a precision-tooled polycarbonate hardshell case made to be durable, lightweight, thin, and “nearly scratch-proof.” So they say. It’s actually rougher and tougher than you’ll be able to break through, they’re mostly just saying that just IN CASE you come in contact with a lightsaber.
Finally there’s the Overture, a fabulous protective case for the iPhone 5. This unit works with “all the functionalities of a slim wallet” including three slots for ID, transport, and credit cards as well as a full-length inner pocket for storage galore. This case comes with a “Neato” brand detachable and washable microfiber pad for cleaning the iPhone’s display. This case is made with a strong polycarbonate frame and lined with Moshi’s own proprietary Terahedron microfiber for fabulous protection.
The iPhone 5 case Overture is set to be available in Metallic Black, Sienna Orange, and Falcon Gray – all of which are rather smooth on the eyes and classy in the pocket. Have a peek at a few other Moshi posts we’ve had over the past few months to get a taste of what they’re all about.
If you’re reading this having not braved the absolute insanity that is waking up in the middle of the night to purchase a good you don’t need, good on you – here’s your reward: Apple Black Friday sales. The folks at Apple are keeping it all clean and tidy today with online sales – as well as retail store sales, but still – allowing you to purchase everything from the warmth and safety of your own home. It all begins with the iPad 4 (re-named “iPad with Retina display” here for the foreseeable future) and the iPad 2 – the iPad mini you’ll have to purchase for full price, lucky you!
The iPad with Retina display you’ll be able to pick up for a starting price of $458 USD – that’s $41 USD under the price you’ll have payed earlier this week and starting again on Saturday. The iPad 2 will cost you $368 USD, that being $31 under the standard price of $399. Both of the most recent iPod touch models – both the 4th generation and the newest iPhone 5-esque colorful 5th generation units are similarly discounted with $31 off the new model and $21 off the outgoing edition. The iPod nano (that being the newest model) is discounted by a fabulous $11 USD.
The MacBook Pro, the MacBook Pro with Retina display, and the MacBook Air have each been price-cut by $101 USD. The AirPort Express Base Station has been cut by $11 while the AirPort Extreme Base Station has been slashed by $21 USD. The Apple Time Capsule has been reduced by $21 USD. Each of the standard-sized Apple-made iPad covers and cases have been price cut between $11 and $21, while the Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic as well as the new Apple EarPods with Remote and Mic have been discounted $11 USD and $7 USD.
Finally there’s the Apple Magic Mouse, the Magic Trackpad, and the Apple Wireless Keyboard, each of them getting a price-cut of $11 USD. Each of these items will be discounted until 11:59 PM PST, after which they’ll be bumped back up to standard pricing – good luck!
It is safe to say that the iPad mini is just a small iPad with stereo speakers and an LG display. We know because we’re currently reviewing the device. If the iPad mini featured a Retina-display, will it change the underwhelming response of Apple fans? Well, according to DoNews, Apple might be considering a follow-up to the iPad mini this early. The Chinese website is saying that AU Optronics, a TFT LCD manufacturer based in Taiwan, is now being ordered by Apple to mass produce 7.9-inch displays with a 2048 x 1536 resolution.
The current iPad mini features a 7.9-inch display with a 1024 x 768 resolution. If the rumor is true, then Apple might launch an iPad mini that has twice the pixel density of the existing model. Last week, AU Optronics announced that it was able to successfully develop IGZO (Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide) and AHVA (Advanced Hyper-Viewing Angle) panels for a wide variety consumer electronic products. It’s worth noting that these are merely rumors that will have to be filtered with care. Therefore, a little dose of scepticism will help.
The iPad mini may be in short supply, but Apple’s hardware partners are already readying the Retina-spec display for the iPad mini 2, according to sources in China. AU Optronics, which is one of Apple’s suppliers of 1024 x 768 panels for the current iPad mini, expects to begin mass producing 2048 x 1536 resolution 7.9-inch displays by the second half of 2013, DoNews reports, with eye-pleasing pixel density of 324 ppi.
Apple has been criticized by some for not bringing the iPad mini into the Retina fold already, with the tablet’s screen described as “just a very capable display” by some experts. However, as we highlighted in our review of the mini, by sticking with the same resolution as the original iPad, Apple has ensured all apps for the tablet work with the newest, smaller model out of the gate.
However, that Apple has Retina ambitions for the iPad mini is hardly a surprise, though technical feasibility has been a stumbling block so far. AUO’s breakthrough has been in adopting IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide), MENAFN reports, a Sharp technology we’ve seen used to prolong battery life without sacrificing brightness on the KDDI AQUOS Pad SHT21, albeit at a mere 1280 x 800 resolution.
AUO will also use Gate IC on array (GOA), it’s claimed, which will enable a thinner frame around the outside of the display. Meanwhile, the company says it has also addressed the yield issues around the current iPad mini display, cutting out the light leakage problem that has constrained supplies.
Apple’s yearly refresh cycle is apparently set to continue with the iPad mini, despite the premature replacement of the third-gen iPad with the new, Apple A6X powered model with its Lightning connector. The second-gen iPad mini isn’t expected to ship until Q4 2013, the insiders say.
Welcome to the new new iPad, same as the old new iPad. Well, mostly, anyway. It was less than eight months ago that Apple grafted a Retina display onto its world-conquering tablet, giving every other slate on the market resolution envy, while enchanting gadget lovers with world-class performance and battery life.
Now, it’s obsolete. Put out to pasture just as it was hitting its stride and replaced by this, the fourth-generation iPad — still just called “new iPad.” Other than a Lightning connector on the bottom it’s visually indistinguishable from its predecessor. Even its starting MSRP of $499 stays the same. But, on the inside where it counts, is the new, fire-breathing A6X processor. Could this be possibly worth buying a second new iPad in just one year, or could this perhaps be the one you’ve been waiting for? Hold on to your wallets and click on through to find out.
Look down the aisles at any Apple launch event, across the laps of dozens of journalists liveblogging or in some other way documenting the goings-on, and it’s inevitable that you’ll see MacBooks. A lot of MacBooks. And, since many of those laps are irrevocably linked to owners who spend their days jetting around the globe to other companies’ events, those laptops are quite often the travel-friendly MacBook Air. So, while we were excited to see a thinner, lighter 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display unveiled earlier this year, many of us were left asking one question: “Where’s the 13-inch version?”
Now, a little over four months later, here it is. Why the wait from one to the next? That’s for Apple to know and us to speculate about (supply chain concerns? engineering issues?), but the important thing is that it’s available now and it is, in many ways, an uncompromised, slightly smaller rendition of the 15-inch version that came before. It’s thinner and it’s lighter than the current 13-inch Pro but promises better internals and the same battery life as the 13-inch Air. Perfect portions of portability and performance? Let’s find out.
Apple finally gave ambitious road-warriors with excellent vision the Retina MacBook Pro they’d been demanding, a 13-inch model to join the existing 15-inch Pro at the pinnacle of the company’s mobile range. Promising the same eye-watering visuals with the sort of processing power the Pro line-up is known for, the 13-inch version also makes some concessions so as to slim down to suit more frequent travelers. Is this the perfect notebook for your bag? Read on for our full review.
Hardware and Design
Side by side, the two Retina-class notebooks are almost identical in their thickness. The 13-inch model is actually slightly thicker – we’re talking a millimeter’s difference, mind – but the disparity in weight (3.57 pounds versus 4.46 pounds), width (12.35 inches versus 14.14 inches), and depth (8.62 inches versus 9.73 inches) are the most noticeable changes. If the original Retina MacBook Pro is a long, thin slice of computer, then the smaller model is a tiny powerhouse that can easily be dropped into a bag without demanding the sort of performance compromise of, say, a MacBook Air. Next to the old-style 13-inch, meanwhile, the differences are considerably more obvious. The new Retina model is thinner, lighter, narrower, and even less deep.
Still, there are some compromises to be made for reducing bulk (and for starting $500 less) from the 15-inch Retina Pro. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina loses the discrete graphics option of its 15-inch sibling, making do with Intel HD Graphics 4000, though you can still power two external displays – via a combination of the two Thunderbolt ports and the single HDMI – and run the notebook’s own display simultaneously.
Storage starts off at 128GB of flash, with 256GB, 512GB, and 768GB options; the default processor is a 2.5GHz Core i5 dualcore, whereas the 15-inch model heads straight to Core i7 quadcores. You can pay extra for a Core i7 chip on the 13-inch, but it’s the dualcore, not the quad. Memory is a fixed 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3L, with no option to change that.
13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina: Hands-on and comparisons:
All the ports, wireless connectivity, and 720p webcam are the same as we saw on the 15-inch, as is the backlit keyboard and sizable trackpad. That means you get a pair of Thunderbolt connectors (which can double as Mini DisplayPort), two USB 3.0, a headphone jack, SDXC memory card slot, and an HDMI output. Inside there’s WiFi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0, and a pair of microphones are on the left edge.
Apple’s industrial design continues its gradual evolution toward thinner, pared-back computing, and the new MacBook Pro is no different. From the side, it’s like the old model but flatter; you can also glimpse the new “side gill” vents which are part of the reworked cooling system. In use, it’s quiet, with the fans only rising to a concentrated hum during the heavier moments of our benchmarking. The compromise to be made is one of repairability and room for improvement: the memory is soldered to the logic board, so as to shave away bulk, as is the processor, and the flash storage uses a proprietary connector so it’s sensible to buy the biggest drive you can afford initially.
Display
The 13-inch MacBook Pro Retina display is, at 2560 x 1600, slightly lower than the 2880 x 1800 of the 15-inch, but because of the smaller size its pixel density is even higher: 227 ppi compared to 220 ppi. With both in front of you, though, you don’t see any difference – the whole point, after all, is that the pixels aren’t supposed to be individually identifiable – only the mesmerizing detail and smoothness of the graphics that leave other notebook displays, no matter how bright or colorful, looking crunchy and jagged. Viewing angles are broad enough that you might have to worry about those next to you on the plane glancing over and seeing what you’re working on.
As before true Retina mode on the MacBook Pro doesn’t actually give you 2560 x 1600 resolution. Instead, you get a simulated lower resolution which is smoother all round, since each pixel is in fact a cluster of smaller pixels.Yyou can optionally switch out of Retina mode and pick a higher effective resolution, though the 13-inch misses out on the 1920 x 1200 of the larger machine; instead, the maximum is 1680 x 1050, still impressive (and impressively detailed) for a relatively small notebook. Third party applications are available which will force the display resolution even higher, though are not officially supported by Apple.
Apple is quoting a 75-percent reduction in glare from its new Retina display, versus the previous MacBook Pro 13. In practice, there’s certainly fewer reflections, which adds up to more flexibility in where you can use the notebook. It’s not a true matte finish, mind, though by ramping up the brightness you can use it outdoors and still see what’s going on.
Performance
We actually have two new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina models on our test bench: the 2.5GHz Core i5-3210M dualcore (3MB L3 cache) and the 2.9GHz Core i7-3520M dualcore (4MB L3 cache). Each has 8GB of memory and supports Intel Turbo Boost, up to 3.1GHz and 3.6GHz respectively, and is running Mac OS 10.8.2.
We started with Geekbench, a synthetic test of processor and memory performance. The Core i5 machine scored 6507 overall, while the Core i7 pushed that to 8238. It’s worth noting that the increases weren’t solely in the processor categories: the Core i7 model also recorded better memory scores, suggesting that it makes better use of the 8GB it has. Still, each is a fair step behind the 15-inch Retina model, which scored 12,970 with its 2.6GHz quadcore Core i7-3720QM and 8GB of memory. Performance was roughly on a par with the mid-2012 13-inch MacBook Air.
MacBook Pro 13 with Retina – Core i5 – Geekbench:
Benchmark Score – MacBookPro10,2
Section
Description
Score
Total Score
Mac OS X x86 (64-bit) – Mac OS X 10.8.2 (Build 12C2034)
Integer
Processor integer performance
5081
6507
Floating Point
Processor floating point performance
8755
Memory
Memory performance
4979
Stream
Memory bandwidth performance
6691
MacBook Pro 13 with Retina – Core i7 – Geekbench:
Benchmark Score – MacBookPro10,2 i7
Section
Description
Score
Total Score
Mac OS X x86 (64-bit) – Mac OS X 10.8.2 (Build 12C2034)
Integer
Processor integer performance
6545
8238
Floating Point
Processor floating point performance
11131
Memory
Memory performance
6500
Stream
Memory bandwidth performance
7516
We then turned to Cinebench, which benchmarks processor and graphics performance with a mixture of 3D rendering and OpenGL testing. It’s a good way of examining how a system will handle intensive tasks such as video processing, or gaming.
The Core i5 model scored 2.12 CPU points, while the Core i7 scored 2.81 CPU points, or roughly half the result you’d expect from a quadcore processor. Unsurprisingly, with no discrete GPU, graphics performance showed the biggest hit, with the Core i5 managing 14.81fps and the Core i7 squeezing out 19.69fps.
By way of comparison, the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina’s NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M GPU saw it record a score of 34.30fps in the same category. The MacBook Air managed 16.41fps.
If you’re planning use your new Mac for serious graphics or video editing, our suggestion would be to stick to the larger Pro, as the standalone GPU pays dividends. Of course, it also requires more power, though it includes the same Intel HD Graphics 4000 chip for more everyday use.
Battery
While the battery in the MacBook Pro 13 Retina may be smaller than before – 74-watt-hour, or versus the 95-watt-hour of the 15-inch – the fact it’s driving a smaller screen and less extreme components means Apple rates it for the same runtime: up to seven hours of wireless web browsing, or 30 days standby. However, the 60-watt MagSafe 2 power adapter is slightly smaller and thus continues the theme of the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina being easier to transport.
In practice, with a mixture of web browsing over WiFi, some music playback, a couple of YouTube videos and some emailing, and the display set to a usable half brightness, the Pro lasted just over six hours. Scaling that back to solely browsing and we broke past Apple’s seven hour estimate by a couple of minutes. In contrast, a more ambitious use of the notebook for video playback and some brief video processing in iMovie saw the battery expire in around four hours.
Wrap-Up
The $2,000 mark is an important mental barrier, and the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina’s $2,199 starting price put it out of consideration for many. In contrast, the 13-inch version starts at $1,699 with the 128GB flash drive, rising to $1,999 for the 256GB model.
Increasing storage isn’t cheap – you can boost the entry-level model to 768GB, yes, but it’ll cost you more than a MacBook Air to do so – but the $200 extra for the Core i7 dualcore strikes us as a worthy upgrade given the impact it has on performance overall. Apple still offers the non-Retina 13-inch MacBook Pro, which starts at $1,199 with the same 2.5GHz Core i5 dualcore, though to specify the same memory and a 128GB SSD you’re looking at $1,499. You also get a gigabit ethernet port, FireWire, and an optical drive, though you miss out on the lighter chassis and far improved Retina display.
While the Air might be the smallest of Apple’s notebook line-up, the 13-inch Pro hits a more palatable sweet-spot for balancing power, performance, and functionality. At $1,699 and up, the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display sits at the premium end of the notebook market ($500 less than the entry-level 15-inch model, mind, although you do get extra performance for that) but it does offer features that, right now, you can’t get elsewhere. Those for whom sheer power – particularly multimedia editing – is essential should probably opt for the bigger model, but those road warriors looking to pare back weight and bulk without unduly sacrificing usability will find a lot to love in the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display.
Apple announced the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina at its event on Tuesday, and now its released the first TV commercial. Aired during “Modern Family,” the 31 second advertisement features a slowly rotating Retina MacBook Pro and the tagline “For the pro in us all.” The commercial is titled “Colors.”
“Introducing the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with a stunning Retina display. For the pro in all of us.” The commercial is as simple and elegant as it is effective, providing just enough taste for the sleek-looking device to catch viewers’ attention while keeping the message cryptic enough to send the curious off in search of more info. The background is dark, amplifying the laptop’s display.
This new MacBook Pro features a 13.3-inch Retina display with a 227ppi resolution of 2,560 x 1,600. To put that in perspective, the 15.4-inch MacBook Pro with Retina has a resolution of 2,880 x 1,800. The display offers wide viewing angles, and is exceptionally crisp. Check out our hands-on review for more info.
Screen aside, the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro featurs a dual-core i5 processor and 8GB of RAM for $1,699. The model has a 128GB SSD drive, 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, and Intel HD Graphics 4000. The device weighs in at 3.57lbs.
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It is safe to say that the iPad mini is just a small iPad with 
We then turned to Cinebench, which benchmarks processor and graphics performance with a mixture of 3D rendering and OpenGL testing. It’s a good way of examining how a system will handle intensive tasks such as video processing, or gaming.
