If apple make their next entry level retina Mbp with 256gb ssd standard then I'm going to have to start saving. If not then I'm out as my 500gb non retina is still good. 
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Apple to Reportedly Stop Production of 13-Inch Non-Retina MacBook Pro Later This Year
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The Mini is the "red-headed stepchild" of Macs. On a serious note, I love those little things. Depending on the next model (if they don't kill it), I'll be looking at a server model.
I lol'd.
I agree with everything you said. The resolution makes a HUGE difference. I'm glad I have a 13" cMBP. Since I can upgrade it, I'm hoping that will allow it some extra years of life.
To each their own.
Personally I've been able to maintain the need for speed and retina and the occasional need for legacy tech by resurrecting my 2009 13" MBP when it seemed to be at the end of its life.
Basically I bought my 09 MBP in June before starting my freshman year of college. Base model with 2gb of ram and the 160gb HDD (I didn't know much at almost-18, and my parents didn't want to shell out a ton of money). It worked very well until it developed a sleep/wake issue and kept burning through SATA cables toward the end of AppleCare. I was able to continue getting free repairs even after AC ran out, but it got to the point where it would fail to boot nearly every time. The battery was also starting to go. I had upgraded the ram to 8gb but still had a replacement 500gb HDD.
So October came along, and I received the 13" mid-spec rMBP. It definitely makes daily computing much less frustrating, and I don't have to worry about moving parts failing because of the weight of books in my backpack (That was quite literally the explanation I got from a Genius for why the 09 MBP SATA cable fails).
But that wasn't the end of my 09 MBP! I didn't have any luck selling it for parts, so I went back one last time to the Genius Bar to get it looked at. They replaced the SATA cable for the umpteenth time, and I paid for a new battery. My friend who was computer science major needed a Mac to learn how to use Xcode for a potential job, so I got it fixed up and upgraded to Mavericks. Voila, it works just fine! Apparently it's just not up for leaving the house anymore. My friend ended up not getting the job and isn't a Mac fan, so now it's an extra laptop at home that I use to web surf and download digital copies of movies that require a disc to do so. The 500gb drive is also handy, provided it doesn't decide to fail from the previous abuse... I may replace it with another HDD if prices are favorable. I don't really need or want an SSD in that machine. Hybrid might be an option.
So despite the fact that I have two Mac laptops with the same amount of ram and running the same OS, they currently fit into different niches in my life.
I will say that the retina models with fewer moving parts will be hugely beneficial for students and commuters. If your MBP sits on a desk hooked up to a monitor and other peripherals, then you may have a different opinion. Personally I haven't used ethernet regularly since 2010 when my dorm didn't have wifi. I've never used FireWire, and HDMI is much more useful than mini DisplayPort. I already had a few external drives from when I was stretching the 160gb drive in my 09, so the 256gb SSD in my new retina is even better.
I will agree that the base 13" model with 4gb of ram and a 128gb SSD is not really useful for most people who need more than what a good tablet can do. Those kinds of specs should be for the MacBook Air line or no Macs at all.
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I will add that they can pry my 80gb iPod classic from 2007 out of my cold, dead hands! It still works and has good battery life and makes a lot of sense to hold my 30+gb music collection which is growing. If it does die, I really hope I'll still be able to get the 160gb version! I just don't need the extra features of the iPod Touch when I have an iPhone for that.
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Sounds like my boyfriend who found a new-in-box Lenovo ThinkPad from 2011 this past summer on Woot. He bought it and upgraded the ram to 8gb and installed a hybrid drive only to buy a used iPad mini and use that instead. He got grumpy at me for dumping on that laptop when I borrowed it when I was in between MacBook Pros. That thing is heavy and clunky as heck.
Personally I've been able to maintain the need for speed and retina and the occasional need for legacy tech by resurrecting my 2009 13" MBP when it seemed to be at the end of its life.
Basically I bought my 09 MBP in June before starting my freshman year of college. Base model with 2gb of ram and the 160gb HDD (I didn't know much at almost-18, and my parents didn't want to shell out a ton of money). It worked very well until it developed a sleep/wake issue and kept burning through SATA cables toward the end of AppleCare. I was able to continue getting free repairs even after AC ran out, but it got to the point where it would fail to boot nearly every time. The battery was also starting to go. I had upgraded the ram to 8gb but still had a replacement 500gb HDD.
So October came along, and I received the 13" mid-spec rMBP. It definitely makes daily computing much less frustrating, and I don't have to worry about moving parts failing because of the weight of books in my backpack
(That was quite literally the explanation I got from a Genius for why the 09 MBP SATA cable fails). But that wasn't the end of my 09 MBP! I didn't have any luck selling it for parts, so I went back one last time to the Genius Bar to get it looked at. They replaced the SATA cable for the umpteenth time, and I paid for a new battery. My friend who was computer science major needed a Mac to learn how to use Xcode for a potential job, so I got it fixed up and upgraded to Mavericks. Voila, it works just fine! Apparently it's just not up for leaving the house anymore. My friend ended up not getting the job and isn't a Mac fan, so now it's an extra laptop at home that I use to web surf and download digital copies of movies that require a disc to do so. The 500gb drive is also handy, provided it doesn't decide to fail from the previous abuse... I may replace it with another HDD if prices are favorable. I don't really need or want an SSD in that machine. Hybrid might be an option.
So despite the fact that I have two Mac laptops with the same amount of ram and running the same OS, they currently fit into different niches in my life.
I will say that the retina models with fewer moving parts will be hugely beneficial for students and commuters. If your MBP sits on a desk hooked up to a monitor and other peripherals, then you may have a different opinion. Personally I haven't used ethernet regularly since 2010 when my dorm didn't have wifi. I've never used FireWire, and HDMI is much more useful than mini DisplayPort. I already had a few external drives from when I was stretching the 160gb drive in my 09, so the 256gb SSD in my new retina is even better.
I will agree that the base 13" model with 4gb of ram and a 128gb SSD is not really useful for most people who need more than what a good tablet can do. Those kinds of specs should be for the MacBook Air line or no Macs at all.
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I will add that they can pry my 80gb iPod classic from 2007 out of my cold, dead hands! It still works and has good battery life and makes a lot of sense to hold my 30+gb music collection which is growing. If it does die, I really hope I'll still be able to get the 160gb version! I just don't need the extra features of the iPod Touch when I have an iPhone for that.
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Sounds like my boyfriend who found a new-in-box Lenovo ThinkPad from 2011 this past summer on Woot. He bought it and upgraded the ram to 8gb and installed a hybrid drive only to buy a used iPad mini and use that instead. He got grumpy at me for dumping on that laptop when I borrowed it when I was in between MacBook Pros. That thing is heavy and clunky as heck.
Do they really need to make a 12" retina notebook?
They need to bring back the 17" instead of making a marginally smaller one...
Oh my.
FYI your degree doesn't allow you to tell other people what they need, especially without knowing their lifestyle.
Your degree allows you to give an informed (hopefully) technical opinion on specific subjects, when requested and only after all the necessary information has been gathered.
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It boggles my mind how many people can figure out how to waste $5 a day on fast food, smoking, or other similar stuff, yet if computers were important to them, that would give them a yearly budget of $1825, or $11 grand over 6 years. While I do have a 6 year old iMac, all i do is random web browsing and playing videos. I can't imagine being a power user 6 years into a machine, that's just wasting seconds of my life with everything I do. Time is priceless, at least for me, so it's an easy choice.
I regret getting a non-retina MBP so bad.
The retina was still 1699 so that was out of reach, but I really wish I got a MBA. At the time I valued upgradability but now I value form factor way more. The old MBP form factor is just too damn thick and heavy these days, especially having a disk drive inside. I've used it like once.
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I'd take 128 GBs of PCI SSD over a infuriatingly slow HDD any day. Selling computers that boot on HDDs in 2014 should be illegal. You gotta wonder how much they alone hinder people's experiences with computers. They're such a bottleneck. I still can't believe Apple sells iMac's with HDDs standard. Please Apple just put a 1 TB fusion drive or 256 SSD in all iMacs. When you do that I'll buy one.
The retina was still 1699 so that was out of reach, but I really wish I got a MBA. At the time I valued upgradability but now I value form factor way more. The old MBP form factor is just too damn thick and heavy these days, especially having a disk drive inside. I've used it like once.
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I'd take 128 GBs of PCI SSD over a infuriatingly slow HDD any day. Selling computers that boot on HDDs in 2014 should be illegal.
You gotta wonder how much they alone hinder people's experiences with computers. They're such a bottleneck. I still can't believe Apple sells iMac's with HDDs standard. Please Apple just put a 1 TB fusion drive or 256 SSD in all iMacs. When you do that I'll buy one.
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This is just sad, and a great example of the narcistic attitude prevalent in these threads. Why should someone care about something being sold that they had no interest in buying anyway?
Exactly, some people think they need 8 GB of RAM for safari and 16 GB to edit a video in iMovie.
SSD's make RAM way less of an issue, plus memory compression in Mavericks.
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If a flash component doesn't break down in the first year it probably won't for another 5. I've never heard of a Macbook Air SSD dying. These aren't mechanical HDDs you know.
Yeah let's add 500 dollars onto the price to try and make a point.
"What about those who all they need is a Mac laptop?"
Macbook air 11 for 999?
Macbook air 13 for 1099?
Macbook pro retina for 1299?
This is the kinda stuff apple does that makes me think about going back to using windows laptops. I have a mid-2012 mbp. I chose it ovet getting an air because the ram was upgradable and had more storage than the air. The max storage for an air was 256gb at the time. I knew that wasn't going to be enough for me. SSD is still too pricey these days and i hate carrying external hdd around.
Its a shame seeing a great laptop laid too rest.
Its a shame seeing a great laptop laid too rest.
Ultrabooks have already had soldered RAM and non upgradeable hard drives for a while now.
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They probably already know a lot of people buy a new one every other year (if not every year) at current prices. So, why change anything?
Truth.
In any given week at the Apple Store I sold maybe two notebooks to people who knew what they were buying without it being spelled out to them.
The average Apple customer just wants a computer that "works" and has chosen an Apple because a friend, coworker or family member recommended it. Most new customers are college freshmen.
There are a lot of professionals out there that use Macs. But compared to 15 years ago, they pale in comparison to the number of Mac owners who's most complicated use of their Mac is organizing their image library in iPhoto.
You learn something new every day
Wow, I didn't realize Apple was still selling a 13" 2.5GHz MBP for $1199. I picked up mine in July 2012, one month after introduction, from Fry's on sale for $999, and have since upgraded the RAM from 4 to 8GB and put in a 256GB SSD. Yep, it's a sad day that upgradable MacBooks are going by the wayside.
Wow, I didn't realize Apple was still selling a 13" 2.5GHz MBP for $1199. I picked up mine in July 2012, one month after introduction, from Fry's on sale for $999, and have since upgraded the RAM from 4 to 8GB and put in a 256GB SSD. Yep, it's a sad day that upgradable MacBooks are going by the wayside.
This is hilarious
.Has anyone seriously USED a rMBP??? Compared it to a non retina MBP in terms of speed and power? Its not even close. The rMBP is so much more responsive and so much more powerful. I bought one (with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB Flash Drive) and its replaced my MacPro as far as power and speed. Could I use 1TB of storage? Sure, but I actually like the fact that I have to be frugal with my disk usage. I have a nice external for my Photo and Music libraries that I usually have attached to my Mac Pro, not my rMBP, but I can easily connect it if needed. As for Logic Pro which I use professionally, it screams. Welcome to the new world of computing. You will replace your machine faster, but you will pay less for performance. I know people with the non retina MBP and the difference isn't small at all. I will replace my aging Mac Pro this year with the new Mac Mini. For $1000 it will have all the performance I need for years. When it comes time to upgrade in 4 years, I'll spend another $1000. I was going to get the new Mac Pro for its upgradability, but that will cost me 4K
Thats 4 Mac Minis and if I replace them every 3 years, thats 12 years before the Mac Pro makes more sense financially.
Strangely enough, with only 4 gigs of RAM, I can have Final Cut Pro X, Parallels, Windows 8.1 all running switching back and forth, and I rarely see a penalty for the RAM swap. I totally understand the other penalties, but it's weird, when you're using it for 95% of everything, you really don't notice it. It's that darn Flash HD that makes everything so spiffy!
Now the hard drive space... I'll give you that, but I just have a wireless drive I connect to to dump photos and vids to. I treat my laptop like a ssd on a Mac Pro tower... just the apps and my active project files, please! ^_^
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Yup the technology in 10.9 makes it much more efficient on RAM with the new hardware. A lot of people are thinking about how it USED to work, not how the new machines work now. I have 8 GB and it flies Logic Pro, running dozens of plug ins, and 60 tracks and the CPU is at under 50% load and about 10% on the SSD. When I see the older non retina MBP running this stuff its soooo much more sluggish. The SSD is really a huge deal.
And that's why they want to discontinue MBP and force you to buy rMBP ... more $$$ for Apple
I honestly think this is the ONLY reason why they solder in parts like RAM and SSD ... if they wanted they sure could make these parts removable and keep rMBP thin as is.
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Sorry I meant 16GB RAM total. It's around $380 from Apple here in Europe.
Who are you, the display police?
not to mention you exaggerated for $400, Apple currently charges 100$ for an SSD, Iris Pro (vs HD4000) AND a Retina display. If anything, Apple is crazy for charging that much for the old uMBP.
Of course it is fast as its internals have been upgraded while the non-retina has been stagnant for quite a while now. However, those internals in the old upgradable/serviceable chassis would be equally fast without sacrificing on the options to keep the machine usable for quite a deal longer.
I keep picturing the unfortunate day when I will have to give up on Macs because they're priced out of reach of most people. Apple keeps heading down the road of non-upgradable systems and a locked out OS.
Once Apple drops the 13-inch MacBook Pro, their cheapest laptop Mac I'd even consider for daily use works out to $1600!!! I can only hope Apple's prices come down in the next few years, and/or Apple decides to start pricing their RAM much closer to market price.
Once Apple drops the 13-inch MacBook Pro, their cheapest laptop Mac I'd even consider for daily use works out to $1600!!! I can only hope Apple's prices come down in the next few years, and/or Apple decides to start pricing their RAM much closer to market price.