Apple’s new MacBook with3in Retina display
goes beyond the border of Air and Pro effectively, yet with a high price.
Looking down any rows in Apple’s events, in
the laps of journalist writing blog or about what is going on, you will surely
see MacBook, a lot of MacBooks. As this laptop is linked with owners spending
days flying over the world to join events of companies, these laptops are often
travel-friendly laptops. Thus, while we are excited seeing a lighter and
slimmer MacBook Pro with a 15in screen that has been introduced by the
beginning of this year, many of us questioned: Where’s the 13in version?” Now, it’s
here. Why have to wait for months? That’s because Apple (Supply chain concerns?
Design issue?) But the most important is that it is available, regarding
aspects, it is a smaller demonstration, without any compromise from the
previous 15in model. It is lighter and slimmer than the existing Pro 13in but
promises better components and similar battery life to that of Air 13in.
Perfect components of the mobility and performance? Let’s check out.
Hardware
If you get used to MacBook Pro 15in with
Retina display that Apple sold in June 2012, you might know about his model in
advance. With an exception in size, these two models look identical, starting
with port configuration. In the left, you will find a new MagSafe 2 connector,
two Thunderbolt ports, one USB 3.0 port and headphone jack – like those in 15in
model. In the right, similarly, with another USB 3.0 port, along with a
large-sized HDMI output and a built-in SDCX reader.
Thus, mentioning physical connection, you
lose nothing, regarding its sibling – but you also obtain nothing. There’s
still no Ethernet jack (Thunderbolt adapter is available for $29.99). Besides, there’s
no optical drive as well as mobile connection thus you should sign a MiFi
contract. You will need it.
A
new MagSafe 2 connector, two Thunderbolt ports, one USB 3.0 port and headphone
jack
Similarity in connection options also
extends to wireless area. You have a dual-channel 802.11a/b/g/n support as well
as Bluetooth 4.0 for short-distance broadcast. There’s one 720p FaceTime camera
with 2 microphone, stereo speaker and 1080p display. What’s the difference? The
first is the display, which is now a 13.3in model listed in 2560x1600 grid.
While it is not on par with the 15.4in sibling’s 2,880x1,800 resolution, it
surpasses the older and bigger Pro model’s 1280x800. What powers the screen has
been changed, with Pro 13in, the Retina screen depends on Intel HD Graphics. Retina
Pro 15in has NVidia GeForce GT 650M Kepler which is stronger with 1GB of GDDR5
RAM.
Other hardware specs are different, too. But
we are sure that Retina Pro 13in generally components that marks puts it in a
lower level than the 15in model. A dual-core chip is found, instead of a
quad-core one. And there’s a dependence on integral graphic processor which
some people may feel annoying.
All you have is a compact laptop which is
generally powerful and well designed. The aluminum MacBook Pro always impresses
us with the bulletproof unibody. Trying to twist the laptop at your most
effort, it doesn’t bend.
Of
course, the new Pro 13in is thinner than the old one, and similar to Retina
15in as well as its predecessor
Similar hardness can be found in the lid,
despite its slimness. The 13in screen here uses similar connection technique
used in Air and Retina Pro 15in to reduce the screen frame. Yes, it’s still
glossy. No, you can order an anti-glare screen but the brightness will be
considerably reduced in comparison with standard Pro models.
Of course, the new Pro 13in is thinner than
the old one, and similar to Retina 15in as well as its predecessor, it is
pretty small. It seizes 12.35in high x 8.62in deep. For model with optical
drive, the size is 12.78x8.94in. This the likely controversial topic is its
thickness and the new model is 20% thinner than the old model: 0.75in vs.
0.95in. Curiously and sadly, it is really thicker than Retina Pro 15in which is
only 0.71in deep. At least it is lighter than these two models, with 3.57pounds
(1.62kg). It is much lighter than the 13in model featuring no Retina weighing 4.5
pound and the 15in Retina model weighing 4.46 pound.
It is as heavy as the new Air which weighs
2.96 pound (1.35kg). Though, Air is slimmer with 0.68in thickness.
The
wide black joint is available as expected and it still offer proper tension
However, the design is quite familiar. The
wide black joint is available as expected and it still offer proper tension. 4 hard-rubber
feet still points out from the corners, functioning similarly in keeping the
laptop from slipping out your lap or desk. The backlight works effectively as it
can be dimmed and the floating layout feels as great as we expected from the
whole MacBook series. As this is the Pro model, buttons are quite deeper and
faster than Air’s ones. Any MacBook user will type the maximum WPM speed at
first.
Now, the speaker lying under the keyboard
delivers a great amount of volume as well as good sound for your occasional
usage. You can play music via them if necessary, for example when you need to
step out of your headphone’s range enough to iron a shirt or forage the mini
bar in your hotel, but we recommend to link with other audio broadcast if you
are concerned about an accurate sound reproduction. Sound quality is good but
lacks bass.
