Can you hear the barrage of naysayers? I can! (I also hear voices in my head, so this comes as no surprise.)
Let's face it: Whenever there are new Apple products released, some of us will be thrilled, and some of us will clamor, "That's it?" It's the way it just works. Every time.
The reasonable among us will realize that Apple hasn't gotten to where it has through careless decision-making processes regarding its launches. These are carefully timed, some might say, to perfection. Let's focus on the best thing to come out of WWDC.
Let's face it: Whenever there are new Apple products released, some of us will be thrilled, and some of us will clamor, "That's it?" It's the way it just works. Every time.
The reasonable among us will realize that Apple hasn't gotten to where it has through careless decision-making processes regarding its launches. These are carefully timed, some might say, to perfection. Let's focus on the best thing to come out of WWDC.
We'll cut straight to the chase. Apple's new MacBook Pro with Retina display is brilliant. Literally. The new 15.4" IPS display, with a ground-breaking 2880x1800 (up from 1440x900 or the custom-build 1680x1050) is quite simply a game changer. As with the iPhone 4 and the 2012 iPad, once you experience resolution like this, it's impossible to go back. And with the tremendous contrast and viewing angles afforded by the IPS display (a first in a MacBook), this screen really is the new benchmark.
Aside from the display, the blazing quad-core processor, SSD options, and decent video card offering, it's the first Apple notebook to come standard with 8GB RAM, with an option to specify 16GB RAM at checkout. Of course none of this technology comes cheap. The "base" model (which is more than enough notebook for most users) is $2199. Is it worth it? We say: absolutely. We do, however, balk at the idea of nearly $4,000 for the top-spec machine, but we think that system is not really necessary and will make up a very small percentage of Apple's sales.
PS We're sad there's no WiFi 802.11ac, but we'll survive.
Reflection:
Most of our assumptions regarding Apple's line rang true: The dumping of the 17" MacBook Pro is not a surprise, and the release of the new 15.4" MacBook Pro with Retina display alongside the old model is a smart move on Apple's part. As it stands, the "old" non-Retina display MacBook Pro, including the CPU/GPU/RAM refresh it received yesterday, is a tried and tested design. It sells very well for Apple, so it's easy to update internally to bring it in line with other manufacturers' specifications in terms of power/USB 3.0 etc. There's no rush to discontinue itl. What is in doubt is how the masses will take to a DVD-less, ethernet-less, Firewire-less, more expensive model as the Retina display MacBook Pro is. Yes, you can add all those features back with adapters and an external optical drive, but for now it's simple for Apple to test the MacBook Pro waters by selling the previous-design (with spec bump) alongside the new Retina display MacBook Pro. And of course, when you have the old Pro next to the new Pro in an Apple Store, it gives customers a chance to see just how much nicer that Retina display is. The old design will be phased out in time, we don't doubt.
For us, this new MacBook Pro is a game changer. Finally we're seeing the push for high-resolution displays and thinner, lighter-but-still-powerful 15" notebooks. The question is, where is everyone else? It started with the iPhone 4. The new iPad with its Retina display was an obvious next step, and still nothing competes with the current-generation iPad. Scrap that: We'd say nothing truly competes with the original iPad from 2010. How sad is that? Competition is good for business, and we're just not seeing this competition at all.
While we're thrilled that Apple has raised the bar, we're still surprised by a few things:
1.) No iMac refresh. Not even a little bitty one. Maybe the next update will be a redesign in line with the Retina display MacBook Pro. Thinner, no optical drive, less chin, very powerful. Yes please! We suspect that some users waiting for a refreshed iMac may just go ahead and buy the Retina display MacBook Pro + Thunderbolt Display instead? Apple's strategy?
2.) No Mac mini refresh. We're less surprised by this one, but still - it would have been a simple upgrade.
3.) The Mac Pro received a middling refresh. Why the tease? Either boost it considerably or just discontinue it, Apple!
4.) We appreciate the details here; at WWDC a minute was even spent describing the asymmetric blade layout of the new MacBook Pro's system fan, which reportedly varies the frequency of sound caused by whirring. We love this because fan noises bother us; this is a good surprise!
5.) Lack of competition. (We mentioned this before, and we'll mention it again)
That's About It:
It's an exciting time to be an Apple fan. iOS 6 will be here in a few months, complete with its fantastic Maps app (we're very excited by this) among many other things. And let's not forget OS X Mountain Lion next month. Full speed ahead, Mr. Cook.
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