Apple MacBook Pro 15.4-Inch with Retina Display & Powerful Beast of a Machine
Back in 2012, Apple launched its first 15-inch MacBook Pro With Retina Display and we called it "the laptop from the future." Now...
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Back in 2012, Apple launched its first 15-inch MacBook Pro With Retina Display and we called it "the laptop from the future." Now packed with better specs, better battery life and a lower price, is the 2013 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro Apple's ultimate notebook computer?
We tested the base model, which sells for $1,999. That price point tells you exactly who Apple is targeting with this machine: Power users and professionals who want a desktop-class notebook that can also be portable.
While the new 13-inch MacBook Pro With Retina Display can be compared with the MacBook Air, the more fair comparison with the 15-inch MacBook Pro With Retina Display (rMBP from here on out) is the 27-inch iMac.
The latest 2013 edition of the 15-inch rMBP has the same form factor as the previous version but it has lots of new internals.
This isn't going to be the lightest laptop you've ever used but, given the size of the screen, the weight is well distributed and relatively easy to manage.
Text and images are clear, colors are vivid and the screen is a thing of beauty. The power of the display is really visible when connected to a second monitor. I have a 24-inch Dell monitor on my desk. This is not a great monitor — it's passable with some calibration but it's a standard 1,920 x 1,080 TFT display. Next to the 15-inch rMBP, everything seems blurry and old-school.
Since Apple first introduced its first 15-inch rMBP in June 2012, the majority of websites and third-party apps have updated themselves to support HiDPI displays. A few Mac apps — including Steam and Origin — haven't added Retina support — but those are the vast minority.
Moreover, the web is now increasingly Retina-friendly too, thanks to the proliferation of HiDPI tablets and smartphones. Some elements, including website favicons, still stick out as being unoptimized, but support has improved remarkably over the last 12 months.
The addition of Haswell means that the battery performance on the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina is better. Coupled with OS X Mavericks, Apple promises nine hours of battery life.
In our tests, you could achieve that much battery life if you're just doing light typing or watching movies, but doing anything more processor intensive takes that down a bit. I would say that under what I would consider "normal" use, you can count on getting between 6.5-7 hours of battery life on the 15-inch rMBP. This isn't as much as you can get from the latest 13-inch MacBook Pro, but it's a marked improvement over what I saw on the 2012 13-inch rMBP.
One of the best parts of OS X Mavericks is that it lets you know what apps are sucking the most battery. This is useful on a MacBook Air but I found it even more useful on the 15-inch rMBP, where I found myself opening up more apps and graphically intensive games just because I could.
I ran the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test app and saw over 660 MB/s writes speeds and read speeds of over 720 MB/s. That's incredibly fast and you feel that sort of performance throughout the machine.
When using disk-heavy apps such as Photoshop Creative Cloud as well as Apple's Final Cut X and Aperture, I really noticed the performance improvements on the disk. I never felt as if I needed to wait for anything to load on the 15-inch rMBP.
Likewise, I was unable to test 802.11ac speeds but I had no problems making connections with 802.11n.
The default configuration is a quad-core 2.0GHz with a Turbot Boost of up to 3.2GHz. I wanted for nothing in the speed arena. Even loading up graphically intensive and data hungry games — such as Civilization V and Metro Last Light.
Speaking of graphics, one of the changes Apple made with the late 2013 15-inch rMBP is to move away from offering discrete graphics as a standard option. Instead, you only get a discrete graphics card if you upgrade to the $2,599 rMBP (which also includes a faster processor, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD).
Intel says its Iris Pro graphics are "on par" with the graphics you would get from a discrete graphics card. In certain tests, this appears to be true. In my own experience, running transcodes in HandBrake and doing an OpenCL benchmark shows performance that meets or exceeds what last year's Nvidia GeForce GT 650M. With more on-board RAM, that number might have even improved.
Given the high starting price of the rMBP, I tend to think that making the decision to upgrade the RAM to 16GB rather than 8GB is a good idea. That way, you're protecting your investment for a few more years.
With the late 2013 model, Apple changes things up a bit because discrete graphics are only available with the $2,599 model. I'm not convinced that most users will need the discrete graphics option — and just paying the $200 to upgrade the RAM might be enough.
Still, if you are going to plan on doing lots of 4K video editing with multiple displays, I almost think you have to look at getting the $2,599 model.
Because of these price points, the 15-inch rMBP really is a "pro" computer.
Last year, I considered the 15-inch MacBook Pro With Retina Display the best laptop I'd ever used. The 2013 model is even better.
That said, there are a few niggles that keep the rMBP from being my perfect laptop. The first is the issue of the integrated graphics. Intel's Iris Pro graphics are impressive — and to be sure, I didn't run into any issues using the machine with a swath of editing and graphically intensive apps.
That said, because of the non-upgradable nature of the RAM and SSD, it makes the most economic sense for users who think they might upgrade to pony up the $2,599 for the higher-end model. A $600 price increase changes the value computation on this laptop a bit. It's still the most powerful Mac laptop you can buy — and it's still a great machine — but the price/value equation starts to dissipate a bit.
The other challenge is that last year, the 13-inch MacBook Pro With Retina Display was a machine that didn't feel quite ready. This year that's different and that machine is more competitive, more powerful and has more options. As a result, the 15-inch MacBook Pro With Retina Display has some competition — and it may not be the "perfect" laptop for professionals.
Still, at the end of the day, the 15-inch MacBook Pro With Retina Display is powerful, beautiful and it gets great battery life.
If you want a Mac notebook that can offer the power of a 27-inch iMac, the latest 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display is a powerful, if expensive, beast.
We tested the base model, which sells for $1,999. That price point tells you exactly who Apple is targeting with this machine: Power users and professionals who want a desktop-class notebook that can also be portable.
Design Remains the Same, Internals Get a Boost
The base model includes a quad-core 2.0GHz Intel Core i7 chip, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB flash drive for storage. In addition, the notebook is also equipped with 802.11ac Wi-Fi, a pair of Thunderbolt 2 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, a full-size HDMI jack and an SDXC card slot. At almost 4.5 pounds, the 15-inch rMBP isn't the lightest notebook on the block, but it isn't the heaviest either. I missed the lighter weight of my 13-inch MacBook Air, but found that the rMBP was much more portable than I anticipated.The base model includes a quad-core 2.0GHz Intel Core i7 chip, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB flash drive for storage.
This isn't going to be the lightest laptop you've ever used but, given the size of the screen, the weight is well distributed and relatively easy to manage.
That Screen
The 2,880 x 1,800 display is a thing of beauty. Apple's default mode is to double the pixels, giving 1,440 x 900 pixels of usable screen resolution. This is the same resolution as the MacBook Air I use every day, but obviously with the sort of clarity you can only get from a Retina-class device.Text and images are clear, colors are vivid and the screen is a thing of beauty. The power of the display is really visible when connected to a second monitor. I have a 24-inch Dell monitor on my desk. This is not a great monitor — it's passable with some calibration but it's a standard 1,920 x 1,080 TFT display. Next to the 15-inch rMBP, everything seems blurry and old-school.
Since Apple first introduced its first 15-inch rMBP in June 2012, the majority of websites and third-party apps have updated themselves to support HiDPI displays. A few Mac apps — including Steam and Origin — haven't added Retina support — but those are the vast minority.
Moreover, the web is now increasingly Retina-friendly too, thanks to the proliferation of HiDPI tablets and smartphones. Some elements, including website favicons, still stick out as being unoptimized, but support has improved remarkably over the last 12 months.
It's hard to describe the power of a Retina screen — you truly have to see it in person. As someone who spends most of her day in front of a text editor, I wouldn't have thought that a HiDPI screen would be such a draw — but it is.It's hard to describe the power of a Retina screen — you truly have to see it in person.
Battery Life
With the 15-inch rMBP, Apple is using Intel's latest Crystalwell chipset, which combines the Haswell processor with new Iris Pro integrated graphics. We'll talk more about Iris Pro below, but the idea is that you can get discrete graphics performance from an integrated solution.The addition of Haswell means that the battery performance on the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina is better. Coupled with OS X Mavericks, Apple promises nine hours of battery life.
In our tests, you could achieve that much battery life if you're just doing light typing or watching movies, but doing anything more processor intensive takes that down a bit. I would say that under what I would consider "normal" use, you can count on getting between 6.5-7 hours of battery life on the 15-inch rMBP. This isn't as much as you can get from the latest 13-inch MacBook Pro, but it's a marked improvement over what I saw on the 2012 13-inch rMBP.
One of the best parts of OS X Mavericks is that it lets you know what apps are sucking the most battery. This is useful on a MacBook Air but I found it even more useful on the 15-inch rMBP, where I found myself opening up more apps and graphically intensive games just because I could.
Screaming SSD Speeds
As with the 2013 MacBook Air, both rMBP models now include PCIe solid-state drives (SSDs). This is considerably faster than the SATA connection used before.I ran the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test app and saw over 660 MB/s writes speeds and read speeds of over 720 MB/s. That's incredibly fast and you feel that sort of performance throughout the machine.
The Promise of Thunderbolt 2
I was unable to test the Thunderbolt 2 port for pure speed but it worked beautifully with Thunderbolt 1 devices. The real promise of the Thunderbolt 2 is with 4K video solutions. We fully expect to see 4K displays that support Thunderbolt 2 (Thunderbolt 2 Retina Display, anyone?) in the coming months, which makes the 15-inch rMBP feel future proof.Likewise, I was unable to test 802.11ac speeds but I had no problems making connections with 802.11n.
Processor and Graphics
The new Haswell processors were primarily designed to give better battery life, without compromising on processor speed. As you can see, it scored very well on GeekBench 3, consistently scoring over 3,000 in the single-core test and close to 12,000 in the multi-core test. You can see my full GeekBench 3 results here and here.Speaking of graphics, one of the changes Apple made with the late 2013 15-inch rMBP is to move away from offering discrete graphics as a standard option. Instead, you only get a discrete graphics card if you upgrade to the $2,599 rMBP (which also includes a faster processor, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD).
Intel says its Iris Pro graphics are "on par" with the graphics you would get from a discrete graphics card. In certain tests, this appears to be true. In my own experience, running transcodes in HandBrake and doing an OpenCL benchmark shows performance that meets or exceeds what last year's Nvidia GeForce GT 650M. With more on-board RAM, that number might have even improved.
Where things fall apart, however, is with games. Although every game I played ran just fine on the 15-inch rMBP (especially if I kept the graphics to 1,920 x 1,080 or lower), as you can see from Bare Feats games benchmarks, the Iris Pro graphics still can't stand up to last year's discrete card. As a result, if you're interested in serious gaming, upgrading to the rMBP with Nvidia GT 750M graphics is the way to go.Where things fall apart, however, is with games.
The Issue of Upgrades (or Lack Thereof)
The one thing you need to consider before buying a 15-inch rMBP — or any Apple laptop these days — is that it's not easy to upgrade after the fact. Although some third-party SSD upgrade kits will likely make an appearance in the future, your hard drive and RAM choices can't be changed after you make your purchase.Given the high starting price of the rMBP, I tend to think that making the decision to upgrade the RAM to 16GB rather than 8GB is a good idea. That way, you're protecting your investment for a few more years.
With the late 2013 model, Apple changes things up a bit because discrete graphics are only available with the $2,599 model. I'm not convinced that most users will need the discrete graphics option — and just paying the $200 to upgrade the RAM might be enough.
Still, if you are going to plan on doing lots of 4K video editing with multiple displays, I almost think you have to look at getting the $2,599 model.
Because of these price points, the 15-inch rMBP really is a "pro" computer.
The (Almost) Perfect Laptop
That said, there are a few niggles that keep the rMBP from being my perfect laptop. The first is the issue of the integrated graphics. Intel's Iris Pro graphics are impressive — and to be sure, I didn't run into any issues using the machine with a swath of editing and graphically intensive apps.
That said, because of the non-upgradable nature of the RAM and SSD, it makes the most economic sense for users who think they might upgrade to pony up the $2,599 for the higher-end model. A $600 price increase changes the value computation on this laptop a bit. It's still the most powerful Mac laptop you can buy — and it's still a great machine — but the price/value equation starts to dissipate a bit.
The other challenge is that last year, the 13-inch MacBook Pro With Retina Display was a machine that didn't feel quite ready. This year that's different and that machine is more competitive, more powerful and has more options. As a result, the 15-inch MacBook Pro With Retina Display has some competition — and it may not be the "perfect" laptop for professionals.
Still, at the end of the day, the 15-inch MacBook Pro With Retina Display is powerful, beautiful and it gets great battery life.
The Lowdown
What's Good- Amazing screen
- Greatly improved battery life
- Fantastic performance and speed
- Very expensive with discrete graphics
- Cannot upgrade after purchase
- Where's my Thunderbolt 2 display?
If you want a Mac notebook that can offer the power of a 27-inch iMac, the latest 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display is a powerful, if expensive, beast.
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