- 2012 macbook pro retina update#
- 2012 macbook pro retina pro#
- 2012 macbook pro retina software#
- 2012 macbook pro retina windows#
2012 macbook pro retina pro#
Interestingly, like the other 13 and 15-inch MacBooks, the new Retina Pro sticks with a 16:10 aspect ratio, using the much more common 16:9 only in the 11-inch MacBook Air. The non-Retina 15-inch Pro used for comparison has a 1,440x900-pixel native resolution. Compare blocks of text side by side (using the "reader" button in Safari is a great way to do that), on a Retina and a standard MacBook Pro screen, and the difference is unmistakable, as seen above. Colors pop and images have great depth, but the biggest difference to me, same as with the latest iPad, is in text.
2012 macbook pro retina software#
By adjusting the dot pitch and promoting the use of customized software (some of Apple's own apps and, not surprisingly, Photoshop, have already been updated), text and images avoid the typical high-resolution pitfall of appearing too small.Įven in everyday use, the screen looks amazing. Of course, it's just a branded name for a very high-resolution screen - 2,880x1,800 pixels, a level previously unseen in laptops (I've seen some larger desktop monitors come close). Now that this very high-resolution screen technology has come to the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Pro, it's something of an Apple staple, and future products will have to at least consider including it. The Retina Display is the real hardware breakthrough of the system. The Retina (left) and non-Retina MacBook Pro displays compared. There are some patents, secret sauce, and OS-level sleight of hand behind this, but the practical result is touchpad experience far more satisfying than on any other laptop. And the trackpad, with its multifinger gestures, remains the industry leader. Other laptops have matched, but not surpassed, the backlit Apple keyboard. The keyboard and trackpad are essentially the same as seen on the last several generations of MacBook, which is a good thing. Along with the slablike, non-tapered body, I'd say the new Pro leans 70/30 or more toward the Pro rather than the Air in terms of design DNA. The design of the speakers, on either side of the keyboard, is lifted from the MacBook Pro. I could see carrying this new, thinner Pro around with you several days per week, or maybe to and from work on a daily subway commute at a stretch.įrom a distance, this could be mistaken for an Air, but up close, it's a different story. More often than that, especially with the traditional 15-inch MacBook Pro, and it really drags you down.
Still, it feels like a nice shift from the current Pro, which is what I'd call a "carry it around twice per week, tops" laptop. Because it eclipses the previous MacBook Pro in many ways, it earns a CNET Editors' Choice nod.
It provides desktop-replacement-level performance, but is nearly as slim as an imagined 15-inch MacBook Air would be, even if it's a little heavier than it looks. In the end, the MacBook Pro with Retina Display, while expensive, is the best all-around MacBook Apple now makes - unless you absolutely, positively need a built-in optical drive or Ethernet jack (both are available via external dongles or peripherals).
2012 macbook pro retina update#
It'll likely be more useful for heavy readers or Photoshop/Final Cut users at first, and we'll have to see how long it takes for other popular programs to update themselves to take advantage of the new screen.
In person, the Retina Display looks great, although you're more likely to notice it when comparing to a non-Retina laptop. Apple solves this via a different dot pitch for the screen, much as it did on the third-gen iPad. That previous high-water mark has been fine in my experience, but even that can make text and images look small on a 15-inch laptop.
2012 macbook pro retina windows#
The highest standard Windows laptop screen resolution is 1,920x1,080 pixels, the same as an HDTV. Its resolution is 2,880x1,800 pixels, providing a level of detail never seen on a laptop before. Of course, the real highlight is that new Retina Display.