I just got my 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display delivered to my door. This is my first ever Apple computer as I’ve always been the “œPC” guy, but I must say I was a bit excited (but I didn’t want to show it too much to my wife).
Apple’s announcement of their latest MacBook Pros at their last WWDC Conference couldn’t have come at a better time. I was then in the market for Ultrabooks and was just waiting for the release of the newest Asus Zenbook Prime. But, as I followed the live blog of Apple’s Keynote speech, I became convinced the MacBook Pro with Retina Display was what I was looking for as “œmy next PC.”
So enough about the backstory and on to the unboxing photos and some first impressions, shall we?
Let me start by saying, the box packaging is pretty impressive. It is simple yet so nice that I might decide to keep it as well, nicely tucked in one of the nooks of my home office.
Lifting the MacBook Pro the very first time, I can feel its lightness compared to other PC laptops I’ve held before it. No more aching backs for me while carrying this around in my backpack!
All the available ports are conveniently located on both sides. The speaker grills are nicely placed on either side of the keyboard. And as I’m writing this post, I can say typing is very comfortable because of the keys’ tactile feedback and spacing. I can even adjust the brightness of the keys’ backlight.
The trackpad performs great too! It is very responsive and not too sensitive. And all the multi-touch gestures that can be done is just icing on the cake. The only thing I complained about at first is why it didn’t register my taps as clicks. I thought having to click the trackpad all the time would be a pain. But luckily, all I had to do was to enable Tap to Click on the System Preferences. Now why is that not enabled by default?
The only thing I worry about is that this doesn’t have an optical drive. But come to think of it, it has been a while since I burned files on a CD or installed something from a CD. Most software installations can now be done just by downloading and running the executables. Sharing files has also become convenient through the use of USB Flash sticks and the cloud.
Now let’s talk about what makes this machine cool. The vents are barely noticeable, unobtrusively located on the sides and on the hinge of the Retina Display. And honestly, since I booted this, I haven’t heard the internal fans go off and haven’t felt a warm breeze coming out of the vents, like it is with the usual PC laptops I’ve used. However, the underside gets warm, so I don’t advise placing it on top of bare laps for too long.
Booting this up is such a breeze, taking maybe a second, and you’re on your way to productivity. It is currently running Mac OS X Lion (version 10.7.4) but I was promised of a free upgrade to Mountain Lion once it is released. If you do get this, be sure to hit the Software Update button, since there will be software updates waiting for you.
Apple keeps on touting its Retina Displays, but I honestly haven’t noticed it. Yeah, the pictures and text are crisp and clear, but i don’t really see anything special about it. Perhaps only when I’ve taken pictures at 40 megapixels or videos at 4K resolution, will I truly appreciate this display.I haven’t tested the battery life yet, but if Apple stays true to what they say, then I should be able to expect 7 hours of unplugged computing with WiFi on.
Conclusion
My first impression on the Macbook Pro with Retina Display is overwhelmingly positive. It got me convinced to finally appreciate a Mac. If you’re looking for a professional-grade “œultrabook,” I think this should be your top choice! Now I just have to figure out how to dual-boot this with Windows to do everything PCs can do. Then I won’t have to pretend I’m not excited about it!
The 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display starts at Php107,990.
Editor’s note: This post is contributed by Niño Guba with some slight revisions by the editor. Niño is a web/mobile app developer who’s very into consumer technology. He was the PC in the PC vs. Mac wars and also for the green robot eating the apple. Evidently, he’s slowly becoming more accepting of the Apple psyche. If you want to check out the list of gadgets he own, check out his Gdgt page. He’s also a fan of RX93.1’s TMR show and even dedicated a site just for their Top 10s.