The next-gen MacBook Pro with Retina Display Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on June 23, 2012 4:14 AM EST- Posted in
- Mac
- Apple
- MacBook Pro
- Laptops
- Notebooks
Ports & Expansion
Port layout has been greatly simplified on the next-gen MacBook Pro. Along the left side there’s now a MagSafe 2 connector, two Thunderbolt ports, one USB 3.0 and one 1/8” jack for mic/headphones. The right side has the other USB 3.0 port, a full sized HDMI port and an SD card reader.
MagSafe 2 is a thinner version of Apple’s MagSafe connector, and it’s used on both the Retina MacBook Pro and the 2012 MacBook Airs. The rMBP still ships with the same 85W power adapter as before, but now with an integrated MagSafe 2 connector. In order to deal with the change in connector, Apple offers a $10 converter that allows you to plug MagSafe 1 power supplies into MagSafe 2 systems. All new Thunderbolt Displays shipping from here on out will include the MagSafe 2 converter.
The absence of an integrated Gigabit Ethernet port will surely bother some, but Apple offers a Thunderbolt to GigE adapter for $30 to accommodate. Since Thunderbolt effectively offers an external PCIe interface, there’s no performance loss if you go this route vs. the old integrated GigE connector. I was able to sustain nearly 930Mbps between the rMBP with the Thunderbolt GigE adapter and last year’s MBP:
At a price of $30 Apple is most certainly using Intel’s Port Ridge Thunderbolt controller, a cost effective single-channel TB controller without any support for DisplayPort passthrough.
USB 3.0 is provided courtesy of Intel’s 7-series chipset. Apple supports the USB Attached SCSI protocol which should allow for even better performance than what I’m showing below (with all of my focus on Thunderbolt I actually don't have a 6Gbps UASP enabled USB 3.0 dock in house):
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KoolAidMan1 - Friday, July 6, 2012 - link
Please, MBAs have always had good CPUs, and what is happening now with Ivy Bridge is nothing new.I get it, in your world, Ivy Bridge is magically low when it is in an Apple laptop, got it.
Your argument is undermined because you have none, and your name calling only nails down how desperate you are.
Spunjji - Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - link
Idiot.KoolAidMan1 - Saturday, June 23, 2012 - link
16:9 display, who cares?Ohhmaagawd - Saturday, June 23, 2012 - link
"Rubbish, there are plenty of other companies who are far more innovative than Apple whose machines look basic in comparison - Sony's older Z series had a very high resolution 13.1in 1080p screen, blu-ray writer, quad SSDs in RAID 0, integrated and discrete graphics card and the fastest of te dual core i7's while still smaller and lighter than Apple's 13in machines and that was a couple of years ago. Apple aren't even close to touching most of its technology and probably never will."how is any of that innovative? Quad SSDs/RAID 0 is pretty cool - i'll get them that. But other than that? I looked at these things. They have freaking VGA ports. They look like decent machines with above average designs, but that's about it.
So what's innovative about apple laptops? mag safe. glass trackpads that don't suck (no one else makes a useable trackpad IMO). unibody aluminum case. magnetic latch system is unmatched. event the little prongs on the small power supply are nicer than anything else I've see. ability to sleep and wake up :) (I still haven't used a Windows laptop that consistently can do this). backlit keyboard. thunderbolt connector (first on mac) allows you to realistically use only two connections - thunderbolt for display/data and power. first to have ultra thin laptops (Air). and now the retina display.
OCedHrt - Sunday, June 24, 2012 - link
As others answered, the VGA ports is because many projects use VGA still and the target is upper management and enthusiasts. This comes from Japan's management hierarchy. Except Sony to refresh with a dongle of some kind in the future now that Apple doesn't have an exclusive on thunderbolt.Ohhmaagawd - Sunday, June 24, 2012 - link
Thunderbolt was never mac exclusive: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2380954,00.as...And any company could have used display port as apple did previously.
Answer to the projector prob is a dongle (that's what I do). Or buy a decent projector. Or better yet - just get an HDTV.
Spunjji - Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - link
Oh sure, buy a decent projector for every client you're visiting on your business trips. Problem solved!Dumbass.
vegemeister - Monday, July 2, 2012 - link
>They have freaking VGA ports.Er, how is this a problem?
kmmatney - Sunday, June 24, 2012 - link
Too bad Sony doesn't have the balls to make a 16:10 display.ramb0 - Monday, June 25, 2012 - link
yeah sure. The Finger Swipe security feature is probably the best innovation outside of Apple. I mean, that feature totally took off. It's amazing Apple hasn't caught on yet. I guess they're too busy innovating features that people actually give a fuck about. And by "people" i'm talking about the majority, not little nit pick wankers like you.