The 2015 MacBook Review
by Ryan Smith on April 14, 2015 10:15 AM ESTThe MacBook’s Usability
But by far the biggest question however is what all of this lends towards the usability of the new MacBook. With Apple developing a smaller form factor and then charging a premium price for it, whether it’s worth it is a perfectly legitimate question. And the answer to that question is that it depends.
We’ll get to the all-important performance considerations in a bit, but I want to start with design first. For something built for a new form factor like a MacBook I think it’s important to look at the overall design and whether it makes sense in the first place before even getting to the tradeoffs Apple made to get here.
The 2015 MacBook reminds me of the original MacBook Air in a lot of ways, and in fact that’s probably the biggest knock against it. In 2008 the MacBook Air was revolutionary, it created what we now know as the Ultrabook category and was so cutting edge that it contained an Intel Core CPU in a form factor that no one else could get at the time. Consequently the MacBook Air wasn’t just smaller than the MacBook or MacBook Pro, but it was a lot smaller than its larger, heavier predecessors.
Big & Little: MacBook & 27" iMac
The MacBook, by contrast, is not the same jump in size. Calculated against their respective thickest points, the new MacBook is still 73% of the volume of the 11” MacBook Air. Similarly, its 0.92Kg weight is 85% of the weight of said MacBook Air. This means that whereas the original MacBook Air was a very important jump for the Apple’s laptop line, the new MacBook doesn’t get the same benefit.
With that said, there is still a distinct difference between the MacBook and MacBook Air, one that likely doesn’t mean as much in numbers as it does in feel. On a personal note my travel laptop of choice is an Asus ZenBook UX21A, an 11” Ultrabook that is a dead-ringer for the 11” MacBook Air in size and weight. So having toted around the MacBook for the past week working on this review, I was surprised by just how different it felt from my 11” ZenBook. The ZenBook is already towards the light-end of the Ultrabook spectrum, and yet after carrying around the MacBook the ZenBook feels heavy. It may only be 20% heavier in practice, but just carrying the two in hand it certainly feels like it’s more than that.
Left: MacBook. Right: Asus 11" ZenBook Prime (UX21A)
For work purposes I have always favored the 11” Ultrabook for its size and weight. It’s easy to carry around and small enough to hold with one hand or to balance on one knee as situations dictate. And while it’s not perfect – 11” isn’t much screen real-estate and doesn’t allow for much of a keyboard – as an ultra-portable secondary computer for someone who already has a desktop, it fits my needs very well.
Which is why I was surprised by just how much I ended up liking the MacBook’s size and form factor. It’s smaller than an 11” Ultrabook and yet if anything it feels bigger when in use – perhaps due to the 16:10 screen – and the weight difference can really be felt. Before using the MacBook if you had asked me whether I would want an even smaller laptop I would have dismissed the notion, but after using the MacBook I have to stop and reconsider that position.
Ultimately I’m reminded a great deal of the launch of the original MacBook Air, where Apple specifically touted it as a travel computer for someone with more than one computer. For most people it’s smaller than what you’d want to use day-in and day-out, but as a travel laptop it’s great. Consequently the MacBook as it stands is an interesting alternative to the MacBook Air lineup; it fills a lot of the same roles, but it does so while being even thinner and lighter.
Top: MacBook. Middle: Asus 11" ZenBook Prime. Bottom: Surface Pro 3 w/Type Cover
That said, compared to a MacBook Air these size improvements don’t come for free. There are performance considerations to be had with the Core M processor, which we’ll get to in our look at system performance. The trade-off for thin and light is a similar reduction in performance, so even though the MacBook and MacBook Air overlap at times, they are separated by size versus performance.
Finally, we would be remiss in not covering the tablet/laptop crossover factor as well. The fact that Apple takes as many design cues as they do from the iPad – the colors, the focus on size, and the limited number of ports – is telling. I hesitate to say too much about the MacBook as an iPad alternative since these devices are still so different. But for someone wanting to step up from something like an iPad into a full sized, fully capable laptop computer, this is exactly what such a device might look like.
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Kumouri - Friday, April 24, 2015 - link
"MacBook Core-M performance is absolutely perfect for anyone doing mostly e-mails, office, browsing."Those three things were literally the tasks netbooks were made to do. Netbooks are perfect for email, office, and web because they have all the power you need and insane battery life. Which is exactly what the MacBook is.
ESC2000 - Wednesday, April 29, 2015 - link
But why would you pay $1300+ when your use case is email, Web and office? You should be able to get something far south of $1000 that can fly through those tasks (including apple's own MBA which of course isn't far south of $1000 but you pay the apple tax and it's still cheaper than this machine). ..maybe somewhat more to get 8 gb of RAM (although why would you need for that use case) and 256 gb of storage. If that's your use case and you buy one of these that suggests to me that you want to pay hundreds of dollars for the way it looks. ..not the end of the world and certainly your prerogative.lilmoe - Tuesday, April 14, 2015 - link
Meh. If I'm going to be more truthful, I'd say the new MacBook is actually worse than other netbooks as a value proposition. This isn't 2009. This device isn't a hybrid with a touchscreen like the Yoga 3 Pro. You're losing TOO MUCH for a design that isn't worth the price tag. Apple is making up for the *lacking factor* somewhat with a better screen and storage, but they should've used a better processor, made it a bit thicker, and put a larger battery. Oh wait, they ALREADY have a product like that; it's called the Macbook Air.I'd recommend an Air over this $1300 NETBOOK any day, every day. But Apple is being Apple here; they're trying to create a new, confusing, device category with this device. But I guess they can get away with it *because* they're Apple (ie: a luxury brand, as most people think of them).
Those who think that Apple is "hated" because ^one of their products is criticized are simply paranoid (too many of them actually). It's "easier", "lazier", and "more ignorant" to call out constructive criticism as "whiny anti-Apple" no?
modulusshift - Tuesday, April 14, 2015 - link
The fact that you think the storage is a salient point in comparing any computers that have SSDs simply shows how out of touch you are with what laptops actually need to be right now. SSD performance differences (assuming one isn't totally wrecked and TRIMless) are things you only really notice looking at two computers side by side. If they are reasonably sized, then they have the same practical performance for all consumer uses.That's the bit that gets me, though. You people are clearly expecting this thing to do a lot more than it actually does. Did you dislike the Surface Pro 3, too? Because that's a weaker device all around than this thing is, and heavier, and louder, and with an even worse keyboard and trackpad, for the same price matched to storage and RAM sizes. But yet it could handle prosumer level things (like music production) fairly well. I enjoyed light 3D games like Civ V at full resolution and settings. So will this. How the heck is it a netbook?
lilmoe - Tuesday, April 14, 2015 - link
"Did you dislike the Surface Pro 3, too? Because that's a weaker device all around than this thing is"There's a think line between criticism and fanboyism. The latter applying to you.
lilmoe - Tuesday, April 14, 2015 - link
edit: There's a thin** line....you guys really need an edit button. Like REALLY.
Jumangi - Wednesday, April 15, 2015 - link
I agree the functionality compromises to keep with Apple's obsession for thin has reached the point of being dumb now. But the Apple fanboys will say this is genius and the "future". No thanks.Notmyusualid - Thursday, April 16, 2015 - link
+1Notmyusualid - Thursday, April 16, 2015 - link
Sign me up as lazy / ignorant then!Looks like a netbook to me. Or ultrabook if you press me.
And with that CPU, I'd imagine it'd choak trying to encrypt some videos for my phone to take on a road trip with me.
Other than that, I'm impressed with that keyboard layout, especially with the new keys they've designed.
Unless it was free though - I'd not place my money anywhere NEAR a device with one peripheral port, especially one aimed at being so mobile (think not wanting to carry extra hubs etc).
lilmoe - Tuesday, April 14, 2015 - link
Honestly? What's the difference between a $300 and a $3000 laptop? Aren't both called "Laptops"?This is totally a netbook, albeit better built with somewhat better performance. But absolutely NOT a laptop nor the cooler sounding "crossover", whatever that is. This isn't a hybrid either, nor does it have (or makes use of) a touchscreen.
You're losing too much with this product. Battery life isn't as good as similarly priced, similarly sized laptops (even from Apple), and the performance totally off the mark.
You're being too diplomatic.