MacBook Pro Retina supply improving as both models now in stock at MacMall
It will be several more weeks before Apple is expected to eliminate the backlog of orders for its new MacBook Pro with Retina display over at ?its online store, but one of the company's resellers said this week it's ready to ship both models immediately with added savings.
MacBook Pro with Retina display in stock
For the first time this week, Apple Authorized Reseller and AppleInsider sponsor MacMall has inventory of both MacBook Pro Retina configurations in stock, which it's offering to AppleInsider readers at an additional 3% discount to its already reduced pricing via coupon code APPINSDRMWB33903.
Final pricing on the 2.3GHz model comes in at $2,118.48 after the instant discounts, while the 2.6GHz model rings up at $2,700.48. MacMall previously listed availability of only the 2.6GHz model, which is now also available at Amazon.com for $2,794.00. The 2.3GHz model remains backlogged by 2 to 4 weeks at Amazon.
Apple is having trouble keeping up with demand for its popular Retina display-toting MacBook as the company's online store still quotes a lead time of 2-3 weeks on all configurations.Shipping times have improved from the three-to-four weeks seen directly following the laptop's June announcement, though authorized resellers are showing immediate availability.
Update: As of early Saturday morning, lead times at the Apple Store have decreased to 1-2 weeks.
Rumors of 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display
While 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display stock remains backlogged, rumors have been circulating about a smaller version of Apple's hot-selling laptop after an as yet unannounced 13-inch MacBook Pro model appeared on benchmark testing logs at Geekbench. Test results dating back to June reveal a "MacBookPro10,2" model boasting Intel's a 2.9 GHz Core i7-3520M Ivy Bridge processor fueled speculation that Apple is indeed bringing Retina display technology to its smallest Pro offering.
The Geekbench scores followed a sighting on online battery test archive Mini Battery Logger which also claimed to have test results from a machine designated "MacBookPro10,2." According to the site's logs, the "10,2" machine carries a significantly larger battery than current 13-inch MacBook models with its 6580 mAh cell capacity nearing that of existing 15-inch non-Retina display MacBook Pros. The bump in power could signal the use of the power-hungry Retina display.
The "10,2" identifier is one designation higher than the "MacBookPro9,2" label Apple gave to its most current 13-inch MacBook Pro when the device launched in early June.
The price guide below compares B&H's price for each of Apple's new MacBook models with 3-years of AppleCare to Apple's pricing for the same bundle, as well as MacMall's:
Deeper discounts are also listed for most of Apple's 2011 MacBook models in the Previous Generation Mac Price Guide. Supplies on these models are limited.
MacBook Pro with Retina display in stock
For the first time this week, Apple Authorized Reseller and AppleInsider sponsor MacMall has inventory of both MacBook Pro Retina configurations in stock, which it's offering to AppleInsider readers at an additional 3% discount to its already reduced pricing via coupon code APPINSDRMWB33903.
Final pricing on the 2.3GHz model comes in at $2,118.48 after the instant discounts, while the 2.6GHz model rings up at $2,700.48. MacMall previously listed availability of only the 2.6GHz model, which is now also available at Amazon.com for $2,794.00. The 2.3GHz model remains backlogged by 2 to 4 weeks at Amazon.
Apple is having trouble keeping up with demand for its popular Retina display-toting MacBook as the company's online store still quotes a lead time of 2-3 weeks on all configurations.Shipping times have improved from the three-to-four weeks seen directly following the laptop's June announcement, though authorized resellers are showing immediate availability.
Update: As of early Saturday morning, lead times at the Apple Store have decreased to 1-2 weeks.
Rumors of 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display
While 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display stock remains backlogged, rumors have been circulating about a smaller version of Apple's hot-selling laptop after an as yet unannounced 13-inch MacBook Pro model appeared on benchmark testing logs at Geekbench. Test results dating back to June reveal a "MacBookPro10,2" model boasting Intel's a 2.9 GHz Core i7-3520M Ivy Bridge processor fueled speculation that Apple is indeed bringing Retina display technology to its smallest Pro offering.
The Geekbench scores followed a sighting on online battery test archive Mini Battery Logger which also claimed to have test results from a machine designated "MacBookPro10,2." According to the site's logs, the "10,2" machine carries a significantly larger battery than current 13-inch MacBook models with its 6580 mAh cell capacity nearing that of existing 15-inch non-Retina display MacBook Pros. The bump in power could signal the use of the power-hungry Retina display.
The "10,2" identifier is one designation higher than the "MacBookPro9,2" label Apple gave to its most current 13-inch MacBook Pro when the device launched in early June.
The price guide below compares B&H's price for each of Apple's new MacBook models with 3-years of AppleCare to Apple's pricing for the same bundle, as well as MacMall's:
Deeper discounts are also listed for most of Apple's 2011 MacBook models in the Previous Generation Mac Price Guide. Supplies on these models are limited.
Comments
Received a rMBP a few days ago and I spent it configuring the laptop to replace my business partner's aging Wintel notebook. The new rMBP is simply the most stunning piece of tech to come out of Apple's skunkworks. I'm just amazed at the engineering, quality, and of course that crystal-clear retina display. They really out-did themselves. The future owner, loving how my MBA/LED Display setup is at the office, decided to take the full Apple plunge and in addition to the rMBP, also decided to get a LED Cinema display too. He'll be like a kid on Christmas morning.
Retina is really the next wave for computer tech. Of course, I'm just waiting for the iHaters to come out to tell us how Apple had nothing to do with advancing the computer industry...
Thanks Apple for making these beautiful displays affordable to the masses.
I'm probably alone in this, but I'm a bit disappointed with the Retina MacBook. Hardware wise, it's beautiful - I couldn't even begin to criticize it from this angle - but it's the first Mac in years that hasn't run at a constant 60fps, which I think was not a great compromise to make. It looks like they took some design cues from Android - swiping between desktops is choppy, scrolling is choppy. That screen is sure amazing though. It's hard to look at other screens after having worked with it.
What do you mean 'it doesn't run a constant 60 fps'? That doesn't make any sense. Doing what?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jragosta
What do you mean 'it doesn't run a constant 60 fps'? That doesn't make any sense. Doing what?
He means the GPU has trouble keeping up with the UI animations because of the increased resolution. There's a thread here about that (and elsewhere), and while I recently saw an rMBP for the first time, I didn't have enough time with it to see that for myself, so I can't personally comment on it as a happening.
Well the Intel 4000 and NVIDIA 650M are both very new GPUs and new drivers can still be released improving performance... give them time...
Overall I am very pleased with my rMBP and so far only one problem is when I leave my mouse plugged in from restarting as it causes my CPU to run 100% for no reason...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rokrad
Well the Intel 4000 and NVIDIA 650M are both very new GPUs and new drivers can still be released improving performance... give them time...
That's a pretty good joke… OS X nVidia GPU drivers improving…
Quote:
Originally Posted by jragosta
What do you mean 'it doesn't run a constant 60 fps'? That doesn't make any sense. Doing what?
Most modern screens run at 60Hz (some higher end ones run at 120Hz or beyond), which means they redraw 60 times per second. 60Hz (or frames per second) is really smooth - the iPhone's UI looks smooth in transitions because the OS is able to redraw the screen 60 times per second, constantly. When you see choppiness on your iPhone, it's because the screen isn't being redrawn 60 times per second - due to processing, for example, it might only get drawn 20 times, which looks choppy. (As an aside, 80Hz is about the maximum that the human eye can distinguish in terms of smoothness).
Modern (say in the past 5 years) Macs were the same. Things are generally really smooth - minimizing windows, swiping between desktops, scrolling in the web browser, expose, etc. - because the OS was able to do all of the computational work it needed to, and still redraw the screen 60 times per second. The Retina MacBook can't always keep up though, likely because the GPU can't redraw that many times per second (since it has to push an obscene number of pixels). The OS is smart though, if not much is going on, only part of the screen is redrawn (the part that is changed). So while for normal work, everything is fine, the result is that if there's a lot of motion on the screen, the screen can't be drawn to 60 times per second. I've noticed this a lot on the Retina MacBook. Scrolling in Safari isn't smooth. Expose isn't smooth. Scrolling between desktops isn't smooth. I mean, it's not so choppy that it's unusable, but it's noticeable, and feels like a step backward in some ways.
FYI, we ordered a MacBook Retina from MacMall the last time you posted the article about how great their shipping times were. The store page said "Ships in 5-7 days" (this was for the 16GB retina). We then received an email a day or two later indicating it was backordered, and it's now finally arriving on Monday after about 21 days...
My advice is just to order from Apple...
Got my MBP RD two weeks ago. Man, it's noticeably heavier in my backpack compared to MBA. But so worth it! It is as if I am a better photographer! Can't wait for more websites to adjust!
Nothing liked paid advertising.
Shameful that AI is pushing such ads under the guise of being news.
*Puts on hipster glasses* ... Well, I complained about the rMBP before it was cool to do so. People attacked me like rabid dogs on that thread.
That's why I said Steve would have waited at least 1 more year before coming out with the rMBP.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sr2012
*Puts on hipster glasses* ... Well, I complained about the rMBP before it was cool to do so. People attacked me like rabid dogs on that thread.
That's why I said Steve would have waited at least 1 more year before coming out with the rMBP.
I don't really agree with all of the "what would Steve do?" sentiments. They released plenty of things before their time under the former CEO. Expanding batteries, charger problems, G5 logic boards, Mac Pros with dead graphics cards, macbook pros that ran scorching hot (note first generation there), yellow display imac issue, 24" imac with edges that would turn purple, iphone 4 and the infamous antenna. Don't suggest that a company with thousands of employees died inside overnight due to a change in CEO when the guy you're referring to essentially trained his own replacement.
I forgot why I started that post for a second. If you look at the hardware refresh, without the rMBP, it's not that strong of an update, especially at the 15" level. Most of the gains were simply incremental. An update to the cpu architecture and further power management improvements should help the next machine generation sell itself.
Edit: was the hipster glasses reference still invoked on the the Steve Jobs comment? That remains unclear to me.
Yes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sr2012
Yes.
Perhaps I misinterpreted the tone then. Sorry about that
LOL no worries. I am always inflammatory but never spurious.