Apple's just announced the 15" Macbook Pro, with a high-resolution 2880x1800 15.4" display. They're calling it a Retina Display, but if that's the case, it's not quite the first laptop to have one: Sony has had a couple of laptops with 220 ppi screens. On the other hand, no-one is producing a competitive mainstream laptop with such a high resolution now. For reference, the iPhone is 326 ppi and the iPad 264 ppi. [The Verge]

  • satn

    To display the oversized shiny icons at a magical level.

    $2200 starting price isnt exactly competitive in the modern low priced laptop market.

    • penguinchris

      To be fair that’s with a 256 GB SSD as standard, and a display unlike anything else you can get in a laptop (and even full-size monitors nearing – not matching – that resolution cost in the $1000+ range).

      In other words: they don’t care about the “modern low priced laptop market” :)

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_U6ISRXJULTMJSTDR4JFI7CAG5U fauxscot

      can you not read?  it’s not competing in the low priced market.  that’s exactly the point.  it’s a GD macbookPRO.     P.R.O.    See how that works?

      • bcsizemo

        I thought the P.R.O. just made it MORE expensive.
        The MAC part just makes it expensive.

      • satn

        fanboys, fanboys, calm down.

        I know apple doesn’t care about competing on price, you will buy their stuff no matter the premium.

        Was directing that towards the article poster who said that it’s competitive.

        • Ryan_T_H

          Ah yes, the Apple ‘premium’. Because all the other 2280×1800 laptops on the market are so much cheaper.

          • satn

            so the monitor is the only reason to pay $700 more than a regular laptop? well that certainly doesn’t sound like a premium gimic that you “need” only in the sense of having something shinier than the non-apple unfortunates.

          • Charlie B

            Well, look, if it doesn’t come with a pony and world peace it’s clearly inferior.

        • Cowicide

          I know apple doesn’t care about competing on price

          Sigh… educate yourself, please…

          http://boingboing.net/2011/10/13/asus-zenbook.html#comment-334149134

          • Charlie B

             I get my computers for $0, Cow, after people like you throw them out.

          • Cowicide

            People like me?

            I still have a working Apple SE-30 from the late 1980′s (that I used to work with) in storage and I have an Apple clamshell iBook that’s over a decade old that I still use to this day to run custom scripts I created to relay messages to my phone to hack/circumvent my cell phone company restrictions.

            You must go a very, very, very long time without a computer and by the time you get one from me it’s likely to be 50 years old (or so). Otherwise, I sell them on craigslist and enjoy the great Apple resale value you don’t get with most Windows machines.

            So, anyway.. good luck with that. ^-^

  • James Churchill

    It’ll be nice to see more devices that can match/beat my seven-year-old toshiba m405 display (12inch 1400×1050) – at least that doesn’t have a Sony/Apple premium, and without being a 15″+ behemoth.  Good thing mine is still going strong…

    • Ryan_T_H

      What premium? It’s been at least 5 years since you could fine laptops with equivalent specs much cheaper than Apple’s. Laptops with fewer features, sure, but that’s not the same thing.

      • satn

        Buy a lenovo laptop with faster processor, faster vid card, more ram, standard HD. Pay $1300. Switch out with 256gig SSD from newegg for $250. Now you have a faster laptop with cash to spare to buy a new ipad or whatever.

        Wait, I’m sensing a deer-in-headlights reaction from any apple fans that read that.

        • http://vincenzoravina.tumblr.com/ Vincenzo Ravina

           Link?

          • satn
          • tros

            Because I can’t reply directly to satn:

            I’m most certain you’re missing about 3.1MP, or about 60% of the pixels that come with that resolutionary MBP. That and the part where it’s IPS technology.

            Let’s be gracious and say you can add that missing workspace with an Achieva Shimian QH270 for $300.  Actually, let’s make it 1.4 of those, to match pixel for pixel (even though higher pixel densities are more expensive). So that’s something like $420 added cost in comparison to what are traditionally terrible TN displays.

            Let’s also be gracious and assume that this laptop has about 2 hours of battery life, because that’s been traditional. A 9-cell thinkpad battery from Lenovo is about $180. I don’t know what it might be for that specific model because there’s no option to upgrade, or add additional things, and no technical specifications on just how long battery life is on this model. Anyway, it’s another $300 to get about 7 hours of battery life (total) before plugging into a wall 

            $1,160 + $230 + $420 + $300 = $2110.

            Look! You can save nearly $100! It only requires that you drag around a monitor (or two) with two extra batteries for your mobile laptop.

             Is it foul that I didn’t account for the things that were sold to me that I didn’t want? Blame Lenovo’s website + customization options. In fact, blame the entire PC industry for trying to sell people stuff they don’t really want. Yeah. Maybe the graphics card in the Y580 is better by two notches. It doesn’t matter if the screen it renders to is crap.

            Unlike desktops, laptops stick you with a manufacturer’s poor decisions. I’ll pay the extra $90 for equivalent battery life, a better screen, all integrated nicely into a mobile package.

          • satn

            uhh, higher pixel density doesn’t equal more work space, unless you’re using a magnifying glass (in which case you are doing the whole computer thing wrong).

            both computers have a 15″ screen, higher pixel density doesnt make the screen bigger.

            And I love how you make false assumptions about the computers performance without even checking specs…you apple fanboys sure are good at building your own strawmen arguments.

            Specs state the laptop has up to 5 hour batter life under “productive use”, that is with a regular power hogging hard drive, so it would be longer with an SSD swap. And hey I bet if i tested the battery life the way the apple hive mind does (web surfing loop, no cache clearing between pages, laptop parked on top of the wireless router, screen almost completely dark, everything that possibly uses extra power manually disabled) I could get the lenovo as high or higher than the apple.

            Also by not going apple we avoid that awesome hardware locking scam you “geniuses” accept…have fun paying twice as much for apple branded replacement parts or upgrades!

        • Cowicide

          lenovo laptop $1,160 (link to specs)

          Uh, satn that Lenovo has 1920×1080 resolution (which is even lower than my current MacBook Pro) and I won’t bother to get into all the other things it lacks compared….

          FAIL

          I made something for you in Photoshop below.  That small black square is your Lenovo’s FAIL resolution inside the MacBook Pro’s resolution.

          Rub your eyes… you look like a deer in headlights… heh…

          • satn

            What does it lack? You’re not very convincing about how that extra white space is worth $800 more for a lower spec computer. (yes it’s prettier, blah blah)

            And anyhow yours is a deceptive argument, since the PIXEL density is higher, not the actual size like you’re displaying.

            the lenovo has a 15″ screen, the apple has a 15″ screen…being a higher resolution screen doesnt suddenly turn it into a 30″ screen.

          • Cowicide

            extra white space

            If you don’t understand the practical implications/benefits of a higher resolution laptop, then this discussion was over before it started.

            since the PIXEL density is higher, not the actual size like you’re displaying.

            Sigh.. are you being purposefully obtuse or do you simply hate “being wrong” so badly that you’re willing to resort to this inane tripe?

            That picture obviously represents actual pixels which is the best representation there is for comparisons of pixel density. I made it very clear we were comparing the same physical sized 15 inch screens and all anyone needs to do is look at the obvious specs displayed obviously in this article and so forth to know that’s what I was obviously talking about.

            You really shouldn’t stoop to acting dense (no pun intended) just because of your hurt pride. It just makes it worse for you, really.

            If you still have any doubts, please go back to my post above and re-read what I said when describing the image as a comparison of the Lenevo resolution to MacBook Pro resolution. If you honestly don’t know what resolution means, then look it up here. If you still don’t get it, let’s just end it here.

          • satn

            Sorry, it was my fault for engaging an apple user in a technical discussion. Like explaining a nuclear reactor to todler.

            Hey look over there, it’s something made of brushed aluminum with white headphones!

          • Cowicide
          • Cowicide
        • Petzl

          I’ve never seen a lenovo running MacOS….

          • satn

            I forgot to mention that bonus, thanks!

      • James Churchill

        The problem is that macs are *overspecced*, forcing me to pay for those features I don’t need when all I want is a small high-res display with mid-range everything else. I can count on a couple of fingers the number of models that have a comparable or higher PPI than my  laptop that arent either  a 4″ phone display, or the latest iPad.

        • Surly Driver

          Then buy one of those. It sounds like your needs are covered.

          • Cowicide

            Then buy one of those. It sounds like your needs are covered.

            You don’t understand, @google-f1f1bf0d9893df6e2eae5fe37c7594ab:disqus would rather explain to us why we should get what he wants.

        • EH

          Congratulations, you’re my aunt.

      • Charlie B

         So it’s OK if it costs more, as long as it includes features I don’t want or need?  That’s good to know.

        • Ryan_T_H

           If it contains features you don’t want or need… it isn’t the right laptop for you. Don’t buy a truck and complain that it doesn’t seat as many people as a minivan. Don’t buy a minivan and complain it doesn’t have the mileage of a compact.

          Don’t go shopping for a professional workstation and complain that it doesn’t make the came compromises as some budget spec-sheet.

          As someone who works in video production and who has been comparing notes about this laptop with others in similar fields, this laptop meets our needs very, very well.

          Well, the internal hard drive is too small. But every hard drive is too small for what we do, so that’s a wash.

          • Charlie B

             Interesting choice of analogy.  I’ve been trying to get a Toyota Hybrid Minivan since 2002 – they make and sell them in Japan, but the vehicle’s very effectively kept off the US market.

            They keep them off the market so they can sell hybrid SUVs that are loaded with features I don’t want or need.  My choices are do without, or pay a whole lot more than I want to and get something that’s not appropriate. Toyota doesn’t want to cannibalize their SUV sales by offering a product more suited to my needs.

            But you say I’ve got no right to complain.  Are all Apple apologists just facists, or what?  Everybody’s got a right to complain, the license comes with the vocal organs!

  • http://theladyfingers.blogspot.com/ Ladyfingers

    I’m surprised they’re not also announcing the revolutionary nuclear battery this thing will require to run for more than 20 minutes unplugged.

    • TimRowledge

      Evidently they didn’t think that was revolutionary enough to mention because they’re claiming around 7hrs battery life. Must be 21 of those nukes in there, right? Or, just maybe they’ve got quite good at designing hardware to work reasonably well. Which seems more likely to be true?

      • http://twitter.com/incarnedine_v Dan Hibiki

        Or, they appled the numbers again.

      • satn

        7 hours of being on, not doing anything useful.

         For macs, that’s not deceptive.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_U6ISRXJULTMJSTDR4JFI7CAG5U fauxscot

    want the specs?  pony up.
    don’t want the specs?  shut up. 
    pretty simple.

    apple has covered the bases in price/performance, with the sole exception that if you want a nice plastic piece of crap running win7 starter, you can get one for $400.  you get $400 worth of box, too.  

    do people really think apple should make top of the line hardware and software and sell it for free?    what planet spawns such silly creatures?

    • Charlie B

      Oh, god forbid anyone should express an opinion.   How dare they!

  • franko

    i love apple product announcement days. the haters get so twitchy!

    • Cowicide

      Agreed.  They get worked up into quite a kerfuffle, don’t they?

      [cow stares at haters with evil grin]

      • EH

        cows don’t hate, man.

  • dnl9

    It sucks that it took this long to beat the IBM R50P which had a  2048×1536 in 2003/4.  IBM introduced a 3840×2400 monitor for CAD/computer graphics back in 2001!

    Kudos to apple for also making it a more usable 16×10.  Maybe this will start to overturn the invasion of the low resolution, low-color-gamut laptop screens or the replacement of higher gamut 16:10 screens with inferior 1080p 16:9 screens in high end graphics workstations.

  • jwkrk
  • Kommkast

    Going to admit, after years of despising Apple for charging super high prices for subpar products, I am actually considering one now.. Given the reasonable price tag for the base line model with fairly impressive specs, it almost that Jobs passing on was a good thing for the company. 

    • EH

      No, you just haven’t been paying attentionBURN

  • http://bhtooefr.org/ Eric Rucker

    There’s also been a couple Fujitsus with mindblowingly high densities.

    But, every “real computer” (by that, I mean something that isn’t a phone) machine that beats this in PPI is a UMPC – the Fujitsu U820 and UH900 do 1280×800 on 5.6″, for 270 ppi, and the VAIO UX is 1024×600 on 4.5″ for 264 ppi – or is a glorified netbook (which a UMPC is a smaller version of) – see the VAIO P.

    This is the first real laptop, I think, to break the 220 ppi barrier. And, it gets past the 2048×1536 target that IBM/IDTech set way back in 2002 (the panel was technically sampling in 2001, but the first machines to use it were in 2002, so…) – and it’s IPS, even, just like that ancient IDTech panel.

    I’ll be getting a MBPR, my frankensteined ThinkPad T60/T61p hybrid with that 2002-era display is getting long in the tooth, and the display is starting to fail – replacements aren’t quite as cheap as they were circa 2009 when warehouses liquidated their inventory, either.

  • Cowicide

    I’m very disappointed they didn’t announce a 17 inch with a higher resolution “retina” display of some sort.

    I’m happy to see Apple’s stock is getting slammed.  Mr. Cook, take notice.  Get us a 17 with some sort of retina display or at least a 16.5 or something.  We professionals made you, Apple, and we can take you out.

    • Wreckrob8

      I thought the 17 inch was being discontinued.

      • Cowicide

        No, there’s been no official announcement by Apple it’s been discontinued (just rumors previously), but as of the keynote speech today it is gone from the company’s online store and that’s not a good sign to say the least.

        Hence, that’s why I’m very disappointed with Apple and why I also suspect this is partially why their stock is taking such a deserved beating.

    • retepslluerb

      Apart from the fact that these graphs are rather pointless for this matter unless they show the curve for the overall market: Doesn’t Apple’s stock fall after nearly almost keynote?

      • Cowicide

        Fair enough… and I also realize there was much more news that came from the WWDC keynote including Apple severing some ties with Google, yet embracing Facebook, etc.  And, the disappointment with the tepid Mac Pro “update” among professionals is palpable as well.

        But, what I have noticed is the market reaction was more severe this time and is having a much weaker rebound (so far) compared to normal bewildered herd shifting that we’ve seen before (see pointless chart below).

        Some are blaming China’s slowdown, but that just goes to show that Apple’s growth is expected to slow in the USA unless something dynamic happens.  And, obviously… nothing dynamic happened.

        While there’s certainly room for some new user adoption, people in the USA are starting to keep the smartphones they already have and Apple is going to have to get back to its roots with professionals buying and recommending (evangelizing) Apple products to keep overall company growth up in the USA.

        If Apple doesn’t supplement this inevitable drop in smartphone sales as user adoption saturates, the company’s growth will falter.  Counting on China after they’ve had 5 straight quarters of stagnation isn’t going to cut it.

        That said…

        I think there’s lots of mixed feelings among professionals right now.  For example, I love the fact they’ve introduced the retina to the MacBook Pro line, but I hate the half-ass 15 inch compromise.

        And I hate, hate, hate the fact that they “quietly” ditched the 17 inch line without so much as a reach-around for their unpaid sales staff (professional Mac users who evangelize their fucking products).

        Tim Cook needs to let his customers know what the roadmap is or morale is going to continue to drop.  If the 17 inch is being permanently phased out, then fucking say it.  If the 17 inch is on temporary hold because of the lack of availability of a 17 inch retina display (at the moment) then say it.

        All this bobbing and weaving is making more and more professionals very nervous about Apple’s platform stability.  And, some top professional are, indeed, leaving Apple.  And, I shouldn’t have to explain how evangelizing from professionals has helped build Apple and how its removal will hurt them in the future.

        iPhone and iPad’s meteoric growth has been slowing and will continue to slow as they saturate the market (along with the competition).  And when Apple comes crawling back to professionals to help evangelize (sell) Apple products, many of us may be long gone by that point if Apple keeps this up.

  • http://twitter.com/jmaynard8888 Joe Maynard

    I wonder how difficult it is to can Mac OS and put Linux on one of these… I had a hell of a time doing it on the macbook I had a few years ago, had to install third party bootloaders and all sorts of stuff

    • Nick Hayday

      OS X and Windows I can understand, but why bother with Linux when it’s a *NIX already?

      • Charlie B

        Maybe because XNU is a “train wreck” operating system, produced by colliding mach and BSD at high speed?  I mean, as *NIXes go, Mac OS is only a half step above HP-UX – gentoo or a completely custom system based on Linus’s kernel tree would be a lot more elegant.

        Darwin’s not any worse than the typical bloaty linux commercial distro, though, like Red Hat or SuSe, because Apple has a more restricted hardware base.  You’d have a pretty major compile iteration to get anything better using linux.

    • Cowicide

      I guess the main issue is dealing with the extremely high resolution combined with the smaller 15 inch screen.  You’re definitely going to want to adjust fonts if you want to use it at full resolution (which I figure is the entire point of wanting a retina MacBook Pro to run Linux).  I saw this in a forum where you can adjust the DPI settings for the fonts with a couple of options:

      Using gnome-tweak-tool: Advanced settings > Fonts > Text scaling factor

      or

      Using dconf-editor: org > gnome > desktop > interface > text-scaling-factor

    • rausantaella

      It shouldn’t be difficult at all. Bootcamp should be more than enough, I think.