My Thoughts on the early 2015 MacBook
Apple recently released new MacBooks that ship with a single USB-C port to be used for charging, data transfer and video output. To say the Mac Admin community is freaking out would be putting it lightly. Personally, I was excited about the prospect of having a really simple computer. I can’t tell you the last time I plugged anything other than the charger into my main laptop.
I want to remind everyone who is balking at the idea of a laptop with only a single port that this is intended to be a portable device. The average user doesn’t have much need for ports anymore. As we venture ever further into a post-pc world, where most work can be done through a web browser, a wireless connection is really all most users will need. Take a moment to think back to other features Apple has done away with; the iMac and its lack of a 3.5inch drive, the MacBook Air and its lack of an optical drive, or even the Retina MacBook Pro and its lack of an ethernet port. When was the last time you used a 3.5inch disk?
First Impressions
The first thing I noticed is that the box is thicker than I expected, mostly due to the size of the power adapter, which is considerably thicker than the machine. It’s actually kind of ironic that Apple can make such a complicated piece of technology so thin, yet the charger is still a brick. Granted, the USB-C charger is considerably smaller than previous Magsafe adapters, yet it’s still almost comically thick when compared to this new MacBook.
Unboxing the computer is a delight. If you’ve ever unboxed an Apple laptop (and if you’re reading this blog I’m guessing you’ve unboxed a few), the experience is exactly what you’d expect. Still, I can’t help but feel there’s so much wasted space in the box due to the size of the power adapter. I’m not sure how to solve this, and clearly Apple isn’t either, otherwise I’m sure they would have found a way.
From a design and aesthetic perspective, I love this computer. I use black and white desktop backgrounds, and make all my menu bar icons black and white, so the space gray aesthetic really fits in. It’s almost impossibly thin and light. At 0.52 inches at it’s thickest point, it’s only 0.02 inches thicker than the original iPad. At 2.03 pounds, I can barely tell if the MacBook is in my bag or not. In short, this is an absolutely gorgeous piece of hardware.
On first boot, I was immediately surprised by the overwhelming volume and full-ness of the startup chime. The speakers on this little guy are loud, and have pretty impressive bass response. I have no idea where all that sound is coming from. I really don’t know how else to describe it other than this thing is unbelievably loud.
Startup is fast, I’d say on par with my Late 2013 rMBP, if not slightly faster. The setup process is exactly what I’ve come to expect from Apple; setting up a new Mac always feels a little exciting. I opted to set this machine up from scratch rather than migrate anything from an old machine. I wanted to get the cleanest experience I could.
Hardware
The most interesting part of the trackpad is that unlike Apple’s previous trackpads, it doesn’t move. It is a completely stationary object built into the computer. There is a small haptic engine underneath that gives it the feel and sound of a traditional trackpad. The crazy thing is, it completely fools my brain. I swear the trackpad is traveling when I click on it. I know that it isn’t, but I just can’t get my senses to accept that. In a side by side comparison of the 2015 MacBook and my Late 2013 Retina MacBook Pro, I can’t tell the difference. Perhaps the most bizarre thing is that when the computer is off, the trackpad doesn’t click at all. It really messes with my mind. I highly encourage you to go to your nearest Apple Store (or reseller) and try one in person.
The keyboard is built on a new butterfly mechanism, in contrast with the traditional scissor mechanism found on Apple’s earlier portables. This gives the keys the advantage of not having to travel as far when pressed, and in my opinion a key press takes less effort as well. At first, I made many mistakes while typing, as the keys were closer together than I’m used to, but it didn’t take me long to get used to. I find that typing on it is an absolute delight, and going back to my Late 2013 Retina MacBook Pro now feels old and clunky. It’s always amazed me how Apple can manage to make a previous model look old and outdated when compared to the newest version.
Usability
I’ve been using this computer for about 4 weeks now, and I can’t see myself going back at this point. I’ve barely touched my 13″ Retina MacBook Pro since getting this MacBook. Using it for writing is by far my favorite use case. Something about the keyboard just begs me to keep typing. The feel and the sound of the keys are both so satisfying.
The second biggest concern I’ve heard after the single port is the apparent lack of power. At 1.1 GHz and 8GB of RAM, it seems like it might struggle with more intensive tasks. While I’ve outsourced most of my heaving lifting to a Mac Mini running ESXi (more on that in a later post), I do still have the occasional need to run a VM locally. While I haven’t tried running 4+ virtual machines like I’m used to on my MacBook Pro, it handles a single Windows 8 or OS X 10.10 VM alongside the host OS with no trouble. I’ve also had no problem running utilities like AutoDMG or AutoCasperNBI. While it absolutely isn’t a powerhouse, it has no problem stepping in to do some heaving lifting in a pinch.
The most interesting thing to me is that the way I think about computers has shifted since getting this MacBook. I’ve actually started thinking about it more like an iOS device. The battery actually lasts most of the day for me (I’m not typically on my computer straight through the work day), so I find myself only charging it at night. I’ve also found myself taking a more iOS-like approach to apps, where I’ll only install an app once I run into a need for it, instead of my usual process of installing every app I might ever need just in case. This is absolutely a portable device, and I think things like the single port, all day battery, and the thin and light-ness signal a shift in the way laptops will be thought about going forward. While I think it would be a stretch to call this machine a game changer, it’s absolutely a harbinger of what’s to come.
While this computer definitely isn’t for everyone, Apple is telling us loud and clear where the Mac is headed. The way I see it, we have two choices; either get on board with the coming paradigm, or be dragged into the future kicking and screaming. I know which choice I’m going to make.