Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
The price fall are welcome , although it has fill up the gap between the 13 in MacBook aviation model and the entry - degree 13 in MacBook Pro with Retina display . The extra £ 150 ( or in the causa of the mid - range Retina MacBook Pro , the same price ) is a reasonable price to give for a faster machine . Of course the Retina MacBook Pro is heavier : 1.57 kg compared to 1.08 kilo , and the MacBook Air is thinner and has longer battery life . Looking at this 2014 revision of the 13 - inch MacBook Pro , it ’s hard to find any fault . The last upgrade in October 2013 introduced the public to the best all - round compact laptop we ’ve tested and enjoy using , with its 11ac radio , extended battery animation and flawless build lineament . Here in the entrance model we did find storehouse a little slower in sequential write speed , although this will be of little impact in many everyday tasks . Storage pep pill apart , you are getting the public presentation of last yr ’s good off - the - ledge modelling , for an entranceway - level price that ’s also £ 50 less than its herald .
Apple has raise itsMacBook Pro with Retina displayline - up . The 13 - in and 15 - inch mannequin have all a modest hurrying extrusion along with price drop for all the UK models , following the same design of updates as we ’ve already image in theMacBook AirandiMacranges this twelvemonth .
Update : Apple unveil unexampled MacBook Pro models at its9 March 2015 crush effect . For more item , take a look at ourNew 13 - inch Retina MacBook Pro ( early 2015 ) preview .
It seems likely thatApplehas made these slight tweaks to theMacBook Prorange predominantly to allow it to bring down pricing , but also because theBroadwellprocessors that are the natural heir to the Haswell chips in these Macs , and the generation before them , are delayed , probably a cause of frustration to Apple .
The MacBook Pro without Retina video display has also seen a price bead , we evaluate it here : non - Retina MacBook Pro review .
Nevertheless , we do have a Modern range of MacBook Pro with Retina show , maybe not the update we were hop for , but the Leontyne Price drop is certainly welcome .
In this review we will focus on the 2.5GHz , 13 in Retina MacBook Pro model .
New 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro: Price
The best news show is that toll have dropped across the range . you’re able to now get a 13 - in MacBook Pro with Retina presentation for £ 999 , down £ 100 from £ 1,099 for the 2013 MacBook Pro with Retina display .
Next in the transmission line up is the £ 1,199 model , down £ 50 from £ 1,249 .
The top of the range 13 in MacBook Pro is now £ 1,399 , down £ 100 from £ 1,499 .
As we note in our review of the13 in MacBook Pro without Retina showing , Apple has cut down the price of that poser by £ 100 to £ 899 . As the sole remaining Mac with an optical cause this is good news for those who desire to use candle and videodisc as it was feared that the model would be discontinued .
The really good intelligence for UK customer is that the US has n’t seen the same terms drops . The only price drib there is for the non - Retina MacBook and the flagship 15 in example .
In the US pricing has only dropped on some model .
New 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro: Processors
When Apple revised the 13 - inch MacBook Pro last fall with a Haswell - generation Intel CPU , it offered a choice of 2.4 gigacycle or 2.6GHz dual - core Intel Core i5 processor . In the mid-2014 update we receive essentially the same choice of chips , but chance up to 2.5GHz and 2.8GHz severally for the ‘ goodness ’ and ‘ best ’ models . There ’s also a configure to order ( CTO ) version with Intel Core i7 processor , still with treble rather than quad core but running at a baseline clock frequency of 3.0 GHz .
Our review unit is the entry - level model , now with a 2.6GHz Core i5 processor , 128 GB satisfying - state trice cause , and the newly raise minimum of 8 GB of store .
In the Cinebench 11.5 benchmark trial the 13 - inch MacBook Pro score 1.31 decimal point with a individual processor nub , and 3.15 point in multi - core mode . We do n’t have figures for last year ’s 2.3GHz poser , but these number compare well with the ‘ best ’ example of that generation , also with a 2.6 GHz Intel Core i5 , the earlier i5 - 4288U parts .
That version recorded 1.30 and 3.13 compass point severally , so this year ’s 2.6GHz model has effectively the same performance in this test , slightly faster in fact by a small under 1 percent , although that could be accounted for by observational variables or even the change in the OS software system between the original Mavericks and current 10.9.4 .
In the Cinebench 15 benchmark test we see the same storey : last twelvemonth ’s ‘ good ’ 2.6GHz model public presentation is now line up in this yr ’s ‘ good ’ 2.6GHz MacBook Pro , with both score 113 points in single - core modality , and 280 and 281 severally with all four virtual cores in this Hyper Threading Technology potato chip in operation .
The key difference between the 13- and 15 - inch MacBook Pro simulation is the fact that the 13 in models have a dual core processor , while the 15 in models have a quad - centre central processing unit . Those quad - core processors mean than the speedmark score of the 15 in manakin is around 60 percent higher Speedmark 9 scores than their 13 - inch counterpart .
Now Broadwell is shipping a MacBook Pro Retina update may be just around the corner : Read about the2015 Retina MacBook Pro release datealso read ourMacBook Air with Retina showing release date article .
New 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro: Storage
As the entrance - horizontal surface model of 13 - in Retina MacBook Pro , this building block has the smallest storage content of 128 GB from its PCIe - seize internal blink of an eye driving . In our revue sample distribution this part was source from SanDisk ( SD0128F ) , although its lower recorded operation is likely due to its smaller sizing – self-coloured - state ride usually benefit from increase correspondence in the heavy storage capacity .
In our trial run it still had SATA - busting read speeds , peaking at 755MB / s in the QuickBench test , and averaged 732 megabyte / entropy for information sized between 20–100 M .
Write fastness were only half as debauched though , strive a maximum consecutive physique of 322MB / s , and averaging 319 MB / s for the same data set .
modest - data file carry-over remained speedy though , averaging 176MB / s and 141MB / s for random reads and writes ( 4–1024 kB data ) . So even without the two - meter speed up of write performance available with larger capacity drive , this notebook still benefits greatly from very speedy small data file bringing to keep it feel slick in operation .
New 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro: RAM
Note that it is not possible to upgrade the RAM at a late escort as the RAM is soldered onto the motherboard , of if you suppose you might need more RAM than the 8 GB standard in the 13 - column inch models , then you will have to specify the extra RAM in your order and agent in the extra expense . If you order your 13 in MacBook Pro with 16 GB RAM you ’ll be appoint an superfluous £ 160 .
However , the incoming - level 13 - inchRetina MacBook Pronow has 8 GB RAM , where it previously had 4 G , lend it into line with the other 13 in mannequin . This is good tidings .
The 15 in models get a walloping 16 GB Aries as standard though .
New 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro: Graphics
The nontextual matter in the 13 in Retina MacBook Pro models are exactly the same as last year , after all the processor has n’t changed ( other than the speed rise ) so we would n’t ’ bear to see a new graphics chip . As such the Intel Iris Graphics remains in the 13 in models .
The OpenGL segment of Maxon ’s Cinebench tryout showed that nontextual matter performance between last twelvemonth ’s 2.6 GHz simulation has been match by this twelvemonth ’s entering model . There was just a 1 skeleton per 2nd advantage to the newer modeling ( 25.68 uprise to 26.53 Federal Protective Service ) in the v11 test , while the v15 tryout visit the same result ( 22.03 vs 22.08 fps ) .
Turning to some legal action game , when we triedBatman : Arkham Citywe encounter the same just - playable framerate when set to 1280 x 800 pixels and High detail , 31 fps for last class ’s 2.6 Gc MacBook Pro and 32 Federal Protective Service for this 2014 good example .
We try out the graphically testing newTomb Raider ( 2013)game , which proved the match of the Intel Iris Graphics 5100 in this laptop computer . Set to a comparatively low 1280 x 800 pixel resolution , and with Normal detail configurations , it averaged only 15 fps . turn down item level to Low bump up the framerate more or less to 18 Federal Protective Service , which is still too low-pitched to enjoy playing the game smoothly .
The 15 in MacBook Pro volunteer Intel Iris Pro Graphics and , at the high oddment , a three-fold graphics scorecard set up with an NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M.
New 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro: Display
The panel on our reappraisal sample was measured with the Spyder4Elite tintometer , which indicated 95 pct reporting of the sRGB gamut and 70 per centum of Adobe RGB . These are good results , just a ghost behind the 96 and 72 percentage we recorded with this yr ’s 15 - in model . Contrast ratio was brilliant , just nudging out its large brother with 800:1 contrast ratio at it ’s nominal 75 percent brightness setting ( correspond to 150 cd / m^2 ) and 870:1 when set to full brightness of 322 cd / m^2 .
Colour uniformity was within around 1 Delta Es at most luminance mount , lift to 2.1 Delta vitamin E in the abject right quoin at full brightness . Luminance uniformity was more consistent than the 15 - inch model , perhaps assisted by the smaller area of board that required lighting . The greatest divagation was around 10 percent , rise to 14 per centum in one corner at the 50 percent level setting .
Overall colour accuracy fell a minuscule behind that measured on the 15 - column inch show , averaging 4.69 Delta eastward from 48 colour swatches , with a peak error of 9.41 Delta Es with the 1F tone .
New 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro: Battery life
Apple says that the battery life on the 13 in MacBook Pro with Retina display is 9 time of day . This is more than the 8 hours extend by the 15 in edition , and the 7 hour of the non - Retina model .
When we test last year ’s ‘ best ’ 13 - inch model with 2.6 GHz processor , we image a battery life of 9 hours 55 minute in our standard coil - video recording wireless exam . This year we break off the ten - hr barrier with a 10 minute 7 minute answer , using the calibrated 120 cd / m^2 display circumstance .
allot to Macworld Labs the 2.6GHz 13 in model managed 10 hours , 2 instant , while the 13 in 2.8GHz exemplar achieved 9 hour , 24 minutes . For the entry - level theoretical account this is a better grudge than last year , when the 2.4GHz 2013 MacBook Pro with Retina display bring off 9 hour , 48 instant . shelling life was tested by intertwine a playlist of show download from the iTunes Store . Wi - Fi was turned off and brightness go down to 200 cd / m2 .
How fast are the new 13in Retina MacBook Pro models?
We found similar carrying out in last year ’s 2.6GHz theoretical account and this year ’s 2.6 Gc MacBook Pro , with both score 113 points in single - inwardness mode , and 280 and 281 .
However , fit in to the results of the Speedtests performed by Macworld Lab in the US , the 13 - inch 2.6GHz Retina MacBook Pro scored 158 , while the 13 - inch 2.8GHz Retina MacBook Pro tally 174 .
There is n’t a self-aggrandising difference between the speedmark grievance of last year ’s theoretical account . In 2013 the 2.4GHz Retina MacBook Pro scotch was slimly lower last year : 155 . However , the 2.6GHz Retina MacBook Pro score 177 , meaning last yr ’s model perform better .
In the test perform by Macworld Labs , the new model all performed good in program tests black market in Photoshop , Aperture , iTunes , iPhoto , iMovie , and Handbrake . It seems the young models were slow , in some case , in Finder elenments , such as written matter , zip and unzip .
This could be due to different SSD drives being used , as we get hold with the MacBook Air , we will try out this further .
New 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro: Build to order options
When purchasing a 13 in version of the Retina MacBook Pro you have the option of updating from the base line modelling with its 2.6GHz i5 processor to a 2.8GHz i5 dual - core processor for £ 80 , or a 3GHz i7 treble - core processor for £ 240 .
As mentioned above , you may also upgrade the 13 in models to 16 GB RAM for £ 160 .
Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro vs MacBook Air vs iMac
The new price of £ 999 for the entry - spirit level MacBook Pro with Retina intend it is now £ 150 more than the 13 in MacBook Air , which costs £ 849 . Prior to the update , in the months since the MacBook Air was refresh , the difference was £ 250 . The extra £ 150 buys you a better filmdom , twice as much RAM , and a faster processor .
Or you could opt for the £ 999 MacBook Air which has twice the storage , but a slower central processing unit and less RAM .
You could also save £ 100 and purchase thenew budget iMacfor £ 899 . However the specs are far superior on the entry - grade Retina MacBook Pro so we would n’t recommend that particular iMac over it .
We ’ll publish our benchmarks here as soon as we have been able to thoroughly test the units .
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