A couple of weeks ago I reviewed the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon and rated it as the best Ultrabook I've ever seen. However, even that laptop wasn't enough to drag me back to Windows, yes, even Windows 8. Ultimately, I prefer to work with OS X, but with my first generation 11in MacBook Air struggling, I still needed an upgrade. Luckily, the upgrade I'd been waiting for finally arrived last week – the 13in MacBook Pro with Retina display.
Apple applied its Retina display moniker to a laptop for the first time back in June, when it launched the 15in MacBook Pro with Retina display. This was an undoubtedly amazing machine, with native screen resolution of 2,880 x 1,800. Apple also pared down the MacBook Pro chassis by removing the optical drive, making the 15in Retina model surprisingly light and slim – but it was still a bit too big and heavy for me to carry around with me every day.
The 13in MacBook Pro with Retina display looks like the perfect compromise – it's not quite as powerful as its 15in sibling but it's smaller and lighter, and while it's not quite as light as the 13in MacBook Air, but it is more powerful and has a much better screen.
Design
Few would argue that Apple designs some of the most mouth wateringly desirable tech products on the market, and the 13in MacBook Pro with Retina display is no different. Apple's trademark uni-body aluminium case is in evidence once more, but the lack of optical drive means that this machine looks more like an Air than a Pro.
The new MBP measures 314 x 219 x 19mm (WxDxH) and weighs in at 1.62kg – that's actually smaller than the 13in MacBook Air in two dimensions, which itself measures 325 x 227 x 1.7mm (WxDxH). Of course the Air is lighter at 1.35kg, but it's not like the Pro could be described as heavy.
Open up that aluminium clamshell and you're greeted with a full size isolated keyboard, with a large glass touchpad mounted in the middle of the wrist rest. There's also a 720p webcam mounted above the screen, giving you the option of making FaceTime calls to other Macs, iPads or iPhones.
Screen
Despite the 13in moniker, the screen is actually 13.3in, much like the vast majority of Ultrabooks on the market. Native screen resolution is slightly lower than the 15in model, at 2,560 x 1,600, but pixel density is slightly higher at 227 pixels per inch, compared to 220 PPI.
It is, however, worth remembering that you can't run the screen at its native resolution on the desktop (at least not officially). The default (best for Retina) resolution is 1,280 x 800, or one quarter the native resolution – this will give you the smoothest scaling, since four real pixels are making up each virtual one. Thankfully you can push that resolution up to 1,680 x 1,050, which still looks great, and suits the 13.3in screen size well. That said, I'd have liked an option to push the resolution up to 1,920 x 1,200 like the 15.4in Retina model.
You need to remember that the Retina display doesn't result in significantly increased desktop real estate, in fact if you choose the Best for Retina setting, you'll be looking at less real estate than a non Retina display MacBook Air. However, there are apps available that will allow you to drive the screen at its native resolution – just bear in mind that you'll need good eyesight to see those tiny icons and menus.
I downloaded the SwitchResX app, which lets you drive the internal screen at pretty much any resolution you like, including the native 2,560 x 1,600. Opting for that native resolution gives you a ludicrous amount of desktop real estate, and although it does mean that certain apps and icons are particularly small, that's something I'm willing to live with. It also means that apps don't need to be Retina optimised for them to look razor sharp.
While on the subject of optimisation, it's worth remembering that not all Mac applications are optimised for Retina display, which can result in them looking a little fuzzy on anything below native resolution. That said, the number of optimised applications has grown considerably since the 15in model was launched. Unfortunately Adobe still hasn't released an update for Photoshop, but hopefully we won't have to wait too much longer.
Resolution aside, there's a lot to like about the screen. Like all MacBook Pros, this one has edge-to-edge glass, giving it a sleek and stylish look – one of the things that I didn't like about my MacBook Air was the aluminium bezel around the screen. Apple claims that this new screen reduces glare by 75 per cent, which is no doubt an attempt to appease those consumers that dislike glossy displays. In practice, the screen certainly appears to be less affected by ambient light sources, but this is a fairly subjective topic, since some users are more affected by screen glare than others.
Despite the claimed glare reduction, Apple also claims that contrast is improved – something that I wouldn't argue with. Blacks are beautifully deep and rich, but not at the expense of detail. That impressive contrast also results in vivid colours, but those colours are never oversaturated, maintaining a natural, lifelike appearance.
It's an LED backlit IPS screen, so viewing angles are impressive too – handy if you're showing something off to colleagues. That goes for watching video too, that great contrast makes for excellent detail resolution in low light scenes, and with the wide viewing angle, enjoying video won't be limited to a single viewer.
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