Apple has recently released its three MacBook notebook computer brands. The company first released its 2015 MacBook Air last March 9, followed by the 2015 MacBook Pro with Retina Display on March 10, and finally by the 2015 Retina MacBook on April 10.
Without further ado, the following table compares the features and specifications of the three latest Apple machines.
2015 MacBook Air | 2015 MacBook Pro with Retina Display | 2015 Retina MacBook | |
Size | |||
Keyboard | - | - | Butteryfly mechanism |
Touchpad | - | Force Touch | Force Touch |
CPU | 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with 3MB shared L3 cache | 1: 2.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz) with 3MB shared L3 cache 2: 2.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz) with 3MB shared L3 cache 3: 2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz) with 3MB shared L3 cache | 1.1 GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor |
RAM | 4GB of 1600MHz LPDDR3 RAM | 8GB of 1866MHz LPDDR3 onboard RAM 8GB of 1866MHz LPDDR3 onboard RAM 8GB of 1866MHz LPDDR3 onboard RAM | 8GB of 1600MHz LPDDR3 |
Flash storage | 128GB PCIe-based | 128GB PCIe-based 256GB PCIe-based 512GB PCIe-based | 512 GB PCIe-based |
Display | 13.3-inch, 1440 x 900-pixel display | LED-backlit display with a Retina-class resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels | 2304x1440 pixels |
Graphics | Intel HD Graphics 6000 integrated GPU | Intel Iris Graphics 6100 | Intel HD Graphics 5300 |
Battery Life | 54-watt-hour battery: Up to 12 hours wireless web browsing | 74.9 Wh: 10 hr 7 min | 9 hrs. |
Price | $899 (11-inch); $999 (13-inch) | $1,299 | $1,299 |
Macworld UK presented the pros and cons of the three MacBooks:
- 13-inch MacBook Air
- Pros: Thunderbolt 2 enables "4K" display output; incredible storage performance
- Cons: Little discernible change in battery life or graphics performance
- 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro
- Pros: staggering battery life; unbelievable storage speed; same peerless design; no net price increase; cool new Force Touch trackpad; good array of ports
- Cons: lack of external changes hides breakthroughs within
- 12-inch MacBook
- Pros: very thin and light; cool new Force Touch trackpad
- Cons: only one data/charging port
Meanwhile, Cult of Mac cited a helpful guide on how to use the MacBook in closed-clamshell mode. The guide goes with any model of the MacBook. What is needed are power adapter; external keyboard, mouse, or trackpad; and external display.
The following steps include:
- Plug in the external monitor, and connect MacBook through HDMI (or DVI, RGB via dongle)
- Connect an external keyboard, and mouse (through Bluetooth, USB, or radio donge)
- Plug the MacBook into power
- Try closing the MacBook's lid. A short blank screen might be seen, but it should come right back up.
- If the MacBook was accidentally disconnected from power while it's in the closed-clamshell mode, just reconnect the magnetic power plug and tap the spacebar on the external keyboard a few times to wake the display.
Apple provided the complete steps on using the Mac notebook in closed-clamshell.
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