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I think you just answered your one questions. I looked a lot into the “browser lag” that everyone seems to be so up in arms about on the 13" and 15" rMBP. When I hear people talking about this I usually point them in the direction of the Anandtech 13" rMBP review (hell, when I hear anything about anything these days I usually point people in this direction). I own a 13" rMBP and I’m not sure based on your comment if you own one or like many other people you are just making a comment based on an experience, but I have yet to see people complain about any other application on these retina Pros other than the browser. Like you mentioned if you look into it is because the WebKit is not optimized for these resolutions and yes I agree it is unbelievable that Apple hasn’t done anything about this and it should not have left to enter the market without these updates.

Where I disagree with your statement is in that the current processors cannot push the retina resolutions. That is BS and we have other retina like products on the market that are tablets that have no problem pushing the resolution around and on mobile SoCs. Like I said it is in the browser and 99.9% of the time I see people complaining (including this forum post and even Nilay’s poorly done review of the 13" rMBP) is that people are using a resolution that is not optimized for the laptop. To get this out the way I def agree that running the 1280×800 is a poor aspect ratio and Apple should have went with the 1440×900 like they do with the 13" Air, but the fact is they didn’t and if you choose to run at the 1440×900 (like Nilay) or even the 1680×1050 (like the OP) then you are asking for problems and this goes with pretty much every computer on the market because then not only are you pushing the retina pixels, but your laptop is constantly upscaling and downscaling. If you don’t believe me simply go try it out. I know it is painful to run at 2560 X 1600 which is 1280×800 but doubled both horizontally and vertically, but that is how it was designed. Still, I see countless posts where folks complain about “browser lag” and then admit to changing this resolution. It seems like an easy choice to me. You either grab you a 15" rMBP and run it at its native resolution, or you get the 13" and run it at its native resolution, but have a smaller footprint and lighter weight. If that doesn’t work then the 13" Air is an excellent laptop, but you don’t get the retina display.

Like I mentioned I own the 13" rMBP and I see no lag and benchmarking against my wife’s 2012 Air I get about 60% better performance in almost every stat. The only place I see rare lag is the browser and I see that on my wife’s Air and my 2012 13" MBP. I also see it on my brand new iMac. Apple needs to get on this and update the WebKit engine as that is the culprit not the processor or even worse the lack of discreet graphics as the 15" has the exact same problem with the browser. The Anandtech review does an excellent job of pointing this out in their review. It is not a problem with the Intel HD 4000 it is in that WebKit is only using one core and not multi threading. The way they know this as they see a pretty big jump in increase based on the overall speed of the processor. Like you said this is 110% irresponible on Apple’s part especially as this laptop has been out for more than 6 months now and the 15" is nearing a year.

I’m not trying to call you out for anything just simply posting as I’ve seen so many of these posts blaming the 13" chip when it is by far much faster than the A5X found in the retina 3rd gen iPad or the processor found in the Nexus 10. I think the main problem is what I said above and that is people changing the aspect ratio and the worst Apple not updating Safari. To be fair though Google hasn’t updated Chrome and Firefox hasn’t been updated either. All I know is the 13" rMBP has been by far the best laptop I’ve ever used and it is the fastest as well. It is more than capable, but you have to know what you are buying it for and not have an unrealistic view of what you want it to do. You need to attempt to run it in it’s native aspect ratio (I know this isnt 100% correct as Apple is just running 1280×800 times 2, but you get my point), and most of all and what I always see is this is not a gaming laptop and never will be. Hell, I would argue that even the 15" isn’t. Yes, you can play some games, but don’t expect to be running some crazy games on it and I’ve seen that for years with Apple laptops. Third, find out what the real problem is dont blame it on its lack of discreet graphics as the 15" has it and still has problems.

BTW for those that don’t know and maybe dont believe what I am saying go download WebKit (I thjnk that is what its called. It is a Safari logo in gold). This has WebKit updated and has some devs working on it and is 95% lag free. It is a giant step forward. This isn’t magic people just finding the problem and attempting to fix it not blaming it on something that isn’t there.

7 days ago on rMBP 13 UI lags

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No you are very wrong. I could count at least 20 apps I use everyday that are extremely popular that will never be on Android. Android is still very behind and even if a game or two come over it is almost a year behind even now. To make just one example, Fieldrunners 2

7 days ago on Windows Phone hits 145,000 apps, but progress slows 1 reply 1 recommend

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I have to say I sadly disagree. I live in both iOS and Android for tablets and phones and I have to say that almost every app still debuts in iOS first and not to mention there are just the top tier ones. There are many apps like fantastical, Clear, Mailbox, Tweetbot, Alien Blue, etc that can only be found on iOS and probably wont ever be on Android. This only mentioning some of the apps I use and not to mention games (which I really don’t play) which iOS still is destroying the competition (Letterpress, Bastion, Joe Danger, Infinity Blade 1/2, and Hundreds to name just a few). Let’s face it as much as I want Android to have a similar experience in app development it is still literally a couple years behind. The top devs are going to iOS and yes they may put out an Android app at some time (which I have found is almost a year behind like for example Field Runners 2), or they simply just don’t see the value in releasing one. The point is Apple has taken a lot of time in protecting the overall healthiness of the platform for 3rd party devs and they can make money (a lot of money). That isn’t always true about Android apps and when they are on both platforms most of the time they don’t feel anywhere near as polished. I really want them too, but they just don’t.

You only have to spend 5 min and have an open mind to see it. Every Thursday I open the app store and it is chalked full of new applications, but the other day I was on my GS3 (which I havent used in months) and the top hundred apps still looks almost exactly the same as it always has. Like I said before. Apple keeping much the same display resolutions and not chasing every display size and spec has kept a great eco system to develop for. Call it what you will, but this is the reason Apple isn’t so quick to make a phone with every 1/16th inch in display size like Samsung is. The iOS app store is to the Android Play Store much like how the iPhone is to most Android devices. You just get a much higher quality experience and device. I hope it changes and have been hoping for years as I really much prefer Android, but I only see them falling more and more behind as the higher end devs refuse to code for Android. Keep in mind this is only for phones for tablets take everything I said and times it by 100. The Android tablets eco system is awful.

7 days ago on Windows Phone hits 145,000 apps, but progress slows 1 reply 2 recommends

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I was just about to jump on this statement as well. Thanks for not making me waste my time. I guess ignorance is bliss. Maybe this is he attitude that keeps me from even treading into the Microsoft tribe anymore.

22 days ago on Six months on, Windows 8 sales are a mystery 1 recommend

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I said the same and backed it up by saying that Google needs to dump Motorola on their face about a year ago, but to android fanboys and girls google does no wrong and for some reason people still see Motorola as a good company that makes quality phones. All I see is a company that made a great phone in the Original Droid and then got very greedy and dumped every device after that. It’s sad because it is the only America based handset maker outside of apple. Motorola is a joke and so are there devices.

22 days ago on Does anyone know why Google bought Motorola? 1 reply 2 recommends

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What is a big deal is the fact that all these mostly useless features will take development time and once IO comes it will already be behind. The last thing you need is a string of features no one uses, but everyone expects thanks to their advertising. So yes, all these features are a negative at least to me.

25 days ago on Samsung Galaxy S4 review 19 recommends