I have had my MacBook Pro Retina for six months already. Sure, I loved the retina screen from the moment I unpacked the computer, but have only now realised its true glory. For the past months the laptop had been my desktop replacement and has not stirred from home, even on longer journeys when I still preferred to take the light Air. For all this time I have had my old 24in Cinema Display hooked up the laptop and I confess most of my work has been done on the larger screen. Last week, for the first time, I saw the same photograph on both the Cinema Display and the MBP’s retina screen and was astonished at the difference. Even with a powerful magnification I couldn’t see any pixellation on the retina while the old Cinema Display was heavily pixellated at the same level.
Yesterday I decided to pack the MacBook Pro instead of the Air for my summer break in Greece. I reckoned that I would welcome the extra definition and larger screen. The extra weight was a worthwhile trade off, I presumed. This has proved to be a wise decision.
Now, for the first time, I am totally reliant on the laptop screen and the definition of the retina display is a revelation. It’s bad of me not to have appreciated this sooner but I am now a convinced retina addict. I had intended to buy a new Cinema Display and had been waiting for an upgrade to USB 3 ports. Now, I think I will put off the purchase until we get a retina Cinema Display. I like to hope it cannot be too far in the future. Particularly for photographic work, the retina display is a must have.