MacBook 12-inch: Most compact Mac ever turns 10, awaits successor
It ran on a lame Intel chip, had no fan and could be taken anywhere: the 12-inch MacBook. Why doesn't it come with Apple Silicon?
12-inch MacBook: Lightest Mac – even lighter than an iPad with keyboard. But somehow Apple sees no reason to reissue the model.
(Image: Apple)
When Apple presented Macs with Apple Silicon for the first time in 2020, observers immediately thought that the company would very quickly work on a rebirth of the most compact MacBook of all time, which was discontinued in 2019. But then, and to this day, nothing happened. Now the MacBook with a 12-inch screen is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its launch without a successor.
Fanless and under one kilo
On March 9, 2015, Apple unveiled the model, then known as the MacBook Retina, at an event in San Francisco. According to CEO Tim Cook at the time, it was a "reinvention" of the notebook. The hardware was indeed impressive: a high-resolution display met a comparatively usable Intel Core M with 1.1 GHz and no fan. The device weighed just 920 grams, making it even (significantly) lighter than a 12.9-inch iPad Pro with keyboard.
Although the machine was not a miracle box for multimedia applications, it was actually adequate for everyday use in the office and even for some video and audio editing. Above all, thanks to its low weight and compact dimensions, you didn't have to worry about not having enough space to take it with you. Even in a cramped airplane, the 12-inch device worked perfectly. Only the butterfly keyboard could be annoying when it failed due to dust penetration.
MacBook Air 13 as a heavier successor
Apple gave the 12-inch MacBook a total of three generations. In addition to the first one from 2015, there were others in 2016 and 2017 that delivered newer Core processors, and finally an i5 and even an i7 after the M models. This made the compacts more suitable for professional applications. In 2019, Apple finally decided to remove the product line from the range and it was discontinued without replacement. Since then, there have only been MacBook Pro models in various versions and the MacBook Air. Although the 13-inch model is also compact, it is significantly bulkier than the 12-inch MacBook. The machine also weighs over 1.2 kilos.
Whether Apple will one day have the mercy to bring another really compact MacBook weighing less than a kilo onto the market remains unclear. There are no current rumors about this. The Apple Silicon chips would actually be ideal: the MacBook Air with the new M4 also manages without a fan.
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