I put windows 11 on a boot camp partition on my 12” MacBook and it works really well, mainly out of curiosity
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
12 Inch Macbook in 2024
- Thread starter racer1441
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Having used it in the past... I was not impressed with the model. I would look at getting an air unless you're stuck on that size in particular.
The MacBook's concept sounded great to me, but I wasn't thrilled about the result but then again, I wasn't in the market for a new laptop at the time. Come to think of it, if Apple used those dimensions in an ultraportable today, wouldn't its screen size be near my MacBook Air M3's with very little border?
The MacBook 12inch in my opinion is proof of concept to me, which is experimental product for Apple Silicon one. Apple really wanted a MacBook that is sized similar with regular iPad, lightweight Mac, coupled with power efficient processors and long battery life, suitable for people travelling.
It is just it is well ahead of its time. Intel M series processor is just too weak in performance and Apple priced it too high. The 2015 MacBook base model with 500GB SSD cost almost $2000 in Canada, which is in MacBook Pro territory.
I don't think Apple sold tons of this product, judging my the amount of MacBook in used market. It is pretty common to find a 2015 MacBook Pro in dirt cheap, but the 12inch MacBook is kind hard to find.
I do believe Apple will reintroduce 12inch MacBook with Apple Silicon in future. I hope this would be the entry point for Mac laptops and I hope this will be priced fairly.
P.S. this is probably the most annoying thing for the 12 inch MacBook
It is just it is well ahead of its time. Intel M series processor is just too weak in performance and Apple priced it too high. The 2015 MacBook base model with 500GB SSD cost almost $2000 in Canada, which is in MacBook Pro territory.
I don't think Apple sold tons of this product, judging my the amount of MacBook in used market. It is pretty common to find a 2015 MacBook Pro in dirt cheap, but the 12inch MacBook is kind hard to find.
I do believe Apple will reintroduce 12inch MacBook with Apple Silicon in future. I hope this would be the entry point for Mac laptops and I hope this will be priced fairly.
P.S. this is probably the most annoying thing for the 12 inch MacBook
Last edited:
The MacBook 12 inch is too expensive at the time for very little performance. For the same amount of money, you can get MacBook Pro for much better performance or you can go cheap with MacBook Air.
However, that being said, the 12inch MacBook is my favourite Macs.
I've been using my 2017 Macbook10,1 w/ OCLP for a few weeks as my daily driver. For basic tasks (e.g., office, music, video playback, remote), it still performs admirably. I've enjoyed it so much that I've returned the iPad Pro. While I wouldn't recommend going out to purchase one of these things to anyone, for those that already have it, it's still a fun device to use. Brings me joy. Goes without saying that I'd much prefer an Apple Silicon device in the same form factor, but I can ride it out until it drops 
I recently got multi-gigabit internet access and have since upgraded parts of my home network to 2.5 GbE. I also purchased a D-Link USB-C 2.5 GbE network dongle to troubleshoot the upgraded Ethernet ports in my home, using my 2017 12-inch m3 MacBook.
Well, it turns out turns out the MacBook can't keep up. I believe it may be because there is a fair bit of CPU overhead, so I can't even get full gigabit speeds out of this combination. There is a service called "Safari Networking" which I didn't even know existed. That alone was using 115% CPU, plus there was the actual Speedtest site using another 35% CPU, meaning between these two applications just testing the network speed, 150% CPU was being used.
Just to be sure, I checked macOS' System Report, and it shows that the dongle is indeed connected to the MacBook at 2500 Mbps (not 1000 Mbps).
In the end, I had to pull out my M4 iPad Pro to do this. It has no problems using the same dongle.
My internet access is 1500/50, but I get up to ~1900/50 when there is low traffic in the neighbourhood, and you can see that I've maxed it out with the iPad Pro plus 2.5 GbE dongle.
As much as I like my 12-inch MacBook, it's definitely showing its age.
Well, it turns out turns out the MacBook can't keep up. I believe it may be because there is a fair bit of CPU overhead, so I can't even get full gigabit speeds out of this combination. There is a service called "Safari Networking" which I didn't even know existed. That alone was using 115% CPU, plus there was the actual Speedtest site using another 35% CPU, meaning between these two applications just testing the network speed, 150% CPU was being used.
Just to be sure, I checked macOS' System Report, and it shows that the dongle is indeed connected to the MacBook at 2500 Mbps (not 1000 Mbps).
In the end, I had to pull out my M4 iPad Pro to do this. It has no problems using the same dongle.
My internet access is 1500/50, but I get up to ~1900/50 when there is low traffic in the neighbourhood, and you can see that I've maxed it out with the iPad Pro plus 2.5 GbE dongle.
As much as I like my 12-inch MacBook, it's definitely showing its age.
Heheh. Yep. Plus it's not even a Thunderbolt port. I would have at least been a little happier if it was Thunderbolt 3. I would have been even happier though if they had put a USB-C port in where the headphone jack is located. You can turn a USB-C port into a headphone jack with a $9 dongle, but you can't turn a headphone jack into a USB-C port (iPod shuffle notwithstanding).
Last edited:
I occasionally use my kid's old m3 12" 16/512 GB. It is setup dual boot Mojave & Windows 10.
Can't think of a more compact ethernet out-of-band management system for jacking into enterprise IT infrastructure equipment.
It is super light, and the (warranty-replaced) battery still lasts a long time.
Can't think of a more compact ethernet out-of-band management system for jacking into enterprise IT infrastructure equipment.
It is super light, and the (warranty-replaced) battery still lasts a long time.
I'm using MacBook 12" (2016) m7 8GB 512GB as my main mac (but secondary to my gaming windows PC).
What is it still very good at:
- Portable and the most beautiful design. Very thin, tapered, slim, sleek Johnny Ive design. IMO much better than the current lineup. Still absolutely perfect for traveling, light work, and a fashion accessory for sitting in a cafe.
- 8GB Ram and 512GB SSD enough for simple tasks.
- Screen still extremely good.
- Keyboard a non-issue for me. I've never had a problem with it.
- Handling files in conjunction with iCloud Drive. Still quick enough due to SSD speed.
- Photos taken from iPhone still syncs with the mac no problem, despite the OS being outdated by a few years.
What is struggles at:
- Handling 300GB photo library a bit slow
- Watching YouTube videos or using google maps could be sluggish at times. Borderline frustrating, but acceptable consider it's "a netbook" from 8 years ago - you have to appreciate how long it lasts.
- Battery life is worn down.
- I still run the machine off a 2560x1440 monitor while I'm at home and doing large spreadsheet/ document works. It can run it beautifully (in terms of the images), but it will be sluggish except for the lightest tasks.
- While I have already adapted to living off one USB-C port, and I have a good hub (Minix Neo C - since launch), it's still a slight hassel when i want to plug in a HDMI, mouse dongle, printer, phone, flash drive, etc. But it really is acceptable.
What I do not dare use it for:
- Gaming
- Video editing
- Photo editing
What is it still very good at:
- Portable and the most beautiful design. Very thin, tapered, slim, sleek Johnny Ive design. IMO much better than the current lineup. Still absolutely perfect for traveling, light work, and a fashion accessory for sitting in a cafe.
- 8GB Ram and 512GB SSD enough for simple tasks.
- Screen still extremely good.
- Keyboard a non-issue for me. I've never had a problem with it.
- Handling files in conjunction with iCloud Drive. Still quick enough due to SSD speed.
- Photos taken from iPhone still syncs with the mac no problem, despite the OS being outdated by a few years.
What is struggles at:
- Handling 300GB photo library a bit slow
- Watching YouTube videos or using google maps could be sluggish at times. Borderline frustrating, but acceptable consider it's "a netbook" from 8 years ago - you have to appreciate how long it lasts.
- Battery life is worn down.
- I still run the machine off a 2560x1440 monitor while I'm at home and doing large spreadsheet/ document works. It can run it beautifully (in terms of the images), but it will be sluggish except for the lightest tasks.
- While I have already adapted to living off one USB-C port, and I have a good hub (Minix Neo C - since launch), it's still a slight hassel when i want to plug in a HDMI, mouse dongle, printer, phone, flash drive, etc. But it really is acceptable.
What I do not dare use it for:
- Gaming
- Video editing
- Photo editing
Hm, wonder if there's something else at play here. might ask some silly questions but. did you try chrome & or edge?
technically the usb c port should do 20gbps, so 2gbps should be nothing.
would you try another dongle?
do you have a 5ghz router that could maybe push some of those speeds?
definitely doesnt help testing the ethernet in the home, but might be another way to get those speeds to that machine
i love my 12". just bought one. i own multiple lol.
not many people know but there were two "golds". i own a v2 gold which was rare. still havent used it and its been a year or more since i bought it lol
not many people know but there were two "golds". i own a v2 gold which was rare. still havent used it and its been a year or more since i bought it lol
As mentioned, there seems to be significant CPU overhead for this USB-C dongle's 2.5 Gbps networking. I'm not sure if that is the reason for the MacBook's inability to reach faster network speeds, but I don't think the USB-C port itself is the bottleneck. Note though the USB-C port maxes out at 5 Gbps, not 20 Gbps.
I just tried Chrome and the results were even worse. I could barely get over 500 Mbps with Chrome. With Firefox the results were better, but it was jumping all over the place, mostly over 700 Mbps and sometimes over 800 Mbps. With Safari it was more consistent and closer to Firefox, not full gigabit speeds. I checked the System Report again, and it confirmed it is connected to the dongle at 2500 Mbps.
I will just use my M4 iPad Pro for this purpose. It has no trouble at all with these speeds.
That's so interesting - I didn't imagine there would be CPU overhead for those types of network speeds, but makes sense.
Would you try it with a strong Wi-Fi router if only to tell us if the results are any different? Pretty interesting!
My old 2009 MacBook Pro could not get more than about 450 Mbps out of its built-in gigabit Ethernet port, and that’s a native Mac Ethernet port with native Apple drivers.
Apparently different Ethernet chipsets have more CPU overhead than others, depending upon the Mac drivers. I’m not sure where this one sits in comparison, but in the 2.5 Gbps dongle networking thread, this D-Link is the most recommended for reliability and Mac compatibility reasons. Anyhow, I have other non-multigig Ethernet dongles with lower overhead so if I ever need Ethernet on this 12-inch MacBook, I’ll use that.
I don’t think the 12-MacBook is capable of multi-gig speeds over WiFi. It has a theoretical WiFi max speed of 1.3 Gbps I believe, but typical real world speeds would likely be under half that.
I've been using my 2017 Macbook10,1 w/ OCLP for a few weeks as my daily driver. For basic tasks (e.g., office, music, video playback, remote), it still performs admirably. I've enjoyed it so much that I've returned the iPad Pro. While I wouldn't recommend going out to purchase one of these things to anyone, for those that already have it, it's still a fun device to use. Brings me joy. Goes without saying that I'd much prefer an Apple Silicon device in the same form factor, but I can ride it out until it drops
I definitely prefer desktop operating systems over mobile tablet OS, which is why I don’t use my iPad much—aside from reading and annotating PDFs.
Recently, I picked up a 2015 MacBook for about $200 CAD (with a 500GB SSD), and I’m really enjoying it. It’s become my go-to device for trips to the library or work because it’s so much easier to use than iPadOS.
I didn’t bother with OCLP and stuck with macOS Big Sur. Honestly, it’s still quite usable even today.
Reinstalled with v.2.2.0 and updated to Ventura due to end-of-support on some of my apps that used Monterey. MacBook 2015 doing well with no issues on Ventura!
What is your specification? I have the 1.2Ghz Dual Core Intel Core M with 8GB RAM. I am debating if I should install Ventura.
I mean I have Ventura runs in somewhat acceptable speed with 2009 MacBook Pro, this should handle Ventura without issues. But I am scared of updating this.
I was referring to the 12” MacBook with the same specs. So concerning the 12” MacBook, it seems to work well.
But in regards to the MacBook Pro 2009, I have the 2010 model and it did not work well with Open Core Patcher (for some reason). The fans went on a lot and a bit sluggish. I have not tried the newer v.2.20 version of Open Core Patcher yet, but will probably not for awhile as High Sierra works well on it and for older programs I still use on occasion. Zoom app to my surprise still works ok on the old work horse. I also have the favorite Snow Leopard on another partition for some old but faithful apps too.
I was referring to the 12” MacBook with the same specs. So concerning the 12” MacBook, it seems to work well.
But in regards to the MacBook Pro 2009, I have the 2010 model and it did not work well with Open Core Patcher (for some reason). The fans went on a lot and a bit sluggish. I have not tried the newer v.2.20 version of Open Core Patcher yet, but will probably not for awhile as High Sierra works well on it and for older programs I still use on occasion. Zoom app to my surprise still works ok on the old work horse. I also have the favorite Snow Leopard on another partition for some old but faithful apps too.
After installing Ventura on 2009, 2010, 2011 MacBook Pros (these all have non-metal card). I kind want to go back to High Sierra.
I am happy that OCLP existed and give us ability to install modern macOS on older unsupported Macs. But in the sometime, I questions the usefulness of installing new macOS on such old machines.
Essentially, with old MacBooks, especially ones before 2020, you are only getting very little from new macOS. All major features aren't working at all. Certainly features that requires Apple Silicon won't work and features that requires T2 chip also won't work.
This is also the reason that I haven't load Ventura to the 12" MacBook. I think I am just going to keep Big Sur on that machine.
Yes..that is why I am not loading Open Core Patcher on my MacBook Pro 2010.
But regarding my 12” MacBook 2015, I would have left it on Big Sur if I did not need to use the Line app as they are cutting service on macOS Big Sur soon.
I also like a few of Ventura OS options like select and translate as I have the need for it, but other than that, macOS Big Sur was fine on my MacBook 2015.
Also, Office 2019 is the last version able to be used on Big Sur, so another reason to update to Ventura.
Updating old Macs to the newer OS is really just for security reasons (if really a need) or if you find a use for the new OS tricks, including if there is an need to update some apps.
My need for using Open Core Patcher is that my 12” MacBook 2015 BECAME my DAILY general computer (to my surprise) over my fully loaded NEW M3 Macbook Air. Of course I use the Air, but I have grown to love the small very light laptop instead of using an iPad which I gave away.
Giving new life to the old Mac’s is a wonderful thing and I am glad Open Core Patcher is available for those who want to tinker or have a need as I do.
My 2015 M5 crapped out mid year, started to have issues around April, purchased an X1 carbon and super happy with it but I would buy a 12" macbook once again if they released it to replace my X1. I'm sure they'll easily be able to work around the heat/battery and keyboard issues this time around with a new chassis and non intel chips.
C'mon Apple, cusotmers are waiting for it, and we know apple staff would love it also.
C'mon Apple, cusotmers are waiting for it, and we know apple staff would love it also.
Love my Macbook 12". It's the 2017 base model (m3, 8GB, 256GB) and it works well. Of course, as all of us already talked about, the performance could be better but well, I think all the other perks helps to counter the performance.
For me:
Pros:
- Size and portability. Nothing more to say about these two. This laptop is just insanely small and portable.
- Screen. Really good screen with good colors as every other Macbook for the time (pros)
- Speakers. I don't see that many people talking about the speakers but man, this little Macbook have one, if not, of the best speakers in a laptop, specially for this size. It sounds amazingly well
- Keyboard: Yeah, for me, this is a pro and a con. It works well, feels well and do the work. I like the feeling of the clicks
- Trackpad: We all know how good are Macbooks trackpad, gladly the 12" are one of the best too.
Cons:
- Performance: Yeah, these little machines are just underpowered. That m3 of the base model can't do that much but again, for a light use like browsing, word, excel, movies, etc it works well. Currently using Big Sur since Catalina is just too old right now but Monterrey and Ventura are just too heavy for this machine
- Keyboard: Yeah, since I like the keyboard, we all know how easily it can fail. Almost every key works fine but a key that sometime it put 2 "a" instantly so..
- USB C port: Yep, again, we all know how difficult the things can be with only one USB C port. You can use a hub but cmon
- Price. Of course the price of this thing is insane. Obviously you can fine one right now cheaper than ever but still
Apple should release a Mx version of this computer. With a M processor and this size and portability, it can be one of the best laptop to travel and general use
For me:
Pros:
- Size and portability. Nothing more to say about these two. This laptop is just insanely small and portable.
- Screen. Really good screen with good colors as every other Macbook for the time (pros)
- Speakers. I don't see that many people talking about the speakers but man, this little Macbook have one, if not, of the best speakers in a laptop, specially for this size. It sounds amazingly well
- Keyboard: Yeah, for me, this is a pro and a con. It works well, feels well and do the work. I like the feeling of the clicks
- Trackpad: We all know how good are Macbooks trackpad, gladly the 12" are one of the best too.
Cons:
- Performance: Yeah, these little machines are just underpowered. That m3 of the base model can't do that much but again, for a light use like browsing, word, excel, movies, etc it works well. Currently using Big Sur since Catalina is just too old right now but Monterrey and Ventura are just too heavy for this machine
- Keyboard: Yeah, since I like the keyboard, we all know how easily it can fail. Almost every key works fine but a key that sometime it put 2 "a" instantly so..
- USB C port: Yep, again, we all know how difficult the things can be with only one USB C port. You can use a hub but cmon
- Price. Of course the price of this thing is insane. Obviously you can fine one right now cheaper than ever but still
Apple should release a Mx version of this computer. With a M processor and this size and portability, it can be one of the best laptop to travel and general use
Even an A series chip would be more than fast enough, although those chips could be limited by I/O or some other limitations. Geekbench 6 multi-core average (not peak) scores:
13708 - M4
9812 - M2
8359 - M1
8127 - A18
7174 - A17 Pro
6683 - A16 Bionic
1720 - Core i5-7Y54
1638 - Core m3-7Y32
IOW, an A series iPhone chip that's a few generations old is still 4X as fast as the 2017 MacBook 12-inch.
I finally have my little TrashBook completely up and running! A year and a half or so ago I pulled it out of a recycle pile, dead to the world after liquid damage and a hard life of heavy use. It's scratched, dented, and overall pretty banged up, but I managed to get it booting again. The keyboard was bad, the trackpad was bad, and the USB port only did charging. Over the last year I've replaced the top case, trackpad, trackpad cable, USB port, battery, and audio board to fix various issues it's had and with the audio finally sorted, this machine is 100% functional for the first time in its life! It's not much to look at, but it does its job so well. It still has its fair share of marks all over it, the screen has a number of little nicks in it, the rubber around the edge was goop when I got it so I scraped it all off, and the bottom bezel of the screen was cracked by the hinge, but it's been a great little project and it's nice to have such a tiny, light, portable Mac that I can toss in a bag and not really notice or have to worry about beating up.
