Apple Discontinued the 12-Inch MacBook Three Years Ago Today

[bingeciren]

Knowing that the "m" series Intel would be underpowered, I bought the BTO maxed-out m7 in 2016 and still using it every day. Turned out to be a wise choice because I don't find it underpowered or slow at all. 12" MacBook was (and still is) an iPad killer.

 

[hiphopdan]

I used one of these things from 2016 until about two weeks ago...I still absolutely love the form factor (and especially the diminutive weight), but looking back it was a nightmare to use much of the time.

The single port was always a gamble as to if it would ever recognize any peripherals, and using a dongle was usually pretty stressful. I'm also certain that my 2012 MBP was a faster machine.

I had planned on waiting for the M2 Air but needed a new laptop immediately and figured the MBP was the only machine that wasn't currently on it's way out. This thing is a beast! But definitely feeling the extra chunk the Pro has.

The MB 12" wasn't a speedster, but it was able to run current copies of Adobe CC and various music programs (Serato, Ableton), but I always felt like I was on thin ice.

Really am gonna miss this computer but also I hated it, often.....

 

[Miha_v]

I guess with these new much more efficient Apple silicon processors, return of this form factor could be a thing. It would make sense if they would re-brand these ones as "Air" (light & small), current MBAs would be simply renamed into just "Macbook", while MBP stays for the rest.

 

[SW3029]

Weird anniversary to remember

 

[ascender]

Despite all of its limitations, this was one of my favourite ever Mac laptops. As someone who did a lot of commuting and traveling, it was amazing being able to have something that small & light which ran macOS. Its one of the only Mac laptops I could put in a bag and genuinely not know its there.

 

[sailnavy]

I hope they release a new 12" one. There's something very handy about having a laptop the size of the sheet of paper.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

I never owned one, but I had to stop myself from buying one every time I went into an Apple store. Ended up using a 2012 MBP until last year, and now have the m1 air.

I would probably buy an Apple Silicon version of the 12", if it became available....or the 11" air!

 

[jaytv111]

I wonder, if apple decides to revive this 12” MacBook somehow, which chip would they choose. M3? Considering M2 isn’t power efficient and thermal efficient enough, it’s going to be very interesting to see how M3 would fare.

I don’t see them making a MacBook 12 inch any more, but the M2 will likely make it into the iPad which has more constraints than the MacBook 12 inch and the M1 was in the iPad and had no problem with power efficiency and thermal efficiency.

 

[JimWNC]

Today marks the third anniversary of Apple discontinuing the 12-inch MacBook. The portable notebook was removed from Apple's online store on July 9, 2019 alongside refreshes to the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro on the same day.

Introduced in March 2015, the 12-inch MacBook featured a thin and light design that weighed just two pounds, and it was also Apple's first fanless notebook. Pricing started at $1,299, with the original model's standard specs including a 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor, integrated Intel HD Graphics 5300, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD.

Key design aspects of the 12-inch MacBook included a single USB-C port for charging and data transfer, a then-new Force Touch trackpad, and a terraced battery design that allowed for a larger battery to fit inside the notebook's thin chassis.

"Apple has reinvented the notebook with the new MacBook," said Apple's former marketing chief Phil Schiller, in a March 2015 press release. "Every component of the MacBook reveals a new innovation. From its fanless design, ultra-thin Retina display and full-size keyboard that's 34 percent thinner, to its all-new Force Touch trackpad, versatile USB-C port and breakthrough terraced battery design, the new MacBook is the future of the notebook."

Unfortunately, the 12-inch MacBook was also the first MacBook model to feature Apple's infamous butterfly switch keyboard design, which is prone to failure and was eventually dropped from the entire MacBook lineup after years of complaints.

Apple last updated the 12-inch MacBook in June 2017, with the notebook having gone over two years without a hardware refresh before being discontinued.

In hindsight, it is clear that the 12-inch MacBook was hampered by the thermal constraints of Intel processors, with the notebook's thin and light design more appropriate for performant yet power efficient Apple silicon chips. Last month, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple was considering launching an all-new 12-inch notebook by 2024, but it is unclear if the notebook would be branded as a MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro. While the 12-inch MacBook was a low-end notebook, Apple also offered a higher-end 12-inch PowerBook G4 in the mid-2000s, prior to the original MacBook Pro being released.

Article Link: Apple Discontinued the 12-Inch MacBook Three Years Ago Today

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[mi7chy]

The shallow key travel isn't missed and screen too smol.

 

[jcbrown]

I Had Multiple USB Port Failing to Work/Charge Battery On Apple MacBook 12”. Now Waiting for Apple MacBook Air M2.

 

[1984 Mac Guru]

I have a 2016 8/256 that’s running Monterey and still works great. It’s only 2 pounds! However, it’s quite a crotchburner when streaming HD video.

 

[JimWNC]

If someone wants my Macbook 12" 16Gb core I9, he will have to take it apart from my dead hands.

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[TechRunner]

More nostalgic, do you remember the 12" Powerbook? I had to remind myself that it was called a "Powerbook G4" and not a MacBook Pro. It was such a cute little thing.

A co-worker had one, and I (and others) tried in vain to buy it from him.

 

[balticgreen]

More nostalgic, do you remember the 12" Powerbook? I had to remind myself that it was called a "Powerbook G4" and not a MacBook Pro. It was such a cute little thing.

I certainly do remember. I had one in college. It was released in early 2003 and I bought the first model (maxed out) to replace the ridiculously HEAVY Gateway that I had been using. The 12" PB G4 would be very thick and heavy today, but in its day, it was like a piece of paper compared to other laptops on the market. When I pulled it out of my bag in a class or in the commons, anyone near me would be like "WHOA! What is that?!?!" Quite the conversation starter.


I had a 2017 12" MacBook too. It was an awesome machine for travel and carrying around; my 27" iMac is my primary computer for heavy tasks so I wasn't worried about performance. The only problem with it was the wretched keyboard, although I wasn't typing War & Peace on it so it worked okay. Some people think it was underpowered or the screen was too small, but it was never intended to be a CAD workstation. It was intended to be a very portable computer for the basic tasks that 90% of computer users do on a regular basis and it was great for that. Admittedly, the MSRP starting at $1299 was questionable but it was always on sale at Best Buy. That's where I bought mine for hundreds off and at that price, it was a great deal. When the M1 MB Air came out, I made the decision to go ahead and upgrade and sell the 12" while it still had a decent value. Purely a financial decision, I would have kept it if not for the switch to Apple Silicon.

 

[1984 Mac Guru]

Knowing that the "m" series Intel would be underpowered, I bought the BTO maxed-out m7 in 2016 and still using it every day. Turned out to be a wise choice because I don't find it underpowered or slow at all. 12" MacBook was (and still is) an iPad killer.

Same. Had the 2015 base one and traded in for fastest because video wouldn’t work well. But on the 2016 it’s great and no complaints. Battery life is 60% but I’ve no desire to risk them replacing the battery.

 

[flottenheimer]

Amazong form-factor.
Apple should seriously do an Apple Silicon update of the 12"/11".

 

[Mr. Dee]

I think it should have remained as a natural entry level successor to the 11 inch MacBook Air. But noooooooooo, Tim and the MBA’s needed it to be this over expensive underpowered toy they thought sheep would buy in droves.

 

[livmatus]

This with the new scissor keyboard, M3 and 32GB of UM ... instant buy!

 

[Shalev Lazarof]

BRING IT BACK.

 

[1madman1]

The physical size of the 12" make it perfection for an everyday carry device - its almost exactly the size of a pile of standard paper and will fit in places sized for such. I have a 2017 which comes with me everyday along with my work issued HP Elitebook.

My only real complaint about the 12" was the single port. It really should've had two. I don't mind the keyboard or the CPU performance and considering the size.

Battery life was always abysmal on my 2015, the Genus bar said it was "normal". My 2017 is fine.

 

[DHagan4755]

BRING IT BACK.

It just may be coming back — but geared toward Pros. Think MacBook Pro physique, but speaker grills non-existent because the keyboard goes right up to the edge; much like the 12" PowerBook G4.

​

The keyboard will probably move closer to the hinge to accommodate the trackpad's size. The Liquid Retina display will have mini LEDs & thinner bezels means the screen size is closer to 12.5", instead of 12.0" of the 2015 12" MacBook.

It may run cool with its M2 or M2 Pro SoC but it will look 🔥 & we'll all want one.

 

[TheHareBear]

I had one of the BTO 1.3 GHz from launch in 2015 and it was a brilliant machine due to its weight and size. I quite often used it to VDI in for work and therefore the relative power didn’t matter so much. The BTO 1.3 was noticeably faster than the 1.1 and 1.2GHz however it was a pain when it came to Apple replacing it, twice, due to faults as new machines have to be BTO and shipped from the factories.

Replaced once due to the butterfly keyboard failing and the second one due to the battery failing. It wasn’t the battery itself causing the replacement but someone at the Apple Store in Edinburgh must have screwed something up as the replacement ‘didn’t meet Apple’s quality control’ apparently and whatever they had done wasn’t salvageable.

The third time back was only a complete new case and screen as the screen laminating issue was eventually admitted by Apple. Surprised that hasn’t come up in the thread thus far. That was a sweet day as I’d had an argument in the Apple Store about it the week before to no avail, and then was able to go back the following week when the programme was announced and the screen damage was well within the policy;I’d used a micro fibre cloth between screen and keyboard as advised by a genius for a long time by then.

The retina MacBook was used by my son for a couple of years before I could see the keyboard was beginning to fail (again!) and we traded it in before it failed.

Lovely machine, despite its failings due to the tolerances on screen and keyboard, though I suspect it cost Apple more than they made from me.

Andrew

 

[Neepman]

Fine design except for the crap keyboard.

 

[StilusGraphica]

Loved mine. It was one for the later models and it worked Perfectly until I sold it, buying a M1 MacBook Pro. It was a bit underpowered though. Development work demanded more power. Long before this, I owned an IBM 12“ which I loved too. If Apple released a 12“ model with and M2, I would consider it seriously.