Two years ago I saw some 12-inch MacBook on Costco website and quickly ordered one. Although I should have bought the i5 model, I got myself the base m3 model in silver. I love small notebook and wishing Apple re-debut the 12-inch form factor. It's still running macOS Catalina and happy to see it's capable to run macOS Ventura.
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MacBook 12 appreciation thread
- Thread starter SamRyouji
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There's hope, if you can wait. I think I will hold on to mine for another year!
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...er-macbook-air-to-capitalize-on-its-new-chips
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...er-macbook-air-to-capitalize-on-its-new-chips
I will believe it when I see it, but the rumours do make me a bit more optimistic. However, truth be told, my next portable upgrade is probably going to be my iPad Pro 10.5". Perhaps when an 11-12" model goes OLED in 2024?
The placeholder I was really talking about would be until an updated 13-14" MacBook Air got released. We just got that, but now that the MacBook Air is 13.6", it does give us room to have a slightly bigger 12" MacBook too. With a smaller bezel than on our 12.1" MacBooks, a similar chassis size could probably fit something like a 12.5" screen, esp. if they incorporate that controversial notch.
A 12.5" M2 MacBook would totally rock, especially if they improved the keyboard and trackpad too. They could even provide a 24 GB option.
In the meantime, we 2017 owners will be getting macOS 13 Ventura, so we'll have full OS support until at least 2023, and possibly 2024, with security and Safari updates after that for a couple of years. And although those of you with the 2015 and 2016 models won't get Ventura, you'll still be getting those security and Safari updates for a while.
a few months ago i sold my 2018 MBA 8GB/256GB in Gold and bought a newly refurbished Macbook 2017 with 16GB/512GB in Rose Gold off ebay
after seeing that a pink macbook air was not announced i can say i am happy i picked up this 12 inch when i did! (esp considering it has 16GB Ram)
after seeing that a pink macbook air was not announced i can say i am happy i picked up this 12 inch when i did! (esp considering it has 16GB Ram)
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I have a base spec '16 model, and it is sooo slow now. Like, painfully slow. No matter what I am doing, I have to wait. The keyboard has been replaced twice, and now the display is also failing (Showing wrong colors), so it is time to upgrade to an M2 MBA.
A pity, since the design is the best Apple has done.
A pity, since the design is the best Apple has done.
I've had my Early 2016 12" MacBook for over 5 years now. Thankfully no hardware issues so far. It does get slow over time for whatever reason but wiping the partition and doing a clean re-install with the latest OS always brings the snappiness back.
When I first got it I used Boot Camp to install Windows and wiped the MacOS partition. It was my only machine for a couple of years whilst I was travelling. Then eventually I got a desktop pc with Windows so I removed Windows from the MacBook and re-installed MacOS. I use it everyday for casual stuff and take it with me everywhere. I love it.
Only the battery is degrading but I still manage to get a good 3-6 hours of mixed usage.
When I first got it I used Boot Camp to install Windows and wiped the MacOS partition. It was my only machine for a couple of years whilst I was travelling. Then eventually I got a desktop pc with Windows so I removed Windows from the MacBook and re-installed MacOS. I use it everyday for casual stuff and take it with me everywhere. I love it.
Only the battery is degrading but I still manage to get a good 3-6 hours of mixed usage.
My 2017 MB12 is still my personal daily driver, and I've still got AC+ on it. Despite the obvious limitations, it's still the best overall design that Apple's made. Very grateful for its years of service, and for the service that AppleCare's provided for it. (Had the keyboard replaced a couple years ago, and had the screen replaced due to scratching last year.) Really hoping that this carries me through till the next 12" M-series gets released!
I'm off on a road trip this week and thought the 2017 MB12 would be a great travel computer. I dragged it out of the drawer where it's been sitting since I got the M1 Air and M1 Max 16" and had forgotten just how small and light it is. The screen is so nice and plenty big enough for my travel needs. I decided to erase the whole thing and start fresh with Monterey and I'm now syncing all my cloud accounts. Granted it is very slow compared to the M1 Air but I'm hoping it will do the job.
I really hope Apple bring out an M1 or M2 12" replacement because it's such a great form factor.
I really hope Apple bring out an M1 or M2 12" replacement because it's such a great form factor.
If anyone is experiencing a slow Macbook like I was, you can try doing an SMC reset. While it is not advisable to do often, it had significantly sped up my Macbook's performance (2017 version). If you do try it however, it should be at your own risk as it interacts with low level processes such as power management and LED brightness.
I'm not the person you asked, but I have the MacBook 2017 i7/16GB/512GB and found it to generally be about the same in speed as a 2015 13 inch MacBook Pro (the one with a dual core i5), with the exception that the 12 inch MacBook could be made to throttle under heavy use.
Both machines are very slow by comparison to the M1 generation, but I still take it on short trips where I wouldn't otherwise take a laptop.
That sounds good to me and thanks for the feedback.
I have the i5 and really am intrigued if the i7 with 16gb & 500gb is quicker and snappier than the i3/i5/M3?
I have the i5 and really am intrigued if the i7 with 16gb & 500gb is quicker and snappier than the i3/i5/M3?
I can actually answer this as I picked up the i7 16/512 as a replacement for a 2017 i5 8/256 (which itself replaced a 2015 which I think was m5? It was the mid-range one).
To be honest, the speed difference between i5 and i7 is minimal and it's not noticeably snappier in use unless you hit the i5's RAM limit. Both 2017 models were noticeably quicker than the 2015 if you were actively looking for a difference, but not exactly night and day.
Ah perfect, that's what I wanted to know.
I can't imagine Im going to get anywhere close to the RAM limit if I just using Safari + Mail + simple applications such as Calendar / Reminders etc?
Depends on whether those 'simple applications' are written using web technologies like Electron, etc... then you can easily enough get close to the 8GB limit.
Probably not - I mean Apple still (unbelievably) sells 8GB even now as the base RAM in M2 Macs!
Safari is a good bet on all Macs if you want maximum performance, but I tend to prefer Chrome and found that the h264ify plugin was useful to force YouTube not to use the heavier codecs, which could otherwise bog down the little machine.
The good news is the 2017 has h.265 HEVC hardware decode. Doesn’t bog down the machine.
However, yes YouTube’s VP9 can slow things down.
Crikey, are you a Starfleet science officer taking the MacBook on away missions or something?
I have a Macbook 2017 M3 with 8GB/256GB and I think that the performance is good but not with the last OS. With High Sierra flies but with Ventura just struggle really hard.
Sweet spot for me is Big Sur if you want a modern OS with an updated Safari or Catalina if you want a not so old OS like High Sierra/Mojave and want a good performance.
Really like the design, the speakers (not too many people talk about the speakers and this one have a really really good ones), the keyboard (I like it since I didn't have any problem so far), good screen and of course, the size. Small little beautiful laptop.
I'm really hoping that Apple release an M-x Macbook in the future. With the M processor this machine will bring to life a really good concept
Sweet spot for me is Big Sur if you want a modern OS with an updated Safari or Catalina if you want a not so old OS like High Sierra/Mojave and want a good performance.
Really like the design, the speakers (not too many people talk about the speakers and this one have a really really good ones), the keyboard (I like it since I didn't have any problem so far), good screen and of course, the size. Small little beautiful laptop.
I'm really hoping that Apple release an M-x Macbook in the future. With the M processor this machine will bring to life a really good concept
Looking at the rest of the lineup, I think it's unlikely...
The 12-inch MacBook was intended more as a proof-of-concept for a certain vision, one probably associated with Jony Ive more than anybody who is still at Apple. With Ive gone, one thing that's obvious is that they are launching products, e.g. Mac Studio, a 15" MacBook Air, iPhone 14 Plus, etc that there is demand for but that didn't neatly fall into Ive & co's idea of the right aesthetics.
A reborn 12-inch MacBook doesn't fit nicely into either the MacBook Air (passively-cooled, lower-priced, etc) or MacBook Pro (actively-cooled, higher-priced, nicer screens, thicker) paradigms. Almost should be a MacBook nano/mini - take the old 12" MacBook design, enlarge the screen and give it a notch, replace the keyboard with the modern one, done. Then add the cellular modem from the iPad and you'd have a very nice machine for a very small market.
I still use my 2017 Macbook as my couch / garden / travel laptop, it's such a superb machine. People who hate on it just.don't.get.it. Gotta love it when people on forums "enlighten" you that:
a) The difference in size/weight between the 12" Macbook and the MacBook Air isn't a big deal, you would barely notice, and you should just generally get over it.
b) Oh, you use it for couch and travel? You're better off with an iPad. Have you heard that they make a 12.9" one? Would be ideal for you.
c) The 12" Macbook can really only handle surfing the internet, but be warned...if you have more than one tab open it will catch on fire.
a) The difference in size/weight between the 12" Macbook and the MacBook Air isn't a big deal, you would barely notice, and you should just generally get over it.
b) Oh, you use it for couch and travel? You're better off with an iPad. Have you heard that they make a 12.9" one? Would be ideal for you.
c) The 12" Macbook can really only handle surfing the internet, but be warned...if you have more than one tab open it will catch on fire.
Considering it should be about three times as fast as my MBA 2010, plus other enhancements, it should be fine. And nothing prevents few optimizations.
Oh, I agree...
I actually have a 12.9" iPad, anybody who thinks it's comparable is smoking something. The one big advantage of the iPad is the built-in cellular connectivity.
But... the 12" MacBook is a niche product that doesn't fit in with the low or high end of the lineup. If they resurrected it, I think they should call it MacBook nano or MacBook mini... or actually, it SHOULD be called MacBook Air except that "Air" means "low-end" in the post-2015 world.
But my worry is, a MacBook mini would be... about as niche a product as the Mac Pro.
(Also, did you buy yours new? I will admit that I didn't... and I would never, ever have spent whatever the price tag of an i7 MacBook with 16GB of RAM was brand new. So as much as I like my 12" MacBook, I paid 1/4 of its new price for it and got it as more of a toy than anything... and meanwhile, I paid full price for a launch day M1 Max 16" MacBook Pro. So... as far Apple is concerned, they had the right product mix to sell to me.)
I too am amazed at the speakers on the 12". I watch movies on it and the sound is really good. Screen is also good. How was Apple able to get good sounding speakers on this little laptop? I do not know. They sound better than resent laptops with suppose to have better speakers...(like the Air)
I did the same and bought MacBook 2015 for 1/4 of the price as a "toy"...have a 16" MacBook Pro 2021 for the battleship tasks and work. Would not even consider buying new for the price when it was out.
BUT... after using it for a few months, it is no longer is a toy and became useable in my workflow to my surprise. Typing on it now...
Perfect size for me just for traveling or sitting on my couch (laying actually) with a pillow and doing some work with it. The keyboard of course after awhile typing - my fingers get tired (butterfly keyboard), but it is ok for what it is. Underpowered of course, but Big Sur with the latest patches seems to be running faster. Safari's offerings seem much faster also.
So overall (to my surprise) my old "toy" became adopted into my workflow as a main part now. If I knew it would be this good for me, I would have spend a few more pennies to get a 2017 model when I had a chance, but I wanted the gold version and it was in perfect condition (except for a few small specs/scratches that are not noticeable when the screen is on due to top lip of the trackpad - like old Airs issues).
Since I paid $325 for it at the time, I went to Apple and replaced the battery before the price hike, so I am set for some time with this little gem!
Hoping...Apple...comes out with another...even if it JUST has an M1 in it...but..."if" it had a M3................