Will we ever see another 12" MacBook?

[BayouTiger]

My wife absolutely loves her 12" MacBook, but it's getting pretty long in the tooth. None of the issues every blasted it for bother her (single port, butterfly, etc) She loves it for the portability. She also lives on her iPad mini, but there is much that she just cannot (or will not) do on an iPad.
Considering the bezels, I could see the 12" even getting more screen while keeping the footprint and form factor. Maybe this would be a way for a new Air to put more distance between it and the Pro.
It seems that Apple spent so much time listening to the YouTubers constantly cry for bigger/thicker/more ports they have left the folks that care more about portability behind, at least for this cycle. I love my 14" but I am on the opposite side of the ports. MagSafe does nothing for me and I will likely never plug anything into the HDMI. My bag is full of USB-C accessories that get used on both my MBP and Thinkpad.

 

[MikeDr206]

Your best bet is going to be the new MBA. I’d love to see a 13 inch screen in the size of the 12 inch rMB, and importantly, 2 pounds.

But no one knows. It seems to me that it would be logical to have MBA in 13 and 15 sizes, but no one knows for sure.

 

[MikeDr206]

I’ll add that I love my 12. So much that I’ve purchased them for my mom and my father in law.

 

[Quddy]

Me too! I still use my 2016 12" MacBook daily. It's just so well balanced for its intended audience, perfect in everyway.

The battery in mine is degrading and I could do with a little bit more performance. Honestly, if they only upgraded the CPU along with the latest USB, Wifi standards etc. and kept the rest the same, I would buy it in a heartbeart. Considering how many years it's been, imagine the extra performance we would get given the same thermal and power constraints.

 

[ixxx69]

I loved my 2015, which I used for 5 years, and was so disappointed when they discontinued it. I was almost going to get a used 2017, but then the M1 MBA came out and I gave that a go, and while not quite as light and compact, I really don't miss the MB as much as I thought I would.

And the M1 MBA has been FANTASTIC! Unfortunately I had to do a bit of traveling last year, and I took it everywhere.

(FWIW, I'm on the smaller side, so it's not like size differences are insignificant to me).

 

[capathy21]

I loved my 2015, which I used for 5 years, and was so disappointed when they discontinued it. I was almost going to get a used 2017, but then the M1 MBA came out and I gave that a go, and while not quite as light and compact, I really don't miss the MB as much as I thought I would.

And the M1 MBA has been FANTASTIC! Unfortunately I had to do a bit of traveling last year, and I took it everywhere.

(FWIW, I'm on the smaller side, so it's not like size differences are insignificant to me).

Same here. the M1 MBA is the closest we will get to a 12 inch MacBook as far as fanless, etc. I wish Apple would have kept the 12 inch macbook and put an M1 chip in it as the first silicon Mac. The 12 inch Macbook with an M1 would have literally been the perfect computer. That being said, the Air is fine once you get used to the size.

 

[mk313]

I sure hope they replace it at some point. I love mine. I bought a 2015 model & used it all the way up until the 2017's were discontinued, then I bought a maxed out (Except for the 256 SSD as it was all I could find) model which I still use today. my 2015 (which was a backup) died last year & I ended up picking up another 2017 from a forum member as a backup. While it could be a little bit faster, it's still the perfect computer. I sure hope the next air takes some more cues from the 12".

 

[MikeDr206]

at home I use a Mac Mini 2018 i7 with a 27“ 5K monitor. When I travel for weeks at a time I use a rMB 2017 i7 hooked up to an Apple Cinema Display (I travel to visit a family member and leave the monitor there).

the rMB is perfectly adequate, but every time I come home, I immediately welcome how much faster the Mini is.

 

[a.Lias]

Love my 2017 rMB12. It's perfectly adequate to do basic office and remote tasks, but it would be much more capable with a slightly larger screen and the M1 chip. A re-designed 13" MBA close to the rMB12 would very likely dominate the average consumer space, and I'd definitely pre-purchase one for launch day.

Not sure how likely it'll be, but we should see the Air re-design this year.

 

[TechRunner]

It will be released alongside the 17" Air Seriously, having spent time with both a MacBook and the new M1 Air, that's the closest experience you're liable to get going forward from Apple. I'd love to be wrong, for the sake of MB lovers everywhere, but...

 

[CalMin]

My wife absolutely loves her 12" MacBook, but it's getting pretty long in the tooth. None of the issues every blasted it for bother her (single port, butterfly, etc) She loves it for the portability. She also lives on her iPad mini, but there is much that she just cannot (or will not) do on an iPad.
Considering the bezels, I could see the 12" even getting more screen while keeping the footprint and form factor. Maybe this would be a way for a new Air to put more distance between it and the Pro.
It seems that Apple spent so much time listening to the YouTubers constantly cry for bigger/thicker/more ports they have left the folks that care more about portability behind, at least for this cycle. I love my 14" but I am on the opposite side of the ports. MagSafe does nothing for me and I will likely never plug anything into the HDMI. My bag is full of USB-C accessories that get used on both my MBP and Thinkpad.

Exactly this. My wife has moved most of her casual computing needs to the iPad, but there are some things that are just better on the 12" MacBook and Apple makes nothing right now that appeals to her in any meaningful way.

I think the next best thing is an iPad Air/Pro with Magic Keyboard, but that is a really clunky/heavy set-up vs. the 12" MacBook.

Apple Silicon certainly allows for a slim, compact MacBook. The question is will the market? Like you, I think that the popular YouTubers have skewed folks away from the thin/light because a slim laptop won't benchmark as well as something bigger. Plus, just because they live or die with 4k video editing, they bias their impressions based on computers that do that well. My wife never edits video, audio, photos, she never codes, plays triple-A games and has no idea what a Geekbench is.

 

[speedyraf]

While we like our 2015 i5 MacBook Airs (11" and 13") and work fine with Monterey, we're hoping the upcoming model comes close to the portability of the retina 12" MacBook with updated specs. An iPad won't work with some of the apps we use, so it's not an option for us.

 

[EugW]

While we like our 2015 i5 MacBook Airs (11" and 13") and work fine with Monterey, we're hoping the upcoming model comes close to the portability of the retina 12" MacBook with updated specs. An iPad won't work with some of the apps we use, so it's not an option for us.

We have a 2017 13" MacBook Air (which is the same size as the 2015 MacBook Air), a 2015 13" MacBook Pro, and a 12" MacBook, as well as a 10.5" iPad Pro and 10.2" iPad both with Smart Keyboards.

Although the 13" MacBook Pro is heavier than the Air, the Air feels awkwardly big in comparison. The Air's footprint is quite large. However, the machines that feel truly portable IMO are the 12" MacBook and the iPads. I can carry both the 12" MacBook and 10.5" iPad Pro with Smart Keyboard together in a very small travel bag and it doesn't even look like I'm carrying a device (or two).

 

[AudiHeel]

Just got the new MBA to replace my 2017 MacBook. It's noticeably faster, bigger & heavier.

A 2 pound ~12" fan-less MacBook with M1, magic keyboard and MagSafe would be killer.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

I love the portability and design (Best they have done!) of my 2016 Macbook. But the battery is down to 60% at 1200 cycles, the keyboard is not really that good, and the machine is quite slow. Give it modern specs, and I would definitely buy it again in a heartbeat. A HDMI port would be nice. Dont care about MagSafe.

 

[DaneTheGr8]

The problem really stems back to Apple's convoluted product line up and sadly both Intel issues and that line up had the 12" MacBook discontinued.

The 12" Retina MacBook should have been the successor to the MacBook Air - and in 2015, Apple should have discontinued that current non-retina MacBook Air and rebranded the 12" MacBook as a MacBook Air. It would have given the true meaning to the name in terms of portability.

Yes, it was underpowered and Intel unable to provide a suitable chip created problems when it didn't get any refreshes at the end of it's life beside chopping and changing between various Gold type colours.

However Apple really should have not then only in 2018 upgrade the non-retina MacBook Air to the current look. It was too close to the MacBook Pro look and stopped the product line between Consumer and Pro being too close. It also bore too similar resemblance to the Pro and really was a fraction lighter. In fact only from the front or side is the difference noticeable.

Both my housemate and myself have M1 MacBooks. Myself a M1 MacBook Pro, and she has a M1 MacBook Air and really picking up both without even thinking or feeling for weight difference, more or less look the same.

The problem also came when M1 was released that performance between the Consumer and 'Pro' devices made the Air and Pro too similar. Had Apple kept the MacBook Retina (rebranded it MacBook Air) when launched and continued that line - there would be a true difference between the Consumer and Pro lines.

What I do not understand is while Apple Silicon had been planned to discontinue the MacBook Retina a year before M1 launched was wasted as they could have tested the 7core M1 Silicon chip on the Retina MacBook.

It would have made a more interesting line up and set them apart more.

12" MacBook Air M1
13" MacBook Pro M1

Also speaking of convoluted; having the MacBook Pro (non-touch bar) and a Touch Bar option was also too similar to the 3rd Generation 2018 MacBook Air.

 

[Eggtastic]

I still got mine (see signature). Works great. 2-3 keyboard keys get stuck from time to time I just hit them back into place or use canned air to help. I have light uses and still to this day not ready to make the jump from mac to iPad which for my uses would make sense.

 

[mk313]

Egg, I had the same issue with keys occasionally getting stuck but en I bought my second 2017 MacBook from a user on here, he had a keyboard cover on it. It is super thin and I hardly even notice it. I ended up buying another one for my main 12” and since I started using it, I’ve not had any stick keys at all.

 

[bobob]

Add me to the Bring Back the MB12 Club.

Anyone who has never held one can't really appreciate the significance of the difference between the 2.8 lbs MacBook Air 13 and the 2.03 lbs MacBook 12.

An extra USB-C port and a reduced bezel 13 inch screen would be gravy.

Apple Silicon is made for this form factor and fanlessness.

 

[nothingtoseehere]

In my family, there are still MBA 11,6" around. Great subnotebooks those were and still are!

I would like so much if Apple would sell MBAs 12" and 14", and MBPs 14" and 16". As it was in former times with 11/13 and 13/15.

The main point is that there has to be a keyboard in normal size, as it always was with Apple. Good decision. So Apple could take the keyboard, slim down the bezels and come up with something, let's say 12,3" or whatever, and this would be the smallest one.

 

[Yr Blues]

The 12" PowerBook was Apple's best product ever. The original iPod comes in at a close 2nd.

 

[glindon]

I think the days of 12" MacBooks are sadly gone. The current consumer trend for larger screens basically puts it in a tough spot. A niche product that's become more niche, and well, Apple wants to sell the most amount of computers to the most amount of people. I could possible see them shrinking the MBA body down in size to get it closer to the 12", but it will never match the weight and size of the 12" due to the physical dimensions of a 13" screen, and the increased power demands to run a larger screen. The "not-so-great" butterfly keyboard and potato quality 480p webcam were reasons why they were able to make it so light and thin in the first place, and well, work from home became a thing, and webcam quality suddenly became a thing for laptops.

 

[bobob]

I'm guessing that the biggest reason the 12" MacBook may not come back is that it will divert sales from the 12.9" iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard.



(Although, for the record, with its combined weight of 3.01 lbs (Magic Keyboard = 1.6 lbs + iPad Pro 1.41 lbs), it is not at all in the same weight class as a 2.03 lb 12" MacBook.)

 

[Plutowillreturn]

I have the 12.9" iPP with a keyboard. It is heavy, clunky, and has me reaching for my rMB. There is also an M1 MBA and I wish that Apple would make a new rMB. Heck, I purchased a Dell Inspiron 13 recently and that was only larger than my rMB so I don't know why this segment is being ignored.

 

[glindon]

I have the 12.9" iPP with a keyboard. It is heavy, clunky, and has me reaching for my rMB. There is also an M1 MBA and I wish that Apple would make a new rMB. Heck, I purchased a Dell Inspiron 13 recently and that was only larger than my rMB so I don't know why this segment is being ignored.

I still think it's crazy that the iPad with magic keyboard weighs more than the 13" MBA.