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Apple May Still Be Planning to Reintroduce 12-Inch MacBook

Mr. Dee said:
I know this is a rumor, but its starting to sound like Apple is stretching itself too thin.
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I'm skeptical that adding one additional machine based on existing SOCs and display tech is really going to push Apple to the brink.

People sometimes call back to the Apple of the mid-90s for comparison's with today's vast product lines, but those people ignore that the Apple of the 90s was hemorrhaging cash and making products that no one wanted.

Apple's product line could be called a confusing mess today but if you just arbitrarily picked any single product, you'd probably have a good enough time with it, even if it didn't fit like a glove.
 
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alexe said:
You really need that ONE inch less than the 13-inch MacBook Air?
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The M2 13" MBA is actually a 13.6" screen. So if this Mac Book was closer to 12" or even slightly smaller it would be ultra compact laptop comparably. Something you could take anywhere. It's gotta to have a nice display, maybe OLED? It could be a little thicker for a better battery to make it capable of many hours usage.
 
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That’s cool and all, but their product offering has been confusing and all over the place the last few years.

The ghost of Steve Jobs is about to come back and draw this on their meeting whiteboard lol.
6587506A-0D33-43C8-ABF2-7FFC114A631D.jpeg
 
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alexe said:
Why would anybody need that?

You really need that ONE inch less than the 13-inch MacBook Air?

That ONE inch makes the difference between too big and just right for some people?

I‘ll never understand that, I almost find steps of two inches between models too small. 🤷‍♂️
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As you'll come to find, regardless of what anyone says on the internet, it's actually entirely about the price. Do these people actually want a 12" MacBook? No. They want a current generation MacBook that costs $899.
 
Just no butterfly keyboard, Apple Silicon, and a cheap price will make this the best MacBook!

I hope it turns into a MacBook SE!

Also, why are people hating on it becoming a MacBook SE? It will help Apple's marketshare!
 
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Edgecrusherr said:
That’s cool and all, but their product offering has been confusing and all over the place the last few years.

The ghost of Steve Jobs is about to come back and draw this on their meeting whiteboard lol.
View attachment 2159100
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That's a nice chart for when your business is nearly gone and you're rebooting the company. Apple is massive now and appeals to much wider markets than they did then. Every $100 increment is an entirely different market of people. So Apple tries to make products to hit every $100 increment.
 
I specifically want a 12" Macbook with Apple Silicone. It's not about the price. I'd buy it on day 1.

I am currently using a 2017 12" Macbook as my couch / travel computer and I adore it. It has it's problems, but an Apple Silicone version would fix all of that.

Those of you that haven't used a 12" and compared it to a 13" just don't get it. It's noticeably lighter and smaller and more portable. That doesn't matter to some people and that's fine, but it matters to me!
 
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I would buy one immediately on release day if this is reintroduced. Still using a 2017 12” MacBook as my daily machine. It does everything I need with ease however my battery is not lasting as long as it used to. Hope this does become a reality!
 
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DataFran said:
Put an M1 in this and price it under $800.
Then generally clean up the whole product line, price point wise, but that's a different conversation.
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Yes to this. Battery life would still be unbelievable. May be a fantastic deal for students.
 
Celebion said:
I don't get what people find confusing about Apple's Notebook lineup.

I remember the iBook times when Apple had "consumer" iBooks in 12" and 14" and "professional" PowerBooks in 12", 15" and 17".

Now we have the "consumer" MacBook Air 13" and maybe soon a MacBook Air 15" and the "professional" MacBook Pro 14" and 16".
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Maybe because of the 13" MBP? When there's two Air's that are 13" and then a MBP that's 13", may lead to confusion. Is it time for the MBP 13" to go away and replace with just a MacBook 12"?
 
Dan Pandrea said:
There's a few problems with a new 12" MacBook. The first one is it would be smaller and lighter than a MacBook Air, which defeats the purpose of the latter. Normally the 12" MacBook should replace the old M1 MacBook Air and slash $100 just like the new Mac Mini did. The problem with this is both the old M1 MacBook Air and the current Mac mini are cheaper to manufacture than a brand new product.
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The air should just be called MacBook. The name is scheme makes no sense anymore
 
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Im just guessing if this happens, the current airs get re-named MacBooks. The 12 MacBook would be named the new Air.

What we are forgetting is that the 12 Macbooks had pretty big bezels, if you can reduce them, you could actually get pretty close to a 13 in screen on the same size/foot print. This product would be idea for the M3 since it will be more efficient, you might get close to 18+ hours that way.
 
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Edgecrusherr said:
That’s cool and all, but their product offering has been confusing and all over the place the last few years.

The ghost of Steve Jobs is about to come back and draw this on their meeting whiteboard lol.
View attachment 2159100
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While I agree too many products makes for a confusing purchasing realm, the context of Steve Jobs coming up with this grid is that Apple had a ton of products (some literally being repackages of the same computers) and was bleeding money as a result. The four-quadrant matrix only lasted a relatively short time as Apple rebuilt itself and returned to profitability—there was the Power Mac G4 Cube, the eMac, the Mac mini, the MacBook Air (a fantastically successful product that didn't fit into any niche on that chart.) And all that stuff came out under Jobs' watch.

I think the issue Apple has now is less much more positioning, naming, and update schedules than "they've got too many products! Go back to the grid!" There's room for an ultraportable laptop that doesn't suck like the retina MacBook. Of course, it won't make a ton of sense because the "Air" moniker went from the ultraportable laptop to the budget line.
 
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