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Apple May Still Be Planning to Reintroduce 12-Inch MacBook

Not really.
We don't need more product. We need simple line up. With Intel it made sense to have more but now it doesn't. All we need is 2 products.

Macbook Air & Macbook Pro

with Apple Silicon its easy enough as follow:

Air-> 12" 14" - Mx
Pro-> 14" 16" - Mx Pro & Mx Max

Simple, covers it all and Apple doesn't have the mess they have now.

Dydegu said:
This is such a confusing take.

Options are good for consumers.

The 12” MacBook was a design challenge for Apple. It was a niche product and it would be interesting to see what they can pull off this time around.

They’ll try and make the smallest and lightest laptop possible. I think we could see a sub 2lb portless device.

The MacBook is their ultra portable and the price will reflect that. It will be more expensive than the entry MBA.
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28664-45073-1322-MacBook-Air-vs-1222-MacBook-size-comparison-xl.jpg

I think people are really under estimating the size difference between the MacBook 12 and the Air 13. This is the best picture I could find that shows off the difference.
 
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They probably won't do this, but imagine if they used the exact same chassis and display as the 12" MB, put an M1 (not M2), sold it for $699 or $799 and just call it MacBook SE? That's basically the same formula for the iPhone SE, why not the MacBook?
 
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diskrisk said:
They probably won't do this, but imagine if they used the exact same chassis and display as the 12" MB, put an M1 (not M2), sold it for $699 or $799 and just call it MacBook SE? That's basically the same formula for the iPhone SE, why not the MacBook?
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Why would Apple sell a Mac at the cost of an iPad? Has it already happened?
 
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coolfactor said:
I think the "MacBook" name should always have a qualifier tagged on. Otherwise, it suffers from a perception that it's underpowered. I'm glad that Apple has held onto the "Air" name for that reason. Just having a machine called "MacBook" is confusing to consumers alongside the Air and Pro variants. Apple has hurt itself by ditching the wedge design of the Air, so if they do introduce just "MacBook", what makes the Air an Air? Confusing all around.
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Ther name “air” is confusing to me cus it doesn’t mean anything anymore… it was a designation designed for a radical new light laptop from ages past. It means nothing now. It doesn’t even resemble that laptop. They make MacBook pros in wildly dif configurations so why not just do the same with MacBooks on the lower end. macbook and Mac pro would be fine on their own i think. iPad Air is dumb as well. It meant something over a decade ago when the first iPad Air was radically lighter than what came before
 
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StellarVixen said:
"no one bought them" was more hyperbolic, what I meant is that the sales number of that thing was so low that Apple decided to kill it after just 2 years because it was not worth it to keep it anymore. Of course some people bought them, and even more people would have bought them if they didn't have issues that most people considered deal breakers.
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It was introduced in 2015 and discontinued in 2019, according to Every Mac, so 4 years. https://everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook/index-macbook.html

But I think your point still stands that it had a relatively short lifespan compared to other products.
 
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PauloSera said:
Nonsense. The thing is only 11.9" wide and weighs only 2.7 lb. There is no other level of portability to achieve here. The next level beyond that is pocketable, which no laptop is.
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Trying picking up both with one hand or with your fingertips and you’d see what I mean. The MBA feels hefty by comparison. You wouldn’t think 0.7-0.8lbs makes a difference but it absolutely does. But then again I am a bit of a weakling so who knows 🤷‍
 
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dmcgoy said:
Sure - I think most people assume this is a bargain computer. But that makes little sense to me. Volume* reduces costs....and *most* people would pick a slightly more expensive computer with a longer battery life and a bigger screen.

Smaller is more niche - hence I think Apple should just make this a Pro computer.

* Unless Apple is going to re-spin up the old CNC machines making the MacBook 12'' casing, they will have to make a new production line. Which is $$$.
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good points. Coming from a university setting, however, $100 difference is not a small thing. The question is whether there is enough demand (as you point out) to warrant the addition. I, myself, am not sure of that, either.
 
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Yep, cuz we really need a 12" MacBook that will cost more than the 13" MBA and further confuse consumers. Well I guess this would pretty much cover everyone's size preferences for 12-16".
 
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StellarVixen said:
Unless they price it very affordably, it's gonna be pointless device in already confusing Mac product line.

Or maybe they learned from previous Macbook which pretty much no one bought and this new MacBook will be nothing like the previous one.
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Yeah. If they already are offering the Air M1 at $999, I’d say the ONLY option is to offer it at sub-$1,000.
 
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Let's try this for the next 18 months :

Macbook Air : 11" 13" 15"

Macbook Pro : 12" 14" 16"

As for prices, chips, ports...

Simple ? ... Have fun Apple.
 
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senttoschool said:
No one is going to buy it for $1300 in 2024. It sold so poorly in 2015 that Apple discontinued after 2 years. 2 years!!

A $599 iPad Air M1 can easily replace it as a media device that can occasionally edit an Excel and write an email. In fact, an iPad can do a lot more than a 12" Macbook can.
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No. macOS will always be superior to iOS for true productivity. There would not be any performance cuts as they could absolutely fit an M1/M2 into a 12" MacBook chassis. It would also be thinner than an iPad + Magic Keyboard.

Sir_Macs_A_Lot said:
Yep, cuz we really need a 12" MacBook that will cost more than the 13" MBA and further confuse consumers. Well I guess this would pretty much cover everyone's size preferences for 12-16".
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They could put an M1 in it and sell it cheaper than an M2 MBA and it would still be a beast. There's nothing too confusing about 12", 13", 14", 15", 16" :)
 
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