Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple should make an M1 MacBook

G

glhiii

macrumors 6502
Original poster
I have a 2017 12" Macbook, 512gb ssd, 16gb ram, i7. Recently, Apple released the iPad Mini 6, and it is much more popular than I think Apple thought it would be. If they made an M1 laptop the same size as the MacBook, there would probably be enormous demand. As it is, the biggest issue with the MacBook for me is the keyboard, but the size and weight are ideal for traveling and for carrying around. I also have an M1 MacBook Air, which is obviously a good machine, but it's notably bigger than the MacBook and isn't as good for using as a portable and taking it around. Also, esthetically there is something very appealing about the MacBook vs. the other Apple laptops. The MacBook is a work of art.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Corso99, capathy21, taneff and 8 others
glenthompson said:
The M1 Air is ½” and ¾” in width and length. It is about 9 ounces heavier. Not significantly smaller so I doubt there would be that great a market for it.
Click to expand...

If only there was meaningful data on how customers might behave if both a 12" MacBook and 13" MacBook Air were available simultaneously.
 
whats the difference between a MacBook and a MacBook Air? they are both small and light laptops.
Tim Cook is trying to slimline the manufacturing process with less options to choose from so I very much doubt it

I want the 17 inch MacBook Pro to come back. shrink it an inch to 16 inches and raise the price. Classic Tim Cook move
 
glhiii said:
I have a 2017 12" Macbook, 512gb ssd, 16gb ram, i7. Recently, Apple released the iPad Mini 6, and it is much more popular than I think Apple thought it would be. If they made an M1 laptop the same size as the MacBook, there would probably be enormous demand. As it is, the biggest issue with the MacBook for me is the keyboard, but the size and weight are ideal for traveling and for carrying around. I also have an M1 MacBook Air, which is obviously a good machine, but it's notably bigger than the MacBook and isn't as good for using as a portable and taking it around. Also, esthetically there is something very appealing about the MacBook vs. the other Apple laptops. The MacBook is a work of art.
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more on the 12" MacBook being a work of art. Even amongst other thin and light laptops they are shockingly portable and were well ahead of their time. Now that Apple has the silicon to deliver a no compromises high performance computing experience in the form factor I'd like to think it's just a matter of time.

Perhaps Apple will just fold it into the MBA lineup though. I could see a release schedule that looks something like
14/16" MBP (Fall 2021) -> 13" MBA refresh (Fall 2021/Winter 2022) -> 12/14" MBA redesign using new MBP design language (Late 2022, early 2023). Especially with the rumored smaller bezels they could probably fit it into an even smaller package(!)

That said, from Apple point of view they'd probably see that as encroaching on/having too much overlap with the iPad Pro so who knows...
 
  • Like
Reactions: __xg__fv__c@, DenisK and orbital~debris
If they continue to shrink the bezels on the MacBook Air, they could almost make the 13 inch MacBook Air roughly the same size as the 12 inch was. If iPadOS gets better, the 11 inch iPad Pro with magic keyboard would be a nice replacement. The iPad Pro could also be why Apple won't do a new MacBook.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Xand&Roby
I got a 2016 Macbook, and I also think it is one of the best designs Apple has ever made.

While I would also like an M1 version of it, I wouldn't mind a 13" model either. In comparison, the MBA is really clunky IMHO, which says quite a bit. The Macbook was extremely light and portable, excellent looking, sturdy, and a joy to move around.

Of course, it has its issues. It was slow for almost everything (I did manage to play Civilization VI on it though, although computer turns could take more than 5 minutes), the keyboard was faulty (I got mine replaced three times!), display coating issues (Got mine replaced), only one port (I don't mind it much personally, but I would give up the mini jack for another USB-C any day).

I am at 1200 cycles now, and ~60% battery, and considering getting it replaced. But it also has some display cable issues now, so I am not sure it will be worth it, and will consider upgrading instead.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Xand&Roby
I still use my 11 inch MBA .. which works for what I need (second personal small machine on trips etc., where I need to take my work laptop, and an iPad is not going to be enough due to file manipulation etc..).

I know that the 11 inch MBA is not getting Monterey support, and would love to have the option of buying something new in a similar form factor. I hope there is enough of a market out there for small laptops to make this happen..
 
glhiii said:
The 2015 MBA 11" will run Monterey (https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/06/07/what-you-need-to-run-macos-monterey), though I guess earlier ones will not.
Click to expand...
Yup, mine is a 2013 (sorry for the generalization. didn't realize the 2015s were still supported 😉

Not complaining, as it has had a long life since purchased new.. Just wish it could be extended with the latest OS, since it seems to be in pretty good working order. Hopefully something comparable comes out in the not too distant future.
 
Dhonk said:
People that never used a 12” retina macbook simply won’t get this. I have an M1 Air and a 2017 rMB, and there’s a noticeable difference in size and weight. I love the Macbook form factor and would love it with an M1
Click to expand...
I couldn’t agree more! I have a 2017 rMB and I love it. Comparing the rMB with the MBA is like comparing the iPhone Mini with the regular iPhone. They are not the same and are completely different animals.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Xand&Roby
Dhonk said:
People that never used a 12” retina macbook simply won’t get this. I have an M1 Air and a 2017 rMB, and there’s a noticeable difference in size and weight. I love the Macbook form factor and would love it with an M1
Click to expand...

I agree. I've owned a few devices (work machines, etc) and the rMB is the best I've used, I miss the device, but it's so slow compared the M1 devices 🙁

For those who have never used these devices:

A MB 13 makes a MB 15 seem like a brick.
An M1 Air makes the MBP 13 seem overly big and heavy.
And finally my rMB does the same to the M1 Air.
 
I regret selling my 2017 rMB i5/8GB/512GB , literally the best laptop I’ve ever owned by far! Ya sure it wasn’t the fastest but the size , weight , fanless design was a work of art…

If they redesigned it with the M1 I’d buy it day one! I also really hope they ditch the “Air” name , kinda pointless lol
 
  • Like
Reactions: Xand&Roby
Nice thread. There's a common quote in photography, that I'm sure many have heard: "The best camera is the one that's with you."

I still own (and use) a 2017 rMB, and that's how I feel about it. I've got a Mac mini setup for my main, desktop work, but use my rMB for couch and travel. I guess it's my iPad-alternative (and no, I'm not interested in an iPad, I'm surprised this thread hasn't got hijacked by iPad campaigners yet, which is usually what happens on rMB posts 🙄.)

Sure, an M1 MacBook Air is way faster, more ports, etc; but, I know that I won't reach for it on the couch, and will be reluctant to take it on trips (and if I did, I wouldn't enjoy it as much). I think, perhaps because it's an ageing machine that many consider to be flawed, threads like this make non-rMB users think that we're in need of "enlightenment". Along with the iPad suggestions, there's always people graciously helping us out with physics , by letting us know that "The Air is only X heavier".

Yes, we're okay with math thanks. The rMB IS 0.92kg and the M1 MBA is 1.29kg. That's 370g heavier, which would be no big deal if we're talking about a large laptop that's mainly geared towards semi-permanent desk use. But since rMB users value portability, it's a big deal, and the 370g extra weight is a 40% increase. I'd love to see if 12.9" iPad Pro users would happily transition to a model that's 40% heavier.

So, there really is no alternative for users who simply want an ultralight laptop that runs macOS, we need to either stick with an ageing machine or take a huge compromise in portability.

This is why I'm also hoping that there will be an M1 Macbook. I don't think that they'll go as low as 0.92kg again, because of the pure logic of it. In terms of the shell size, they can't go smaller than the rMB, because that'd mean a smaller keyboard, which they're already at the limit for. So, the shell size would be the same or larger. Given that, it'd make sense for them to expand the screen into the bezels, so we'd likely be seeing a 12.5-13" screen, and there's a good chance therefore that the rMB resurrection could be the new 13" Air (one day).

For the M1 MBA, 1.29kg is pretty much the lightest they're able to make it, in it's current design. If we shrunk that machine down to reduce the bezels and hence the shell size, and implemented some design changes, we'd still be nowhere near 0.92kg. The rMB was so lightweight because of the huge compromises, and I can't see Apple - post Steve Jobs and Jony Ive - compromising so heavily again. It simply doesn't fit in with their ideology now, sure Tim Cook pushes design and technology, but it's from a point of logic and safety; he knows that the best bet is to make the lightest possible machine whilst making no compromises in functionality. The functionality comes first, the engineering comes second.

I guess what I'm saying is, although I don't think that we'll see 0.92kg again, I'm hoping that we'll see a 12.9" MacBook Air in the future, a macOS partner-in-crime to the 12.9" iPad, that weighs in around 1.1kg or so. That would be a machine that I could live with, and transition to from the 12" Macbook.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: the future, Xand&Roby, tpfang56 and 2 others
I thought I saw somewhere rumors suggesting that the the 2022 MacBook Air would be renamed as MacBook, and the Air range or at least the name would be discontinued. Time will tell. If it were up to me, in 2022 I would release 12" and 14" M2 MacBooks.
 
  • Like
Reactions: the future
kerr said:
I thought I saw somewhere rumors suggesting that the the 2022 MacBook Air would be renamed as MacBook, and the Air range or at least the name would be discontinued. Time will tell. If it were up to me, in 2022 I would release 12" and 14" M2 MacBooks.
Click to expand...
Sounds right, Apple like do a carousel of taking things away and then reintroducing them (square edges, magsafe, ports,...), so I could definitely imagine them preparing the "Macbook" marketing right now. The only way I could see them keeping with the 12" screen size is if they brought in the white bezel design of the iMac to their Macbook Air (or "Macbook", if it's rebranded as such, but whatever machine it is I'll refer to it as MBA) redesign, I can't see them returning to the exact same visual design of the discontinued 12" Macbook.

So, I think we'll get one of two things, either they'll expand into the bezels and we'd see a 12.5-13" MBA, or we'll get the iMac design on the non-pro MBA. Would be very "Apple", to have the standard laptop in varying colors, and the Pro lineup in "professional" silver and grey. Personally, I really hope this doesn't happen, as I can't stand the visual look of the redesigned iMac 🤢.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kerr
Deanster said:
If only there was meaningful data on how customers might behave if both a 12" MacBook and 13" MacBook Air were available simultaneously.
Click to expand...
That data is pretty useless, as the two machines had quite different specs and price points. The Air didn't even have a Retina display for most of the MacBook's life. Also, the Air was cheaper even though it had a bigger screen.

But there is good data from the time when there was an 11" Air.
 
  • Like
Reactions: T'hain Esh Kelch
ozthegweat said:
That data is pretty useless, as the two machines had quite different specs and price points. The Air didn't even have a Retina display for most of the MacBook's life. Also, the Air was cheaper even though it had a bigger screen.

But there is good data from the time when there was an 11" Air.
Click to expand...
Agreed. The 12" Macbook was positioned so poorly in it's limited run that it's almost completely meaningless to try and use the sales statistics to see how well a 12" machine would do again (and you're right, the 11" Air sales figures would probably give a better idea). The naming of the lineup was confusing: MacBook Air, Macbook, MacBook Pro; the pricing was a deterrent, and also the justification unclear to your normal consumer; and it was made poorly, having several huge handicaps (awful keyboard, single port, underpowered).

Yes, us folks on this forum can understand from a technical and business point of view why it was manufactured in that way, and how the price point came to be, but a lot of people just didn't want extreme portability that much.

Now, if the 12" resurrection was done in a way that makes sense, I'm sure it'll be a great hit. And you simply can't prophesise that it wouldn't be a hit, based on the previous attempt that was done in a way that simply didn't make sense.

For instance, lets say that the current 13" MacBook Air reduced its shell size, and had some other fancy redesigns to allow it to come in at 1.1kg, with pretty much the same specs and performance as the current MacBook Air. And lets say they also released a 15" MacBook Air for people who want more screen real-estate but don't want the Pro (a lot of people want a Macbook simply to have almost permanently wired up in their home). Assuming that the 13" MBP is discontinued (not saying it will be), the lineup looks like this:

13" MacBook Air: $999 (1.1kg)
15" MacBook Air: $1,299 (1.4kg)
14" MacBook Pro: $1,999 (1.6kg)
16" MacBook Pro: $2,499 (2.1kg)

Yes, this is just a hypothetical, but the point is that in a situation where it made sense, i.e. a lightweight model was released without huge compromises, in a clearly defined lineup where the model is positioned well, I think it'd be a huge success. Or of course, the above could be done but with the Air being a 12" / 14" choice with white bezels and a range of different colour shells, and the same price / weight as above.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MrAperture, T'hain Esh Kelch, objektør and 1 other person
Qu1ckset said:
I regret selling my 2017 rMB i5/8GB/512GB , literally the best laptop I’ve ever owned by far! Ya sure it wasn’t the fastest but the size , weight , fanless design was a work of art…

If they redesigned it with the M1 I’d buy it day one! I also really hope they ditch the “Air” name , kinda pointless lol
Click to expand...
I kept my maxed out 2017 rMB and even though I haven’t switched it on lately I won’t get rid of it.

I can’t see any replacement soon as they can’t shoehorn a scissor switch keyboard into that form factor.
 
MarkAtl said:
I kept my maxed out 2017 rMB and even though I haven’t switched it on lately I won’t get rid of it.

I can’t see any replacement soon as they can’t shoehorn a scissor switch keyboard into that form factor.
Click to expand...
Probably my only tech non-purchase regret. I should have picked one of those up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back