Apple's Rumored 12-Inch MacBook Could Be Pro Model With M2 Pro and M2 Max

[Le0M]

I think it makes no sense to keep the "Air" in the lineup anymore, since there is no "regular".
Apple should drop the Air and just have MacBook and MacBook Pro line, like in the past.

 

[fbr$]

Pro 12" with no active cooling is just a V8 sport car engine with no active water cooling. No, thanks.

 

[Krypton Deer]

Rumor is rumor - good luck selling 12" M2 Pro starting at $1799. 10 mins to meltdown under full load.

I will buy one with M2 to carry everywhere at $1099.

 

[Surf760]

View attachment 2017148

I'm back, bitches!


​

I was drawn back to the Mac ecosystem because of the original iPod and this computer. My spine regrets that my brain elected to talk me in to the 17" because of backlit keys.

 

[NT1440]

The point is that the Air IS NOT an ultraportable and NEVER WAS, except for the 11” which was never the best-selling Air.

Not that Air did not have dignity, but it is evident that certain segments of consumers have limits: they understand only economic or non-economic. With these it is useless to compare, the only requirement is to take as much money as possible from him.

The Air is therefore the cheap Mac, and the 12” could be something else, as has already happened since 2017.

The term ultraportal in regards to laptops was a marketing effort in response to the Air…

 

[Surf760]

As a former 12" Macbook owner, if they create one with an M2, prospective owners would be ecstatic. I hated the keyboard and processor. However, if I had functional Sidecar with an iPad, that computer would have been, "10/10, would recommend," when I was a traveler.

Alas, under 3 years the SSD died. But as much of a complete failure as a long term device it was, it was everything I could have hoped for if it has modern revisions!

 

[jav6454]

The netbook answer at 4-10X the price. It was an answer to everyone that was suffering the netbook experience for ultra-portability. But I think Apple's position was that netbooks were crap and here is a real computer in that same footprint. I paid a smidge under $2K for my first MacBook Air in 2008 and about the same for my first 12" MacBook 7 years later. It wasn't until about 2011 that MacBook Airs were cheaper than the MacBooks because the plastic MacBooks were discontinued and the aluminum MacBook became the 13" MacBook Pro a couple years before. I think Apple would have done better to just call them MacBooks and to let the Air name die like they did with the iPad Air name for a few years and just bring it back when they had a product that fit the Air's spot in the lineup. That way they could have just reintroduce the 12' MacBook as the new MacBook Air and everyone would have known what it was about.

Yet it sold incredibly well for the price and people praised its design, lightweightness and speed given the constraints.

 

[Xand&Roby]

The term ultraportal in regards to laptops was a marketing effort in response to the Air…

For you.
Ultraportable computer are here from years before, as example Sony Vaio X505 was released in 2004, the Air in 2008.
Vaio X505 review

I don't know what happened to people in the meantime but when I was young miniaturization was the ultimate expression of technology: forgetting the useless Motorola Rokr with iTunes the first Apple-style phone was the Sony Ericsson T610, even before the Nokia 8850, even before the Motorola StarTac V50. In 1998/99 I was walking around with a Nokia 7110, the first W@p cell phone, and people were amazed to see someone read news, book tickets or check departure times from a cell phone.

So much jumble had something to say besides the status symbol: “we’ll make your life easier”. Maybe it wasn't true, they were more compromises than anything else, but the attempt was there.

I was traveling with W@p in my pocket and in the metropolises there were internet cafes with paid G3 iMacs to consult the web.

Where did the enthusiasm go? Does a 12” laptop look so absurd 23 years later? What about the WallStreets, the Lombards, the G3 iBooks with the handle?

 

[enc0re]

As a former 12" Macbook owner, if they create one with an M2, prospective owners would be ecstatic. I hated the keyboard and processor. However, if I had functional Sidecar with an iPad, that computer would have been, "10/10, would recommend," when I was a traveler.

Alas, under 3 years the SSD died. But as much of a complete failure as a long term device it was, it was everything I could have hoped for if it has modern revisions!

My wife still uses her 12” MacBook and it’s fantastic. The only letdown is the intel processor and she upgraded to the top version. Even the keyboard is fine and has held up.

That laptop with Apple Silicon would be perfect.

 

[bgillander]

This seems so ridiculously unlikely I don't even know why MR has bothered giving it credence. What precedence is there of Apple ever putting their most hi-tech hardware into a 12" Macbook? I'll give you some help: never.

Almost 20 years ago there was the PowerBook G4 12”

Ode to the 12-inch PowerBook G4, Apple’s first desktop-quality laptop

Apple's little dynamo ushered in a new era of portable (dare we say rugged?) laptops that perform like desktops, and the new 12-inch MacBook is its spiritual successor.

www.macworld.com

 

[visualseed]

For you.
Ultraportable computer are here from years before, as example Sony Vaio X505 was released in 2004, the Air in 2008.
Vaio X505 review

I don't know what happened to people in the meantime but when I was young miniaturization was the ultimate expression of technology: forgetting the useless Motorola Rokr with iTunes the first Apple-style phone was the Sony Ericsson T610, even before the Nokia 8850, even before the Motorola StarTac V50. In 1998/99 I was walking around with a Nokia 7110, the first W@p cell phone, and people were amazed to see someone read news, book tickets or check departure times from a cell phone.

So much jumble had something to say besides the status symbol: “we’ll make your life easier”. Maybe it wasn't true, they were more compromises than anything else, but the attempt was there.

I was traveling with W@p in my pocket and in the metropolises there were internet cafes with paid G3 iMacs to consult the web.

Where did the enthusiasm go? Does a 12” laptop look so absurd 23 years later? What about the WallStreets, the Lombards, the G3 iBooks with the handle?

I had the 10.4" IBM Thinkpad 701c with the scissoring "butterfly" keyboard in 1995. It was almost $4K in 1995 dollars. At the time, this class of computers was referred to as "Subnotebooks" I seem to recall it was much bigger than the 12" MacBook

 

[ahurst]

That 18% increase without a node improvement is at the high end of the industry standard. You've also got a power consumption reduction if I remember correctly. Then you have the stronger GPU cores, the extra GPU cores, as well as the video encode/decode blocks that the M1 missed out on (that the M1 Pro, M1 Max, M1 Ultra and A15 all got).

It's not mindblowing, but it's quite decent.

I think the problem is that everyone had their minds blown by the original M1’s performance boost over the last generation of Intel Macs, so even very respectable year-over-year single-core gains (in the absence of a node shrink, no less) are going to seem underwhelming relative to that initial bump.

I worked out the numbers in another thread, and the year-over-year single-core gains in top-end Intel iMacs from 2013 to 2020 was only 37%, or 5.2% year-over-year. If Apple can keep a steady pace of doubling that rate of increase in their own chips (18% in 20 months = ~10.5% per year), I think they’ll be in good shape.

 

[dgdosen]

That 18% increase without a node improvement is at the high end of the industry standard. You've also got a power consumption reduction if I remember correctly. Then you have the stronger GPU cores, the extra GPU cores, as well as the video encode/decode blocks that the M1 missed out on (that the M1 Pro, M1 Max, M1 Ultra and A15 all got).

It's not mindblowing, but it's quite decent.

TSMC 2nm due in 2026. Not that far off. Prepare to have your mind blown.

 

[Brien]

12-inch is way too small for professional usage when you need to spend long hours in front of it.

Yes. Where’s my 18”?

 

[varezhka]

Whatever the internals, I really do hope the 12" MacBook rumor is correct. My current Retina MacBook do need a replacement soon, and for all of its shortcomings (terrible keyboard and low performance) it's still my favorite PC in a long time. I'd be happy with M1 or M2 but not sure I can wait till 2024...

 

[svish]

Don't think this will happen. A 12" MacBook will most likely be having the base M2 or even the M3. Not a Pro or Max variant.

 

[madebybela]

Could see this maybe taking the place of the 13" MacBook Pro? Would put a new form factor MBP in that $1299 place. It being a "MacBook Pro" would probably act as justification for it to have a thicker chassis to accommodate a fan/bigger battery.

MX Pro variant I could MAYBE see, MX Max may be too far but I wouldn't doubt they'd offer the option anyway. Maybe these will be upgrade options and it will start with a standard MX chip to meet that lower price point and more impressive battery life for advertising?

 

[KPOM]

The 13" needs to go. I'm surprised it was given the M2 treatment this go round. It must have been an easy manufacturing change to get a compatible M2 onto the motherboard. I think we will be super surprised if the same 13" form factor gets any more updates in the future. That should make a 12/14/16 Pro lineup much less overkill. I'm skeptical we will se a 12" MBP but never say never, I suppose. A 12" Air seems much more likely.

I’m guessing the 13” M2 Pro is a stopgap. There is no way Apple could sell a MacBook Pro with a worse chip than the Air, but with a new smaller close but not yet here they took the path of least resistance and did the smallest update possible with the current model.

 

[KPOM]

My wife still uses her 12” MacBook and it’s fantastic. The only letdown is the intel processor and she upgraded to the top version. Even the keyboard is fine and has held up.

That laptop with Apple Silicon would be perfect.

I loved the 12” MacBook even with the flawed keyboard and underpowered processor. With even an M1 and a Magic Keyboard I’d snap one up in an instant.

 

[SmugMaverick]

I have to ask.. at this point why does anyone listen to Gurman? he’s wrong 80% of the time, and when he’s proved wrong he just says he never said that. Despite clearly saying it.

Yep. the guy is a joker.

He steals "leaks" from random twitter leakers and sticks it in his news letter as some exclusive.

He takes obvious guesses about OS updates and hardware, remember he said iOS 16 had new ways to interact 😂 what a great "leak".

If hardware doesn't show up he just blames shortages and it's switched to next year, always next year.

His feud with Prosser is hilarious as they're like 2 bald guys fighting over a comb.

I can't believe Bloomberg pay this hack.

 

[bingeciren]

It flopped because of performance. Even the original Air would had suffered the same fate had Intel not come through with better CPUs on a newer process. The premium price was not the issue and if you paid for the better M7 processor in the BTO model, it wasn't a terrible computer. Even the keyboard or single port wasn't the deal breaker everyone thought it would be. It just never saw the exponential performance gains the Air saw after its first few years on the market. This is an area where I believe Apple Silicon can make a different.

I have the M7, 8Gb ram, 512 ssd version of the 2016 12" MacBook, running Monterey. Just replaced the aging battery and I plan to keep using it until it dies. It is the best MacBook I have for travel and Ofice applications even using at home on my couch.

 

[Frantisekj]

M2 Pro/Max in that tiny clamshell?? come on...physics tells us what is all about
Not going to happen in the 12" laptop. If its coming in early 2024 it can get the M3 3nm

I agree. And M3 can be close to M1 Pro CPU performance so you will get Pro machine from current point of view anyway.

 

[McMountaineer]

Interesting to say the least. Loved the 2016 12” I had.

I loved it too… specially when you‘re on site by the customer to solve some quick issues and for demos. I had an iPad and the mb12 in the same shelf… so lightweight.

 

[NT1440]

For you.
Ultraportable computer are here from years before, as example Sony Vaio X505 was released in 2004, the Air in 2008.
Vaio X505 review

I don't know what happened to people in the meantime but when I was young miniaturization was the ultimate expression of technology: forgetting the useless Motorola Rokr with iTunes the first Apple-style phone was the Sony Ericsson T610, even before the Nokia 8850, even before the Motorola StarTac V50. In 1998/99 I was walking around with a Nokia 7110, the first W@p cell phone, and people were amazed to see someone read news, book tickets or check departure times from a cell phone.

So much jumble had something to say besides the status symbol: “we’ll make your life easier”. Maybe it wasn't true, they were more compromises than anything else, but the attempt was there.

I was traveling with W@p in my pocket and in the metropolises there were internet cafes with paid G3 iMacs to consult the web.

Where did the enthusiasm go? Does a 12” laptop look so absurd 23 years later? What about the WallStreets, the Lombards, the G3 iBooks with the handle?

I was talking specifically about the marketing term “ultraportable”, which was coined by Intel in 2011 in response to the Air.

I wasn’t talking about the existence of small and light laptops, I was speaking explicitly about the marketing term.

Ultrabook - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[cocoua]

Anyway, I am buying a M2 Max in november.

As a early owner of a MStudio Max owner, I hope I could switch to M2 Mac in Novemeber also.

MStudio M1Max has been the most oudated Apple Silicon relase and hope they fix the realease cycle soon or later.

BTW M2 Pro in a 12” is not gonna happen but rumors must to be alive!!