I doubt they would add a “Macbook” to this lineup. If any other consumer laptops come out, whether 15” or 12”, they will mostly likely be called MacBook Air. Apple seems to have settle on “Air” for it’s consumer line. Having some called Macbook and some called MacBook Air would be confusing. They could have dropped “Air” but the time to do that would have been when they revealed this new design, but they kept the name and seem to have embraced it.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Display Industry Analyst Expresses Skepticism About 12-Inch MacBook Rumor
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I think the fact that they didn’t redesign the 13” MBP but just stuck the M2 in there indicates that they don’t plan to keep that model around very long. I suspect that by next year they will be ready to bring out a new model between the 13” MBA and the 14” MBP. Perhaps it will be a low end MBP or a more expensive variant of the MBA (My bet is on the latter). The current M2 13” MBP is just an awkward tween that no longer fits in its old clothes.
Source Leaderboard - AppleTrack
Top Apple Sources in 2022 # Name Accuracy 1 🐟 Ross Young 92.9% 2 🏀 Mark Gurman 86.5% 3 📉 Trendforce 84.5% 4 🎧 52audio 83.3% 5 🕘 9to5Mac 82.8% 6 ❓ MacRumors 72.7% 7 🇨🇳 China Times 72.7% 8 👨💻 Ming-Chi Kuo 72.5% 9 🧻 Jon Prosser 69.1% 10 🍍 Max Weinbach 69% 11 […]
appletrack.com
Ross Young: 92.9%
Mark Gurman: 86.5%
Please note that Ross Young has a much shorter rumor list than Mark Gurman and AppleTrack does not do weighted averages.
Ross Young also is pretty much exclusively supply-chain side so his rumors are mostly about products actually in production.
Gurman is both supply chain and Apple R&D, so he gets rumors about products Apple is developing or testing that might never see the light of day (A Thousand 'Nos' for every 'Yes').
If there were an M2 15” MBA, it would be considerably faster than the previous 15” MBP. Performance would not be an issue. Lots of people buy 15” PCs and don’t need the absolutely fastest model. Lots of Air buyer would pay a little more for a larger screen with the same performance as the 13” Air. Based on price differences between the 14” and 16” MBP, a 15” Air would be about $200 more than a 13”. The weight would also stay below the weight of the 14” MBP. A 15” MBP would be moderately priced and reasonably light with good performance for a consumer laptop. Those are the key characteristics of a good MacBook Air.
Why? I think the current 16” is plenty big. Given how many scaling options you have available in macOS, I dare to say that it’s even more versatile than the OG 17-incher used to be.
It's one of the best laptops ever from Apple, I agree, I use one everyday.
But it would be even better if bigger. It could even be thinner while keeping same cooling level and battery size.
Its current customers don't carry about having a small machine anyway.
12" Macbook haters.
There must be a lot of them. I guess I'll just stick with Samsung for my 2lb notebooks. I have a 14" MacBook Pro, which of course is the best.
Samsung.
btw, I don't believe the iPad is a notebook. I have a 12.9" iPad M1, with the Magic K, and the Keyboard case. It's not a notebook. Notebooks don't need to rely on half baked Stage Manager type solutions. Sorry. Then again, it's getting
close.
This whole thing makes me a bit mad. Then we get reports like this?
There must be a lot of them. I guess I'll just stick with Samsung for my 2lb notebooks. I have a 14" MacBook Pro, which of course is the best.
Samsung.
btw, I don't believe the iPad is a notebook. I have a 12.9" iPad M1, with the Magic K, and the Keyboard case. It's not a notebook. Notebooks don't need to rely on half baked Stage Manager type solutions. Sorry. Then again, it's getting
close.
This whole thing makes me a bit mad. Then we get reports like this?
Last edited:
The 13" MacBook Pro which just received an M2 upgrade is nearing the end of it's design cycle. When it goes that'll leave Mac with a 14" and 16" machine. Adding a 12" to the range would make it tempting for those that want a smaller device. Providing the cost isn't too high that is.
I expect there are a lot of people who would love a 15" Air. They don't need the power* or weight of an MBP, but do need a portable with a large screen. As just one example, consider those doing spreadsheet work.
Power and screen size are two entirely different needs; why should they be locked together?
*This should be especially true once the M3 is released, since it should be powerful enough for a wide range of tasks.
Last edited:
They could bring back the A_X series from the old iPad Pros, so basically a suped up A16, or A16X in this case, or perhaps they could give it a new designation like i1 processor or something that could have a few more GPU cores, CPU clock bump and 8GB RAM, but still be slower than the M1. They could put that in a 12" MacBook and hit a lower price point of like $799 to $899, especially if they keep this device simple and don't have MagSafe, maybe just two USB-C ports and that's all.
They could also use that same chip in a new Apple TV that would be better for gaming. I have the latest Apple TV and have issues with some games on Apple Arcade crashing every so often. Otherwise it's a great family game console for the living room. My kids love it, feels Nintendo-esque and casual. Easy to pick up and play for short intervals using an Xbox or PS5 controller, and soon Nintendo Joycons or Pro Controller.
They could also use that same chip in a new Apple TV that would be better for gaming. I have the latest Apple TV and have issues with some games on Apple Arcade crashing every so often. Otherwise it's a great family game console for the living room. My kids love it, feels Nintendo-esque and casual. Easy to pick up and play for short intervals using an Xbox or PS5 controller, and soon Nintendo Joycons or Pro Controller.
We still have a 12" and even compared to an Air it's way smaller, plus it's been a brilliant machine.
Defies all logic as to how well it works and how snappy it feels.
Multiple MBP here but the 12" still feels snappy in comparison to the older ones
Not for everyone granted, but when you are carrying a lot of things, ever little bit of space and weight helps.
It's not much heavier than an iPad but much more useful in my opinion- unless you can run a VPN on the new ipads I haven't checked.
So yes, I would be looking to replace the old 12" with a new one in a couple of years.
Defies all logic as to how well it works and how snappy it feels.
Multiple MBP here but the 12" still feels snappy in comparison to the older ones
Not for everyone granted, but when you are carrying a lot of things, ever little bit of space and weight helps.
It's not much heavier than an iPad but much more useful in my opinion- unless you can run a VPN on the new ipads I haven't checked.
So yes, I would be looking to replace the old 12" with a new one in a couple of years.
The M1 is, for all intents and purposes, equivalent to what an A14X would have been. The last X or Z variant, the A12Z, had a 4/4-core CPU (four efficiency, four high-performance) and an 8-core GPU, the exact same core setup as the M1.
I think a 12inch macbook could sell if it was powerful enough and had the right number of ports. There are many professions out there where small portable but yet powerful laptops are needed or to the point wanted. The problems have always been the same, the screen is not bright/clear/sharp/detailed enough, the battery life is poor, there is never enough ports for external devices.
One of the biggest problems for the professions that benifit from using small laptops is that many of the professions require their staff to travel a lot around a country or the world which is a problem because airline companies keep clamping down on how much hand luggage a passenger can carry and thus a small yet powerful laptop would suit them perfectly.
A 12inch macbook built with the right specs could be popular with students, small, lightweight, good lcd, good battery life, good selection of ports for external devices, something that could easily fit into their bag or backpack.
The problem for Apple is if they did build such a device the result could be that their other macbooks do not sell and Apple is not about to build a product that will affect the sales of it's other macbooks.
One of the biggest problems for the professions that benifit from using small laptops is that many of the professions require their staff to travel a lot around a country or the world which is a problem because airline companies keep clamping down on how much hand luggage a passenger can carry and thus a small yet powerful laptop would suit them perfectly.
A 12inch macbook built with the right specs could be popular with students, small, lightweight, good lcd, good battery life, good selection of ports for external devices, something that could easily fit into their bag or backpack.
The problem for Apple is if they did build such a device the result could be that their other macbooks do not sell and Apple is not about to build a product that will affect the sales of it's other macbooks.
I’ve always used my 12-inch, both PowerBooks and MacBook Retinas, with several external hdds for video editing, with the FW400 on PowerBooks, and with USB3 on MacBooks.
Ports are a problem for those who want to have a problem: it's full of adapters around, it was full even 30 years ago with other Macs, if you want to work you work, otherwise they look for excuses.
Just like the size of the screen: those who think they are working seriously on a 15”/18” make fun of themselves, to work properly without ruining the view you need at least a 23” and, since there is no portable Mac with a similar diagonal, whether it is an 11” or an 18” you still have to connect it to an external screen.
Finally, the power/thickness/doors issue: the problem with all devices is heat dissipation. Both the 12-inch PowerBook and the 12-inch MacBook, but so do iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, become hot under stress. If you want better dissipation you have to make them bulky and possibly with a fixed connection to the electric current, but even then under stress they could become hot.
I've been an Apple customer for decades, I still haven't found one of its products that, under stress, isn't hot or if equipped with fans doesn't become as noisy as a helicopter.
The only ones to save the Mac Pros inserted in special isolated and thermo-controlled rooms (maybe with liquid-cooled PowerMacs it was better, but I never had the pleasure of using them).
In short, they are all compromised, it's physical. Apple doesn’t even do miracles.
I used to run my dual-PPC PowerMac G5 maxed out continuously for weeks at a time, and it was quiet as a mouse. No liquid cooling, no special room. And I've heard the same about the iMac Pro and Mac Pro. But those may be the historical exceptions. From what I've read, the current AS devices are, for the most part, pretty quiet.
Macrumors commentators are going places. In the article a few days ago people here were arguing that 12" is the perfect size. And now in this comment thread, we're all saying that 12" is way too small and 15/18" should be the norm (which I agree).
Put a larger screen and less bezels on the 11" Macbook Air body, and I'm sure many would be happy.
The issue here imo is pricing point. I don't think Apple will allow any Macbooks going less for $999. And since using old designs is Apple's favorite strategy for entry level model, I think we would see the M1 Macbook Air hovering around for quite some time.
The issue here imo is pricing point. I don't think Apple will allow any Macbooks going less for $999. And since using old designs is Apple's favorite strategy for entry level model, I think we would see the M1 Macbook Air hovering around for quite some time.
I am a hobbyist photographer therefore ports are a big issue for me. I do not want to carry extra port adapters regardless of how small/light they are. I need a small laptop that has got the bare minimum of ext video port, a SD card reader and two usb ports, one to connect the camera and one to connect USB back up flash drive. If the machine has no SD card reader then a 3rd usb port so I can connect a USB card reader. My current go to machine for out an about photography is my 11inch Acer Ferrari one because not only does it have all the ports I need it is also powerful for my needs. All i want to carry is the laptop and charger and camera. I do not want to carry extra cables and port adapters just because a laptop manufacturer cannot be bothered to provide enough ports. When they do and it has the right size screen, I will buy it but until then I will carry on using my Acer.
oh and before people ask, no, plugging and unplugging ext devices to use the same port is not an option. I want to be able to plug in everything i need at once because it makes working a lot easier that having to keep swapping devices over due to lack of ports or having to carry extra port devices and cables. I want Apple to work around my needs, not for me to work around Apple's needs.