Display Industry Analyst Expresses Skepticism About 12-Inch MacBook Rumor

[aliasfox]

Realistically though, what tasks are you going to be doing on a 12” notebook that you can’t do on a 11” iPad paired with a keyboard case?

A 12” MacBook is never going to be heavy duty/pro device. And with an Apple Pencil, editing images, video, etc is all going to be better on an iPad.

A iPad is just an all round more capable device in that size range now. Even if it’s not yet a total laptop replacement for everyone.

The following addresses the above question from the context of both an iPad as well as the original 12" rMBP:

A photographer at an event who may be presenting on a projector, while pulling images off the last SD card that they pulled from their camera. While plugged into power.

Using a mouse with any other peripheral - monitor, projector, wired printer.

Using two external monitors at a time (doable with M1, but Apple doesn't want you to...)

Using power with any peripheral, period.

I personally understand that a small, lower power device will have compromises - but having no (or only one) free port when plugged into power is a huge turnoff for me. I think two TB3 and MagSafe is the lowest I would consider. That alone makes the new MBA much more attractive than the 13" MBP. If I'm at a conference/meeting all day, or in a hotel for more than a couple of days, I want to be able to plug in power, a wired mouse, and an SD reader or a USB Flash drive without having to swap out plugs.

 

[mrmister]

"but having no (or only one) free port when plugged into power is a huge turnoff for me."

I can confirm if I would change one thing about a MacBook, it would be to have two ports.

That said, as the years have gone on it's been less of an issue than I thought it would be. It honestly doesn't bother me now—I adapted, and I actually liked how it simplified some of my gear.

Also, the ipads that everyone keeps saying should replace the MacBook all have...one port.

 

[haydn!]

Could I have done this with an iPad? No.
Could I do it now with an iPad? Maybe, but it costs twice as much as a 12" MacBook and doesn't have macOS, I'd be a fool.

In 2015-17, was the iPad a capable device, no. But Apple still failed to carve out a market for a 12” notebook.

Jump forward to today, and all those use cases you mentioned, you can now do on an iPad. So why would Apple attempt again to do something they failed at fairly recently, when they have an existing product line capable of ticking most boxes for an already niche market?

And just a side note on price. The 12” MacBook started at $1299 in 2015. The iPad Pro $799/$999 today.

 

[ScholarsInk]

In 2015-17, was the iPad a capable device, no. But Apple still failed to carve out a market for a 12” notebook.

Jump forward to today, and all those use cases you mentioned, you can now do on an iPad. So why would Apple attempt again to do something they failed at fairly recently, when they have an existing product line capable of ticking most boxes for an already niche market?

And just a side note on price. The 12” MacBook started at $1299 in 2015. The iPad Pro $799/$999 today.

I have no idea where the revisionists are getting pricing from. The 12" MacBook was not a cheap machine at all.

 

[Xand&Roby]

In 2015-17, was the iPad a capable device, no. But Apple still failed to carve out a market for a 12” notebook.

Jump forward to today, and all those use cases you mentioned, you can now do on an iPad. So why would Apple attempt again to do something they failed at fairly recently, when they have an existing product line capable of ticking most boxes for an already niche market?

And just a side note on price. The 12” MacBook started at $1299 in 2015. The iPad Pro $799/$999 today.

No, you can't do them all on iPad, otherwise we wouldn't have people clamoring for window management on iPadOS, or a simplified form of MacOS on iPad, we wouldn't have Stage Manager and other similar solutions whose purpose is to try to make what possible an iPad a Mac, without success, because if Apple really wanted it it would have a serious problem with Mac sales.
And no, the price is wrong: consider the basic iPad Pro, which doesn't even have all the RAM available, which is potentially a problem precisely for those features that should make it Pro. You have to select the 1 or 2 Tb iPads and for have a complete iPad Pro add a keyboard and a pencil. The MacBook came complete, you could add RAM without having to increase the space on the SSD.

I have no idea where the revisionists are getting pricing from. The 12" MacBook was not a cheap machine at all.

I bought two, I think I know how much they cost. Of the iPad Pro, on the other hand, I have not been able to buy even half, because it continues to be an incomplete product at an exorbitant price.

 

[AND411]

Market so small nowadays. iPads have become more powerful since the last 12" Macbook.a new 12-inch Macbook will also be much more powerful than the old Macbook.

But a new 12-inch Macbook will also be much more powerful than the old Macbook.
The powerful Ipad is limited by the imperfect iPad OS.
There will be a big market for a 12" M2 or M3 Macbook. It will be the perfect machine for traveling business people, students and other users who want a full-featured macOS in a small package.
I was actually going to switch from my IPad pro 11 2020 to the M1 IPad Pro, but I will not be doing so. If the MB 12" is offered, I will sell the IPad immediately.

 

[SactoGuy18]

Personally, I think Apple will not build a new 12" MacBook. The new MacBook Air 2 will essentially take its place.

 

[AND411]

33% smaller in footprint, about 28% lighter, the difference between an m2 12" MB and the 13.6 Air is significant.
The old MB 12" was discontinued because there were no powerful processors for this small form factor and the scissor keyboard caused too many problems.
Meanwhile, very powerful processors are available for small enclosures and Apple has managed to integrate a butterfly keyboard into a case that is only 11.3 mm thin.
In 2015, the time was not yet ready for the ingenious 12" Macbook.
With Apple Silicone, the time has come for a new MB 12 in the form factor of the Air 13!

 

[0092762]

The 12" macbook had pretty big bezels, the same size can accommodate a close to 13" screen with the face id cutouts like the air. As long as it's not much more than 2 lbs and the keyboard is good...