With the power and ability of the m1/m2 it'd be a mobile dream machine of mine to get the 12" macbook going again. At least the 12" form factor with no bezels. They tried it with the intels and managed to find some success but the m series cpus are clearly perfect for this. The base model m1 is already 3x faster than the i5 version intel had in the 12". The m2 is almost 4k faster. For those of us that don't do anything content related it was amazing. I went through africa with that little guy in my bag.
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Now that it makes sense could Apple please release a 12" Macbook again?!
- Thread starter FlyingTexan
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It is definitely possible with the performance and low power that the M2 provides (I doubt they would create a new product to use an M1).
Will they? That's much harder to guess. I'd love it if they did. The M2 MacBook Air is a great size but a lighter notebook would be better still. I'd have to try it for the screen size vs. the M2 MBA but I used an 11" MacBook Air for years without any problems with the small screen size.
Reasons that they might: Phil Schiller was known to use a 12" MacBook. If he is a fan, he might push to get it made. There are notebooks on the market that are lighter than the M2 MBA which leaves a gap in Apple's product line. When they introduced the 12" MacBook Apple crowed about how high tech it was (and it was). They could use it again as a way to emphasize there technology chops with the low-power Apple silicon SoCs.
But Apple might have also moved on. They have marketing information that would tell them if there is a large enough audience for a new 12" MacBook. It might not have enough interest to justify a new product. Apple will have a pretty good idea if it will sell. The other problem is that there are rumors that Apple is going to introduce a lower-end 15" MacBook (maybe MacBook Air). If this rumor is true, I think it makes it much less likely that they would introduce a new smaller MacBook as well. It would clutter up the product line too much.
I had an 11" MBA and loved it. Only issue was it thermal throttled so badly that you couldn't watch a movie on it - toward the end of an 1.5 hour movie it would glitch due to the throttling.
I would would pay $1K for an M2 11" MBA even if it lacked MagSafe and could only support one external monitor. I'd way rather have that as an ultra portable than an iPAD. I just prefer MacOS.
I would would pay $1K for an M2 11" MBA even if it lacked MagSafe and could only support one external monitor. I'd way rather have that as an ultra portable than an iPAD. I just prefer MacOS.
I hope they make something like this. My wife refuses to update her 2015 MacBook 12" and I think it recently made Apple's 'vintage' list. The truth of it is that she does 90% of her computing on a phone (internet, email, social media, notes, photos). The MacBook only comes out when she needs to write a Word document, or prepare notes for our Podcast.
Still, I'd get her a new 12" M1/M2 powered MacBook in a heart beat. The old one has finally started to feel slow - especially when compared to my M1 or M2 devices.
Come on Apple. I have cash-in-hand!
Still, I'd get her a new 12" M1/M2 powered MacBook in a heart beat. The old one has finally started to feel slow - especially when compared to my M1 or M2 devices.
Come on Apple. I have cash-in-hand!
With the reduced size of the M1 MacBook Air 13” compared to its Intel predecessor I would consider it unlikely. M1 MBA is 1” x ½” larger in size, hardly a massive increase.
True but that's comparing current to a legacy item. If they applied the same design characteristics to a smaller machine I'd be on it in a heartbeat. I'm a pilot, all I do is travel, and the 13" m1 macbook pro isn't bad at all but I'd love to get my hands on the smaller unit again. The only reason I went with the 13" m1 macpro was because of a discount I received and it had better speakers and a better screen.
I'm honestly a little tired of the apple design language at this point. There's better manufacturing techniques out there. Look at the Huawei Matebook X Pro. Or the new Lenovo Thinkpad x13. The only thing keeping on macbook is the screen, speakers, battery life, and touchpad. Design wise I'm just not a fan anymore. It's been a great machine for what I use it for but as I keep traveling and carrying things around I'm starting to wish more and more I had that slim and small 12" form factor I use to be able to slip in the side of my camera bag.
0.92kg vs 1.27kg (38% heavier)
In my opinion MBA sizing is all wrong. At 13.6in the MBA screen is oversized for users who prefer smaller but it's underspecced/inferior, compared to MBP14, even though the dimensions are comparable. MBA and MBP sizes ought to be staggered: 12-14-15-16.
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It’s quite noticeable how much smaller and lighter the 12” is over the Air. when comparing specs, it doesn’t seem significant, but when actually using them side by side, the 12” just feels like a better size. To us at least.
No question, we use 12" laptops at work and the size difference is noticeable. My point is just too many similar products.
12" MBA (proposed)
13" MBA
13" MBP
14" MBP
15" MBA (rumored)
16" MBP
They could do away with the 13 inch and have a 12 inch (MBA/MacBook) and a 15 inch MBA. I would really like a smaller MBA. The 13 inch MBA is a tad too big for me. I do like the newer design and Retina display but I much prefer the form factor of my old MBA 11. I just got my kids an 11 inch Chromebook. The build quality is trash. I don’t mind the OS. What I do like about it is the form factor. It’s nice and compact.So I am considering trying to get a Chromebook with the same form factor but significantly better build quality. I would prefer to stay on Mac OS and don’t have any reason to upgrade from my current MBA other than it being too big.
Regarding the chip. The only reason why I didn’t get the MacBook was because of the chip. However my computing needs are so minimal these days I wouldn’t really care what chip it got.
I wonder how Apple views a really small (11/12 inch) Mac vs. the iPad Pro w/ a keyboard folio.
I tried and tried to like the iPad but could never get there. iOS just isn't MacOS. Give me an ultra compact laptop as a bedtime machine over the iPad. But I sense I'm in the distinct minority on this one.
I tried and tried to like the iPad but could never get there. iOS just isn't MacOS. Give me an ultra compact laptop as a bedtime machine over the iPad. But I sense I'm in the distinct minority on this one.
Agree that would be a messy line-up, I don’t think that would deter Apple. Have you looked at the iPad line up recentply? It’s a confusing mess of choices for people.
As reported here once, Apple has surveyed MacBook owners some years back.
Considering their leaps in notebook processors, the 12” doesn’t seem plausible, but certain.
Considering their leaps in notebook processors, the 12” doesn’t seem plausible, but certain.
There is one big catch:
Apple just released a redesigned 13" consumer laptop (M2 Air).
Bonus catch:
"Full size" keys in combination with 2020s bezel would make the minimum display size close to 13" anyways.
As much a I would love to see something like that I do think that door is closed for the next few year and will only reopen if Apple replaces the 13" Air with something bigger.
Apple just released a redesigned 13" consumer laptop (M2 Air).
Bonus catch:
"Full size" keys in combination with 2020s bezel would make the minimum display size close to 13" anyways.
As much a I would love to see something like that I do think that door is closed for the next few year and will only reopen if Apple replaces the 13" Air with something bigger.
Apple with next 3nm it can definatly make the 12" Macbook come back with proper performance and great battery life
12" Macbook
15" Macbook Air
14 and 16" Macbook pro
And with the current design language they can go with 12.3" Macbook with very thin bezles or go all in with 12" display in even smaller chassis
12" Macbook
15" Macbook Air
14 and 16" Macbook pro
And with the current design language they can go with 12.3" Macbook with very thin bezles or go all in with 12" display in even smaller chassis
There are several of us that have thought that a M1/M2 based 11" or 12" MacBook would be a viable product to market. With a LCD or OLED screen supporting a high DPI it would really sell well.
The advantage of a full keyboard, trackpad, folds to protects the display and keyboard to a small form factor to carry during travel, updated to support spatial audio, along with the latest WiFI 6, Bluetooth would make a perfect netbook for people on the go, or using it casually.
That’s fair. To me, the 12” should be the Air, the 13” the MacBook, get rid of the 13” Pro, and have a 16” MacBook as well as the pro. But I’m no expert.
Looking at the model sizes a bit closer by display size.
12" MBA (proposed)
13.3" M1 MBA
13.6" M2 MBA
13.3" M2 MBP
14.2" M1 Pro/Max MBP
15" MBA (rumored)
16.2" M1 Pro/Max MBP
If the 13.3" models go away, it will be less cluttered.
12" MBA (proposed)
13.6" M2 MBA
14.2" M1 Pro/Max MBP
15" MBA (rumored)
16.2" M1 Pro/Max MBP
Given that small use case, she'd likely do fine with an iPad and a keyboard. And that can be done quite cheap.
It is quite an increase if you carry the laptop around a lot, especially the 40% weight difference. I love the size of my 12" Macbook as I commute a lot every day.