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I guess I didn't follow the news around the single-port 12" MacBook back in the day. How did it even get used? Constant multi-port adapters and docks? Was the target consumer someone who wouldn't be plugging things in often? Two ports I could live with but one seems crazy.
If this rumored 12” MacBook comes with a single USB 4 port, then it shouldn’t be an issue for the vast majority of people. A USB 4/Thunderbolt 3 dock will give most users all the expansion they will ever need.
 
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There’s no silicon you can make in 2020 that would make a new 12 inch MacBook a viable notebook for anyone other than the lightest users. In fact, I doubt we’ll see any low power chips that are feasible until 2025, at the earliest, given current projections.
 
This.

This right here might be the one I aim for to replace my iMac. I gave my mom my old 2015 retina Macbook but man I did love that thing. It was so light and portable but the processor was a major bottleneck in system performance. To imagine an even lighter chassis with an A14 chip and potentially faster RAM/SSD, better battery life etc... I’d be in heaven.
 
It is !

I'm interested to see if they'll do a Mac mini-mini.

It would not need to be any bigger than an Apple TV and could potentially run off any USB-C charger or power bank.

A revised macbook though would be awesome. I was never too impressed with the benchmarks, but from a technical standpoint the logic board and fanless design was absolutely amazing considering it was an Intel Core Processor (granted "M")

I would love a mini-me macmini. Would be great to use as a media center. Just use a double tape to stick it on the back of the TV!
 
There’s no silicon you can make in 2020 that would make a new 12 inch MacBook a viable notebook for anyone other than the lightest users. In fact, I doubt we’ll see any low power chips that are feasible until 2025, at the earliest, given current projections.

Many of us who own the MacBook 12", which dates back years, are very happy with it. Power users obviously will need something else. You do say 'lightest users', which is perhaps accurate, but not entirely.

Next... :)
 
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I think the 12-inch MacBook failed because it didn’t fit well in the product lineup. It had 8GB RAM, a 256GB SSD and a Retina display, which was quite impressive for the time. On the other hand, it had a small screen, almost no ports, and it was way too slow. The price was quite high, the same as a MacBook Pro. So for whom was it made? If your budget was tight you would obviously still go for the Air. If you had the money and you needed power, you would go for the Pro. The market for the 12-inch was not so clear. I personally never seriously thought of buying it.

Apple probably thought this would be the same success as the MacBook Air was in 2008. At that time, you also paid more to have a slower computer which was lighter and thinner. However, the MacBook Air was really spectacularly thinner and lighter than the then-MacBook. The MacBook Air was 1.3 kg and 0.4-1.9 cm high. The then-current MacBook was 2.3 kg and 2.3 cm high. That difference is huge.

Compare that with the 12-inch MacBook, which was 0.9 kg and 0.3-1.3 cm high, whereas the then-MacBook Air was 1.3 kg and 0.3-1.7 cm high. Sure, it’s a notable difference. But is it worth hundreds of dollars while getting worse ports and worse performance? Definitely not, at least not for most people.

Anyway, I have seen lots and lots of MacBook Airs and MacBook Pros in the wild. But 12-inch Macbooks? Perhaps one or two times. So I wasn't surprised Apple nixed it.

However, if Apple releases it now, same design, but with an Apple Silicon processor, a normal keyboard, two Thunderbolt 3 ports, and for a good price (preferably 899 or 999$), it could definitely be a huge success.
 
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Seems awesome, but not the MBP or even iMac everyone was expecting. It reinforces the feeling I made the right call upgrading from an early 2015 13" rMBP to a last gen Intel this summer, but I'm very excited to see how this performs and where ARM goes from there.
 
I think the 12-inch MacBook failed because it didn’t fit well in the product lineup. It had 8GB RAM, a 256GB SSD and a Retina display, which was quite impressive for the time. On the other hand, it had a small screen, almost no ports, and it was way too slow. The price was quite high, the same as a MacBook Pro. So for whom was it made? If your budget was tight you would obviously still go for the Air. If you had the money and you needed power, you would go for the Pro. The market for the 12-inch was not so clear. I personally never seriously thought of buying it.

Apple probably thought this would be the same success as the MacBook Air was in 2008. At that time, you also paid more to have a slower computer which was lighter and thinner. However, the MacBook Air was really spectacularly thinner and lighter than the then-MacBook. The MacBook Air was 1.3 kg and 0.4-1.9 cm high. The then-current MacBook was 2.3 kg and 2.3 cm high. That difference is huge.

Compare that with the 12-inch MacBook, which was 0.9 kg and 0.3-1.3 cm high, whereas the then-MacBook Air was 1.3 kg and 0.3-1.7 cm high. Sure, it’s a notable difference. But is it worth hundreds of dollars while getting worse ports and worse performance? Definitely not, at least not for most people.

Anyway, I have seen lots and lots of MacBook Airs and MacBook Pros in the wild. But 12-inch Macbooks? Perhaps one or two times. So I wasn't surprised Apple nixed it.

However, if Apple releases it now, same design, but with an Apple Silicon processor, a normal keyboard, two Thunderbolt 3 ports, and for a good price (preferably 899 or 999$), it could definitely be a huge success.
I read somewhere today that this would come with the 4th generation of the butterfly keyboard. Hopefully that is incorrect. But if true, what audacity and hubris.
 
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i hope the 1st lot of AS macbook they release match or surpass 16inch.

Sorry not going to happen, the ASIC processor has a long path to get to the matching speed of an Intel I9 processor. The Intel i9 processor is a very advanced processor with memory cache and threading engineering engineered into the processor. Intel has had years of experience with workhorse Xeon processors for 24x7 operations. Will Apple get their with the ASIC processor yes, but it is going to take years to reach.

The ASIC processor will have the greatest advance for Apple customers is they can start to create processors that meet the needs of the user requirements. Long battery life, App Store application compatibility, system security on the chip, high speed networking on the chip, Augmented Reality on the chip and so on. Remember a CISC processor was originally designed to be put in anything from a refrigerator to a home computer. A RISC and now ASIC are custom designed chips to meet the need of the technology it is going into that performs that function very fast and efficient.

Remember the iPhone 1 barely had 5 hours of talk time with the iPhone 11 Pro you get 25 hours of talk time, all do to ASIC battery power management and the new phone are a lot more power hungry than the first model :)
 
Wonder if this will have a fan or not. I'm assuming it will need a fan, but this will be really interesting.

My bigger concern will be how locked down this is.
 
Sorry not going to happen, the ASIC processor has a long path to get to the matching speed of an Intel I9 processor. The Intel i9 processor is a very advanced processor with memory cache and threading engineering engineered into the processor. Intel has had years of experience with workhorse Xeon processors for 24x7 operations. Will Apple get their with the ASIC processor yes, but it is going to take years to reach.

The ASIC processor will have the greatest advance for Apple customers is they can start to create processors that meet the needs of the user requirements. Long battery life, App Store application compatibility, system security on the chip, high speed networking on the chip, Augmented Reality on the chip and so on. Remember a CISC processor was originally designed to be put in anything from a refrigerator to a home computer. A RISC and now ASIC are custom designed chips to meet the need of the technology it is going into that performs that function very fast and efficient.

Remember the iPhone 1 barely had 5 hours of talk time with the iPhone 11 Pro you get 25 hours of talk time, all do to ASIC battery power management and the new phone are a lot more power hungry than the first model :)

It's not an ASIC. You have no idea what you're talking about.
 
"In contrast to today's report, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said a 13.3-inch MacBook Pro with a form factor similar to the current 13.3-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ could be the first Mac to get an Arm-based chip designed by Apple. In March, Kuo predicted this new ‌MacBook Pro‌ will launch late in 2020 or early in 2021."

What if both rumors are true? There could possibly be a 12" sized MacBook with small enough bezels to squeeze a 13-ish inch screen and provide a 13"-like experience in a smaller package. This would require a new form factor but could set the stage for a pro device with screen bezels similar to the iPad Pro in 2021/2022 and would be a much more compelling option to those who are on the fence about an ARM based product.

After all, the Dell XPS 13 and HP Spectre shrunk the bezels to the point that the laptops are nearly the size of a 12 inch MacBook, so why wouldn't Apple try to compete with that form-factor?
 
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