Still mourning the 12” MacBook—Apple’s best and only true ultrabook

[thistleknife]

Yes, like a number of folks I’m sad that the Neo turned out to have nothing to do with a 12” MacBook replacement. It always seemed a longshot—everything said it was budget all the way, and to be honest, I would rather they make a good budget laptop than a half-assed small laptop. And I have no complaints about the Neo—I think it’s great they hit that price point, and I am hopeful it sells a ton to new folks.

The tragedy is that Apple hasn’t yet given us an Apple Silicon 12” Macbook replacement.

The 12” Macbook weighs 2.03 lbs—so light that it passes some line and becomes ultra portable in a way the 2.7 lbs MacBook Air can’t even dream of. It is still my favorite laptop to use out in the world. I have the fastest final version of it, which now nearly a decade old—it is usable still, though can’t handle big demands being made of it, and in my new Apple Silicon life it is becoming a museum piece.

It’s hard being in love with a lost product. And to add insult to injury, this forum changed the name of the Macbook forum to Macbook Neo, erasing that they were ever here.

But many of us remember. These days my ultraprotable needs are filled by a iPad Pro M4 in a Magic Keyboard case…which adds up to 2.25 lbs. iPadOS 26 makes it…okay. But in terms of feel and shape and using full fat MacOS, it still can’t beat a 12” MacBook.

 

[537635]

Well said.

Macbook Neo is just a cheap Macbook Air.


I really wish the ultraportable category wouldn't be reserved for iPads.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I also wish we could get a true next gen, Apple Silicon, 12" MacBook.

I didn't expect the Neo to be it ... Still wishing for it.

 

[Adelphos33]

In theory, Apple has all of the parts to do this right now - they could reconfigure an 11 inch iPad Pro into this kind of machine by adding an attached keyboard and trackpad and switching some internals around.

 

[thistleknife]

Revision: the 11" ipad pro m4 and magic keyboard is 2.25 lbs, so it really isn't the same in so many ways.

 

[537635]

Revision: the 11" ipad pro m4 and magic keyboard is 2.25 lbs, so it really isn't the same in so many ways.

The "removability" of the keyboard adds a lot to the weight, keyboard is as heavy as the iPad, while having no battery and no silicon.

I've actually been using this combo for about 6 months as a "Macbook 12 replacement". Very portable, great hardware... abysmall software. Of course I never touch the screen

 

[Onimusha370]

Feels. I miss it as well. The iPhone Air gave me hope that Apple still cares about folks that love thin and light designs - my favourite Apple product in a very long time.

I'm still holding out hope that there will be an ultra-thin laptop again in the next few years, and that they move to an iPhone type lineup where you have:

Macbook Neo $599 (iPhone 17e) - optimised for price
Macbook $999 (iPhone 17) - optimised to be a good all rounder (the current MBA)
MacBook Air $1299 (iPhone 17 Air) - optimised for design, using more expensive/premium components
MacBook Pro $1599 (iPhone 17 Pro) - optimised for performance

I worry that the reported bad sales of the Air will stop this happening though... a bit like how they cancelled the iPhone Mini after 2 years.

 

[bluraycinema]

They have gone for an iPhone Fold though.

 

[Yr Blues]

I'm still mourning my 12" PowerBook. The Neo seems pretty close.

 

[thadoggfather]

I was also hoping for something more in the vein of 12" rMB.

It seems like Apple SoC would've been extremely well suited to handle this, heck a Core M could 11 years ago and that thing was a power efficiency dog / power slog.

 

[chars1ub0w]

Need some cool diy'er to show Apple the way. Remove the essential guts of a Neo and brilliantly rehouse it in an old 12" MacBook shell.

 

[Yr Blues]

Need some cool diy'er to show Apple the way. Remove the essential guts of a Neo and brilliantly rehouse it in an old 12" MacBook shell.

Even the super thin 12" MB had backlit keys.

 

[thadoggfather]

Even the super thin 12" MB had backlit keys.

To be fair it started at $1,299 and was a premium priced machine.

 

[JPack]

They even renamed this forum by superseding it with the Neo name. It's almost like the 12-inch MacBook is already forgotten.

 

[KPOM]

It’s a little surprising that they couldn’t make it a bit lighter since the battery is smaller than in the MacBook Air. Perhaps it’s a little sturdier than the Air. I wasn’t expecting them to bring back the 12” factor, but thought they would either reuse the M1 wedge design or the current Air design. It is a new chassis, albeit similar to the current Air design.

 

[thadoggfather]

It’s a little surprising that they couldn’t make it a bit lighter since the battery is smaller than in the MacBook Air. Perhaps it’s a little sturdier than the Air. I wasn’t expecting them to bring back the 12” factor, but thought they would either reuse the M1 wedge design or the current Air design. It is a new chassis, albeit similar to the current Air design.

Just speculating but maybe that would lead people to believe the wedge design is superior to what Airs offer, and the M2 and up Airs are a design regression in some ways / feel chunkier than the 'illusion' of being thinner by actually being thinner at the smallest part, where most people grab their laptop. Maybe specifically to make its design less desirable than people on Airs M2 and up.

..I doubt they actually cared on that one, but trying to understand why they went the chonky route.
Would love to be a fly on the wall.

I for one miss that about my 13 M1 MBA despite liking a lot of the overall improvements to my 15 M2 MBA (screen's nicer, sound is much much better, the rounded edges are less sharp, the bezels are thinner, the lack of lettering on bottom bezel, etc.)

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

At least a small bit of silver lining is that, now that the MacBook Neo exists, Apple has the freedom to do whatever they want with the MacBook Air and they don’t have to worry about retaining the sub-$1000 distinction.
Very possible that they could switch the focus of the MacBook Air back to being the “premium” option of the line-up.
Although I highly doubt they would ever go beneath a 13 inch display ever again, they absolutely could focus on a more technically impressive significantly thinner and lighter “Air” laptop.
The MBA is rumored to get redesigned with OLED in 2028, so i guess we’ll see.

 

[Macalway]

Forget it. As long as Tim is there we won't see it. Imo this is about 90% certain.

Funny how the term 'courage' has been used so often.

 

[edubfromktown]

I still dual boot my (daughter's 1st two years of college) m3 16/512 GB 2015 12" for LightRoom 6.14 and a bunch of Windows 10 utility stuff. Do the same with my 1st gen 9.7" iPad Pro!

Also have a couple of 2011 Mini's 512/12 GB that still run great on High Sierra inside my well protected home LAN!

 

[Onimusha370]

At least a small bit of silver lining is that, now that the MacBook Neo exists, Apple has the freedom to do whatever they want with the MacBook Air and they don’t have to worry about retaining the sub-$1000 distinction.
Very possible that they could switch the focus of the MacBook Air back to being the “premium” option of the line-up.
Although I highly doubt they would ever go beneath a 13 inch display ever again, they absolutely could focus on a more technically impressive significantly thinner and lighter “Air” laptop.
The MBA is rumored to get redesigned with OLED in 2028, so i guess we’ll see.

Yeah great point. Hopefully the Neo sells well (even if it cannibalise the Air somewhat) and then there'll be even more freedom to push the Air in a thin/light direction, even if it pushes up the price.

 

[4sallypat]

It’s a little surprising that they couldn’t make it a bit lighter since the battery is smaller than in the MacBook Air. Perhaps it’s a little sturdier than the Air. I wasn’t expecting them to bring back the 12” factor, but thought they would either reuse the M1 wedge design or the current Air design. It is a new chassis, albeit similar to the current Air design.

Price cost is the reason Apple went with forged aluminum casting instead of the expensive CNC milled aluminum.

Much cheaper to mold the aluminum (thicker) and then heat pressure treat for strength than having to mill it out.

Thanks to @JPack for confirming!

 

[venom600]

Need some cool diy'er to show Apple the way. Remove the essential guts of a Neo and brilliantly rehouse it in an old 12" MacBook shell.

To be clear, they don’t need to see it. It isn’t that they couldn’t. It isn’t a skill issue. It’s that they chose not to. The 12” MacBook is one of my favorites ever (also the 12” PowerBook g4) but they clearly don’t want to produce a modern version of it.

 

[Paul1964]

Best? That thing would thermally throttle if you looked at it wrong - never mind actually trying to use it.

 

[venom600]

Best? That thing would thermally throttle if you looked at it wrong - never mind actually trying to use it.

And yet much like the 11.6” Air before it, having a full macOS experience at 2lbs was worth it. They haven’t made anything that offers a similar experience since. The neo certainly doesn’t.

 

[Paul1964]

And yet much like the 11.6” Air before it, having a full macOS experience at 2lbs was worth it. They haven’t made anything that offers a similar experience since. The neo certainly doesn’t.

The Neo is half the price of the old MacBook 12 inch.