Apple has decided to boot its 12in MacBook this week after introducing a new lower-cost MacBook Air and an updated 13in MacBook Pro. The previous-gen MacBook Air (that doesn’t feature Apple’s Retina display) also won’t be available anymore.
The 12in MacBook design was introduced in 2015 as the smallest and lightest laptop sold by Apple. However, the device sat awkwardly in Apple’s product lineup, and recently had to compete against the more attractive new MacBook Air. Smaller than the MacBook Air but priced close to the entry-level MacBook Pro, the MacBook never had a clear target market. And it had one USB-C port. We can’t tell you how much that has impressed us over the years… not.
Only port in a storm
The 12in MacBook also faced similar keyboard issues to those experienced by the 2018 MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro. Apple has since worked on the problems in the Air and Pro by changing the materials used underneath the keys, but didn’t update the keyboard on the regular MacBook. Now we know why. The whole line was on the way out.
It’s being displaced by that cheaper MacBook Air — though we’re still waiting to see whether that price-drop is reflected here. And how much it is. There’s a $100 (R1,450 or so) reduction coming to the international market. Whether that’ll translate here remains to be seen.
Apple’s 12in MacBook now joins the ranks of obsolete Apple hardware. That’s hardware that is (probably) perfectly functional but which isn’t receiving any more official support.
Get in Touch
Apple’s MacBook Pro is being slightly revamped as well. For those of you who thought the Touch Bar was going away, you were incorrect. Apple’s replacing its entry-level, Bar-less 13in MacBook Pro with a Touch Bar-featuring model with an incremental specification update. That is, a new Core i5 processor from Intel is turning up in the revamped entry-level machine. As with the MacBook Air price drop, we’re turning our eyes to local sources to see when and where it’ll turn up.
