The rumored 12-inch MacBook with Apple Silicon - a 2024 perspective (Speculation Megathread?)

[dmccloud]

I used to use an 11.5" MBA as my primary machine. At the desk it was plugged into a 24" monitor. The keyboard and trackpad still worked. Why would a 12" laptop not work as a primary device in this scenario? I supposed if you were a videographer you would want something else, but a lot of people don't work with large data sets like that.

The screen size on a 12" or 11.5" laptop is a tough sell to potential buyers with impaired vision. Beyond those users, there's a plethora of reasons one might want a larger screen. Gamers, coders, people who use their device to stream movies/TV/YouTube, those who love to multitask with multiple windows visible at the same time - all of those use cases could easily benefit from a larger display. The other factor is that not everyone either has an external monitor or wants to use their Mac with an external monitor.

I don't really see the value of a 12" MacBook again now that the 13" Air with M2/M3 exists.

The 12" MacBook was meant to be analogous to the 2008 MacBook Air - a "designer" PC that is both meant to be ultraportable and to introduce a new era of product design to Apple. They were both meant to represent a change in Apple's philosophy behind their product lineup.

The thing is, we've already experienced the same thing with the 2021 14"/16" MacBook Pro and the M2/M3 MacBook Air. The M2 Air is already so close in size to the 12" while remaining thinner with a very similar weight. There's nothing a 12" MacBook would offer over the existing Silicon Airs to make it a higher end product like the original, and anything cheaper than the current M2 Air Apple would rather you buy an iPad.

Just seems like it's no longer got a space in the lineup due to the new MacBook Airs.

Those 12" Macbooks also used horribly underpowered Intel Core-M series CPUs, which never went past two cores and were barely better than the $250-$400 cheapo Windows laptops that flooded stores like Best Buy and Walmart at the time.

 

[throAU]

I do agree that materials play a role, although Apple could probably fit a 12.5in screen in the Retina Macbook body by just reducing the bezels. As for 12in I don't feel compromised if it's at least 16.10 and even less if it's 3:2. But the latest is not an aspect ratio Apple uses and as you say Apple has made a choice or materials.
Personally however, I am glad to be on Windows (not that Windows is perfect, far from it, but it has its pros and cons vs MacOS) and have more choice of sizes and form factors (and cellular support).

As much as I hate the 16x9 ratio for my own devices (and I do NOT think apple should change aspect ratio on existing devices!), apple should make a 12" 16x9 MacBook, like the old 11" air was.

Ideal for watching TV/Movies (iPad is not - there's a lot of wasted space due to the aspect ratio which is great for everything else), physically much smaller than the 13" and will fill a niche that the iPads do not, due to the above.

i.e. the machine could be more focused on casual/media use during travel with occasional work, or work primarily when plugged into a dock - which is realistically what most people likely want for a travel laptop. They (mostly) aren't working on massive spreadsheets or video footage or whatever on the plane - they're watching movies. When they get to the remote location they're probably plugging into a display/projector to do a presentation.

And if they ARE doing actual work on the plane, they can either compromise a little for the better movie display, or the larger Air/Pro machines cover that niche already with their larger 16x10 displays.

A 12" 16x9 laptop with small bezels is AWESOME in economy due to the reduced vertical space meaning less interference with the seat in front and movie friendly aspect.

It would give those users who want a 16x9 device an option for media consumption while in transit and general purpose computing. i.e., a do everything "I'm going on a trip" device.

its a niche that is currently a compromise with any other current device apple makes. Sure you could MAYBE get the same (maybe slightly smaller on iPad!) movie display size with black bars (due to aspect ratio) on a 12.9" iPad or 13/14" MacBook, but they're physically larger, heavier devices that need larger bags and (potentially) power adapters.... Much as the iPad is a great general purpose device (particularly for books, web browsing, drawing, etc.) , it's actually really pretty bad for movies specifically due to the aspect ratio. Massive wasted space/black bars.


In terms of materials, I doubt apple would go to something other than Aluminium for the Air or non-pro/non-air MacBook branded machines due to their intended fan-less nature.

The aluminium case acts as a large heat-sink and carbon fibre, etc. does NOT conduct heat anywhere near as well. Which means it would either need a fan and/or thicker space for an internal heat sink. Which means more noise and another point of failure.

 

[LaterWolf]

The screen size on a 12" or 11.5" laptop is a tough sell to potential buyers with impaired vision. Beyond those users, there's a plethora of reasons one might want a larger screen. Gamers, coders, people who use their device to stream movies/TV/YouTube, those who love to multitask with multiple windows visible at the same time - all of those use cases could easily benefit from a larger display. The other factor is that not everyone either has an external monitor or wants to use their Mac with an external monitor.

Agree. Sadly, some people are not so open-minded to accessibility. (My experience with some people who just assume everything)

 

[throAU]

Agree. Sadly, some people are not so open-minded to accessibility. (My experience with some people who just assume everything)

There are options that exist already for those who want larger displays. I have one of those, but can see the desire for a 12".

🤷‍♂️

 

[MrGunny94]

Right?! You'd think it'd be the lowest-hanging fruit to paraphrase Steve Jobs. It seems like a no brainer.

And the fact that there is still a lot of people holding on to their 'Macbook' and some other people were forced to upgrade to the Air because of the lack of a new model.

 

[Tagbert]

As much as I hate the 16x9 ratio for my own devices (and I do NOT think apple should change aspect ratio on existing devices!), apple should make a 12" 16x9 MacBook, like the old 11" air was.

Ideal for watching TV/Movies (iPad is not - there's a lot of wasted space due to the aspect ratio which is great for everything else), physically much smaller than the 13" and will fill a niche that the iPads do not, due to the above.

i.e. the machine could be more focused on casual/media use during travel with occasional work, or work primarily when plugged into a dock - which is realistically what most people likely want for a travel laptop. They (mostly) aren't working on massive spreadsheets or video footage or whatever on the plane - they're watching movies. When they get to the remote location they're probably plugging into a display/projector to do a presentation.

And if they ARE doing actual work on the plane, they can either compromise a little for the better movie display, or the larger Air/Pro machines cover that niche already with their larger 16x10 displays.

A 12" 16x9 laptop with small bezels is AWESOME in economy due to the reduced vertical space meaning less interference with the seat in front and movie friendly aspect.

It would give those users who want a 16x9 device an option for media consumption while in transit and general purpose computing. i.e., a do everything "I'm going on a trip" device.

its a niche that is currently a compromise with any other current device apple makes. Sure you could MAYBE get the same (maybe slightly smaller on iPad!) movie display size with black bars (due to aspect ratio) on a 12.9" iPad or 13/14" MacBook, but they're physically larger, heavier devices that need larger bags and (potentially) power adapters.... Much as the iPad is a great general purpose device (particularly for books, web browsing, drawing, etc.) , it's actually really pretty bad for movies specifically due to the aspect ratio. Massive wasted space/black bars.

...

I used an 11.6" 2011 Air as my main device for 3-4 years. I loved most things about it but I hated the screen aspect ratio. On such a small screen, having it be so short was a serious impediment. It made documents and web browsing difficult. It felt like I was looking through a slit. That is an exaggeration but it felt that way. My next device was a 16:10 and it felt so much better.

Videos (which are not all 16:9) are such a small part of using a laptop and it is such a small sacrifice to have bars on the top and bottom, that I just cannot justify a 16:9 screen aspect.

 

[throAU]

I used an 11.6" 2011 Air as my main device for 3-4 years. I loved most things about it but I hated the screen aspect ratio. On such a small screen, having it be so short was a serious impediment. It made documents and web browsing difficult. It felt like I was looking through a slit. That is an exaggeration but it felt that way. My next device was a 16:10 and it felt so much better.

Videos (which are not all 16:9) are such a small part of using a laptop and it is such a small sacrifice to have bars on the top and bottom, that I just cannot justify a 16:9 screen aspect.

Yeah I wouldn't want 16x9 either, but for some I can see the appeal especially in confined space as a travel only machine. My ex had one... she loved it.

 

[LaterWolf]

Yeah I wouldn't want 16x9 either, but for some I can see the appeal especially in confined space as a travel only machine. My ex had one... she loved it.

Technically even with thinner bezels Apple can still achieve the superior 16x10

 

[MRMSFC]

Technically even with thinner bezels Apple can still achieve the superior 16x10

I was hoping 3:2 would catch on after the Surface came out.

16:9 is a terrible aspect ratio. I’d even prefer going back to 4:3.

 

[LaterWolf]

I was hoping 3:2 would catch on after the Surface came out.

16:9 is a terrible aspect ratio. I’d even prefer going back to 4:3.

Yeah, laptop manufacturers don bother
3:2 / 16:10 should be the standard

 

[jouster]

I used an 11.6" 2011 Air as my main device for 3-4 years. I loved most things about it but I hated the screen aspect ratio. On such a small screen, having it be so short was a serious impediment. It made documents and web browsing difficult. It felt like I was looking through a slit. That is an exaggeration but it felt that way. My next device was a 16:10 and it felt so much better.

Videos (which are not all 16:9) are such a small part of using a laptop and it is such a small sacrifice to have bars on the top and bottom, that I just cannot justify a 16:9 screen aspect.

Logically, I agree with everything you say. But my OCD made me hate the letterboxing that was required for media consumption on 16:10 devices. And I didn't mind a bit of extra scrolling while browsing or writing.

Technically even with thinner bezels Apple can still achieve the superior 16x10

Or...they could make an even smaller device with thin bezels and a 16:9 screen! The way economy seats are going, I'll soon be trying to work on my Apple Watch when I'm flying...so the smaller, the better!

 

[MRMSFC]

Or...they could make an even smaller device with thin bezels and a 16:9 screen! The way economy seats are going, I'll soon be trying to work on my Apple Watch when I'm flying...so the smaller, the better!

Depending on who made the plane you’re on, leg room might be the least of your worries.

 

[Random_Matt]

12" is teeny tiny. Each to their own I guess. My 16" MacBook Pro is just about OK.

 

[Lioness~]

If I travelled with my portable Mac every day, I would much prefer the 12”.

The 13” have the same size in wideness as earlier 13” that I’ve had, but it’s much deeper (2,5-3 cm) - says my earlier case at least.
It's light for its size, but would be too heavy to carry around all the time.

 

[LaterWolf]

Logically, I agree with everything you say. But my OCD made me hate the letterboxing that was required for media consumption on 16:10 devices. And I didn't mind a bit of extra scrolling while browsing or writing.

Or...they could make an even smaller device with thin bezels and a 16:9 screen! The way economy seats are going, I'll soon be trying to work on my Apple Watch when I'm flying...so the smaller, the better!

If you want! (Ok maybe just maybe they can make a smaller 16:10, but at that point it's diminishing returns territory when you go smaller than 12")

Depending on who made the plane you’re on, leg room might be the least of your worries.

Hmm, what is the plane im flying on today
*Looks: 737 MAX*
Oh f-

 

[jouster]

Per Apple's website:

2022 13" MacBook Air M2 dimensions: 11.97" x 8.46"
2015 11" MacBook Air dimensions: 11.8 x 7.56"

Obviously, the 16:9 screen ratio of the 11" Air results in a shallower computer--but only by 0.9". The width of the devices are almost identical, with a difference of only .17" (just over 4mm).

I conclude two things from this: clearly, the 11" Air is not as small as I recall! Also, given today's bezels, Apple could make an 11" model with substantially smaller dimensions than the 2015 model referenced above.

And I really think they should!

 

[LaterWolf]

Per Apple's website:

2022 13" MacBook Air M2 dimensions: 11.97" x 8.46"
2015 11" MacBook Air dimensions: 11.8 x 7.56"

Obviously, the 16:9 screen ratio of the 11" Air results in a shallower computer--but only by 0.9". The width of the devices are almost identical, with a difference of only .17" (just over 4mm).

I conclude two things from this: clearly, the 11" Air is not as small as I recall! Also, given today's bezels, Apple could make an 11" model with substantially smaller dimensions than the 2015 model referenced above.

And I really think they should!

Yeah, if they really wanted, but as I said, at that point with a chassis smaller than the 12'' you get to hell (no way the m3 wouldn't thermally explode, the keyboard, ahhh, the battery would be laughable for apple silicon)

 

[dmccloud]

Per Apple's website:

2022 13" MacBook Air M2 dimensions: 11.97" x 8.46"
2015 11" MacBook Air dimensions: 11.8 x 7.56"

Obviously, the 16:9 screen ratio of the 11" Air results in a shallower computer--but only by 0.9". The width of the devices are almost identical, with a difference of only .17" (just over 4mm).

I conclude two things from this: clearly, the 11" Air is not as small as I recall! Also, given today's bezels, Apple could make an 11" model with substantially smaller dimensions than the 2015 model referenced above.

And I really think they should!

The only way Apple could go smaller with a case design would be to shrink the keyboard down given how little room there is between the edge of the keyboard and the sides of the 13" models already. Even the 14" MBP doesn't have a lot of space between the keyboard and sides of the machine. That would create an entirely new batch of keyboard concerns related to the smaller, cramped keys that would inevitably be used as a result.

 

[LaterWolf]

The only way Apple could go smaller with a case design would be to shrink the keyboard down given how little room there is between the edge of the keyboard and the sides of the 13" models already. Even the 14" MBP doesn't have a lot of space between the keyboard and sides of the machine. That would create an entirely new batch of keyboard concerns related to the smaller, cramped keys that would inevitably be used as a result.

They do not like downsizing the keyboard, the entire reason the MacBook was 12". The 11" was 11" only due to the bezels, it would've been 12" with current bezel

 

[dgdosen]

The only way Apple could go smaller with a case design would be to shrink the keyboard down given how little room there is between the edge of the keyboard and the sides of the 13" models already. Even the 14" MBP doesn't have a lot of space between the keyboard and sides of the machine. That would create an entirely new batch of keyboard concerns related to the smaller, cramped keys that would inevitably be used as a result.

I'm not sure if your comment is trolling, but have you ever seen the full-sized keyboards on the 11" Air or 12" Macbook?

 

[jouster]

The only way Apple could go smaller with a case design would be to shrink the keyboard down given how little room there is between the edge of the keyboard and the sides of the 13" models already. Even the 14" MBP doesn't have a lot of space between the keyboard and sides of the machine. That would create an entirely new batch of keyboard concerns related to the smaller, cramped keys that would inevitably be used as a result.

They already made a laptop with the required dimensions--years ago. The 12" G4 Powerbook was 10.9" x 8.6". The keyboard went right to the edge of the body, and I don't recall it being an issue.

My 13" Air has exactly 0.5" between the edge of the keyboard well and the edge of the body--on each side. That could be removed. They could do an 11" without keyboard issues.

 

[LaterWolf]

I'm not sure if your comment is trolling, but have you ever seen the full-sized keyboards on the 11" Air or 12" Macbook?

Probably not

 

[throAU]

Logically, I agree with everything you say. But my OCD made me hate the letterboxing that was required for media consumption on 16:10 devices. And I didn't mind a bit of extra scrolling while browsing or writing.

Or...they could make an even smaller device with thin bezels and a 16:9 screen! The way economy seats are going, I'll soon be trying to work on my Apple Watch when I'm flying...so the smaller, the better!

This.

There's plenty of width for a 13-14" machine on aircraft in economy.

But screen height and depth of the machine - not so much.

Again, if a significant portion of its use is on flights watching media, 16x10 is just black bars at the edges of the screen during that. I'm not suggesting you do extensive work on it - and if so for that of course 16x10 is superior. But you'd use that when you get back to your desk!

I see a 12x9 12" machine as being great for travel and usable with an external display when you get somewhere, be it a monitor on a desk or a projector to do your pitch.

I literally got back home from a flight yesterday and used the ipad for media consumption on the flight. 4x3 or similar is not ideal for that - because you're just carrying around a larger device with black bars during media consumption.

 

[deevey]

One needs only about 30 seconds with a current 13" MacBook Air to conclude that no 12" MacBook should ever exist again. The Air is light, highly portable, large enough to actually be usable (for some), lasts forever, highly performant, with decent I/O for its size. And the price isn't bad either.

The last thing Apple needs is MORE tiers in their product lines. There are too many already. The current MacBook line is the only one even slightly organized (2 consumer models, 2 pro models....ish). Please don't advocate for mucking that up.

One only needs to place the two side by side to conclude your statement is false.

The 12" MB form factor was an incredible feat of engineering, let down by a crappy Intel processor.

I "tried" using an 11' iPad as my "bring on holiday" computer. With a Keyboard case and trackpad, the form factor was near perfect, alas, let down by iPadOS.

 

[LaterWolf]

One only needs to place the two side by side to conclude your statement is false.

The 12" MB form factor was an incredible feat of engineering, let down by a crappy Intel processor.

I "tried" using an 11' iPad as my "bring on holiday" computer. With a Keyboard case and trackpad, the form factor was near perfect, alas, let down by iPadOS.

Apple: I want small compuper (reference to a game)
iPad hardware team: here's the 12.9 and 11 ipad pro, perfect mini computer, put macOS on it!
Apple: yeah no