MacLife - USA (2020-03)

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LAUNCHED AT AN Apple Special Event

on 9 March 2015, the 12–inch MacBook

was, unexpectedly, so thin that Tim Cook,

holding it sideways, asked plausibly: ‘Can

you even see it?’ Compared to the 11–

inch MacBook Air, it was one–sixth

thicker at its thinnest but 30% thinner at

its thickest, and weighed the same

fraction under a kilo as the 11–inch

weighed over. Despite a smaller surface

area, it packed in a 16:10 Retina display

with three times more pixels than the old

1366x768 widescreen. No wonder the

11–inch would bow out the next year.

Then again, the Air started at $899.

The $1,299 12–inch was priced like a more

powerful MacBook Pro, but specced in

the opposite direction. The low–power

that wasn’t there. Alas, the attraction

waned as problems emerged with the

edge–to–edge keyboard’s low–profile

butterfly switches, which could be

provoked by the tiniest ingress of dust to

fail, stick or repeat, requiring ludicrously

expensive repairs. Denial gave way to a

free service program, and after just four

years the 12–inch was superseded by a

revamped Air with a brand new scissor–

switch keyboard. But its uncompromising

minimalism has yet to be matched.

Intel Core M processors that enabled its

fanless design were slower than the Air’s

i5; and where the Air squeezed in two

5Gbps USB–A ports, one 20Gbps

Thunderbolt 2 and a klutz–proof MagSafe

power connector, the MacBook had a

single 5Gbps USB–C. Without a hub or

adaptor, you could charge it, attach a

monitor or access peripherals, but not at

the same time.

Though unignored by reviewers, these

downgrades didn’t prevent a proliferation

of skinny MacBooks in press conferences,

tech HQs and lecture halls as more

affluent and less performance–oriented

users discovered its modern look, choice

of finishes and unique Force Touch

trackpad, which made you feel a click

NEXT ISSUE ON SALE

MAR 3

RANDOM APPLE MEMORY

12-inch MacBook

It’s only six months since it was discontinued, but Adam Banks is already

nostalgic for the smallest ever Mac

RAM

98 MAR 2020 maclife.com