See subject - Any good deals on the 2018 model now it's been discontinued?
Still love my 2015 model but the battery and connector is starting to have issues, and prefer the shape to the Air
MacBook 12" discontinued - Any good deals?
y on 17/07/2019 - 14:10
Last edited 17/07/2019 - 15:11 by 1 other user
Last edited 17/07/2019 - 15:11 by 1 other user
Comments
Nah they're pretty great. I had a few Pros (and Airs), before selling a 2015 13inch MBP to get a 12 inch MB.
Main motivation was for travel, where lightweight helps. The other was finding out that the midrange 2016 MB benchmarked slightly better than a 2013 Pro, which felt the same as the 2015 for almost everything but gaming.Keyboard feels good once you get used to it, performance feels the same until you really push it, battery is similar enough.
The size feels much tinier though. It's light enough that I've double-checked my bag to make sure it's actually in there, even while carrying almost nothing else, and small enough to feel like a toy you can whip out while standing at a bus stop and comfortably balance in one hand.The only time I've missed the old Pro (other than the dongle crap) is for light gaming or when I was using it for web development work, and even that was just because the 12inch is too small. Screens a bit smaller, body feels compact. Still did plenty of work on it though.
It's modestly less compact on paper, but in use it's a very different machine.Surprised they got rid of it honestly. It was smaller than the 11 inch Air, and should have just become the new Airs. Now they don't have anything particularly compact, which was their main thing for so long.
I've been using my 2015 MacBook 12" every day since they came out and love it, it's the best laptop I've ever owned.
I put a big premium on the extreme light weight and thinness (as @crentist points out you almost don't notice it being in a bag). You can easily pick it up and hold it up upright with just two fingers of one hand.
The 13" MacBook Pro isn't in the same league of compactness and I'm not interested in the better specs. The single USB-C port has virtually never been an issue in almost 4 years of use for me. On the rare occasions I've needed HDMI out or charging + USB stick simultaneously, the Apple adaptor which provides all 3 has been fine.
So I'd be keen to pick up one of the last 2018 gold MacBook 12" if there's a good clearance deal rather than shell out hundreds to replace the battery on my 2015 model which will be needed soon.
The new Air 13" is more than 35% heavier and while the outer measurements aren't hugely different, the MacBook 12" feels much sleeker.
MacBook 12":
Height: 0.35–1.31 cm
Width: 28.05 cm
Depth: 19.65 cm
Weight: 0.92 kgMacBook Air 13" 2019:
Height: 0.41–1.56 cm
Width: 30.41 cm
Depth: 21.24 cm
Weight: 1.25 kg
That's the worst Macbook that Apple has made.
Why not get something like a Early-2015 13" Model MacBook Pro Retina instead?
You get much better keyboard, performance, battery life… and it's only modestly less compact. The Late-2013 models did have modularity to them (RAM, SSD, Battery) but had a worse screen, performance, and battery life. Otherwise, there's the later revision 4c/8t MacBook Air models, but that'll cost you.