12-inch macbook review
Apple’s tiny notebook gets faster
$1,299 Manufacturer Apple, apple.com Features 1.1GHz Intel Core M processor, Intel HD Graphics 515, 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM
The new MacBook was something of a revelation for us last year. With its low-power (and therefore low-performance) Intel processor, single port for power and data, and ridiculously thin and light profile, we thought it might turn out to be like the first-generation MacBook Air: a stunning concept that would need time to mature. But we’d underestimated it: not only was it plenty powerful enough for light use, but its fanless operation, Retina screen, and smart new keyboard and trackpad made us totally fall in love with its usability. Now we’ve got a second version, with a more powerful processor, faster storage, and longer battery life.
First, the processor. Intel’s new chip is between 10% and 20% faster, depending on the benchmark. This isn’t a huge leap forward, but it’s combined with speed improvements to reading and writing its flash storage (in our tests, write speeds went up by 40% to 633MB/s, while read speeds improved by about 20% to 930MB/s), and faster RAM. These add up to make it feel more responsive than last year’s model, together with a better graphic card for smoother animations.
Okay, it’s still a poor advanced Photoshop or high-end video editing machine, but for making tweaks in Photos or simple iMovie projects, it’s plenty fast enough. This is a lightweight machine for lightweight computing. The 2304x1440 12-inch Retina display is sharp and vibrant. The battery life is improved over last year’s model, by an hour – and it was already excellent. The Force Touch trackpad is great to use, and we’re big fans of the new keyboard. The large keys are easy to type with accurately, and we find their clicky feedback pleasant to type with, once you get used to it. And with no fan, it’s utterly silent – great for using in front of the TV.
There’s still the matter of it having a single USB Type-C port, though (plus a headphone jack). If it had one USB port and a power connection, we wouldn’t have a problem. As it is, taking it on the road probably means carrying adapters, which makes it a less portable package – and portability is kind of its point. the bottom line. An excellent, fun, lightweight machine, now with added speed and longevity – but its issues haven’t changed.