Early this year there were multiple reports stating that Apple was going to release an new MacBook which features a whole new design and brings thin to a whole new level. There were even
renders built upon the reported dimensions. And like all leaks these day, that came out to be true as today Apple unveiled the new 12" MacBook alongside the Apple Watch.
As speculated, the new MacBook is the most thinners laptop Apple has ever created at only 13.1mm. The ironic bit is the thinnest point on the new MacBook is thicker than the thinnest point on the current gen MacBook Air (just some interesting metrics). Apple is simply referring this as the MacBook, no air no nothing and the company is still keeping the existing Air making it even more affordable after today's processor refresh
The first thing you'll come to realize about the MacBook is that for the first time Apple is offering their portable Mac in three color options which are silver, gold and space gray. Effectively, they are the same color options as on both the iPhone and iPad. Another major change which is coherent with the slim form factor of the device is the lack of any ports whatsoever.
Well, there are two ports on the device which is the new USB Type-C connector and a headphone combo jack on the opposing side. The USB Type-C connector will be replacing all ports including the power jack which means that you can't charge and transfer data between your hard disk at the same time.
Apple's motive is trying to make the Mac as thin as possible but that inturn results in more accessories for your new MacBook. With only one USB Type-C port, you will without a doubt need to buy an adapter from Apple. For $79, Apple's multi-port adapter will give you a display out, a full sized USB port and a USB Type-C port.
In addition to that, Apple is also offering other accessories to bring back legacy accessory support. Another thing is that the USB Type-C connector on the MacBook is also USB 3.1 compliant but it seem that Apple's implementation is an early rendition of the standard as it can only go up to speeds of 5MBps which is effectively just USB 3.0 (Note: USB 3.1 speeds are 10MBps)
Moving beyond the ports, Apple has included a Retina Display onto the MacBook and the 12" 2304 X 1440 resolution gives it a PPI of 226. The company also said that the display assembly is the most thinnest they've ever attempted and as a result of that thin factor, the Apple logo on the upside no longer lights up.
The input mechanism on the MacBook has seen improvements, the keyboard uses a butterfly mechanism to assure key presses are equal and the keys are now individually lit. Another big thing with the MacBook is the new force touch trackpad which works just like on the Apple Watch.
Effectively, they are introducing a new dimension of touch but that requires support from developers to include it in their application. So now doing a force touch will create a third option for users to interact with the UI.
Powering the MacBook is intel's core M processor which enables the device to run fanless and besides that, 8GB of RAM will come standard on all variants. Storage options will be at either 256 or 512GB of PCI-E flash storage and upgrading the hardware inside is impossible due to the fact that Apple has redesigned the logic board and everything is basically sautered onto the board.
Overall, Apple is claiming a 10 hour battery life for their new all aluminum MacBook and the sales of the MacBook will start on April 10 for a price of $1,299 (MYR 4,499) for the base model with 256GB of storage and $1,499 (MYR 5,499) for the model with 512GB of storage. So, will you be picking up one of these?
