Apple Unveils New MacBook, Offers Intel Core M, USB Type-C
At today's Apple Event, the next generation of MacBooks was unveiled. But instead of adding to the MacBook Pro or Air family, the company went back to just "MacBook" for its rebooted lineup. As always, Apple wants to keep its laptops as thin as possible while still keeping them as powerful as possible, and the new MacBooks reflect that goal.
The MacBook is thinner and lighter than the MacBook Air, measuring 13.1 mm at its thickest point and weighing only two pounds. It has a 12-inch display with a thickness of 0.88 mm, and it features a resolution of 2304 x 1440. The keyboard received an internal upgrade in terms of more stable keycaps and individual LED backlighting for each key.
Users can now click anywhere on the new trackpad and adjust it to suit their clicking needs, and it also includes tactile feedback. A new gesture called "Force Click" has been added, too, which provides a shortcut to, for example, opening up the Maps app, creating a new event in the calendar, or looking at a preview of a file.
The MacBook sticks to Apple's unibody exterior and features a USB Type-C connector for power. (Did you catch that? The power jack is a USB Type-C port.) Thus, that one port will not only support power, but also USB 3.1, mini DisplayPort, VGA and HDMI. The smaller interior features a new logic board, which for its basic SKU includes an Intel Core M processor (up to 1.3 GHz, 2.9 GHz Turbo), Intel HD Graphics 5300, 8 GB of 1600 MHz LPDDR3 memory, and a PCIe-based 256 GB SSD.
For the first time in the company's laptop history the new MacBooks will be fanless. All the space left in the interior is saved for batteries, which Apple says provides all-day battery life.
Other features include a 480p FaceTime camera, stereo speakers, dual mics and a headphone jack.
So how much will this cost you? The basic package starts at $1,299, but you can upgrade the Core M processor and bump the SSD up to 512 GB, which puts the next-up model at $1,599. It comes in gold, silver and space gray and will be available on April 10.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
With the new MacBooks, Apple continues to keep its head in the laptop game. The features certainly are impressive, but those who are on a budget might be hesitant to buy one. Nevertheless, it's a new contender in the market, and we'll see how it stacks up in performance against the competition.
Follow Rexly Peñaflorida II @Heirdeux. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.
Rexly Peñaflorida is a freelance writer for Tom's Hardware covering topics such as computer hardware, video games, and general technology news.
-
kawininjazx I wonder if this will bend? I'm not being smart, I mean, that's really thin I would be nervous carrying this around.Reply -
coupe It is think, but I worry about these Core-M processors. They are pretty much tablet class CPUs. We have seen that from the new Yoga Pro.Reply -
everlast66 I personally think the Macbook Air was eating into Macbook Pro market and Apple wanted to push it aside into a bit more niche market.Reply
The only thing it needed upgraded was the display. Now its losing 5 precious ports (MagSafe power port, 2 standard USB ports, Thunderbolt/Display Port and SD card slot) just to become 4mm thinner. Not going to save a huge amount of space, it was quite thin anyway, not a good trade-off at all. -
epobirs This is an entirely new model, not a refresh. It isn't losing anything. The Air and Pro lines continue.Reply -
TechyInAZ Sweet! Time for the next generation of ultrabook technology!Reply
Nice to see USB-C aswell, amazing that one connector can do so much! -
RedJaron Reply
That C is also the only port on the computer. No video out, no SD card slot, no Ethernet, nothing else. If you want to use it for multiple things at once, you'll have to pay extra for the adapters which run $80. You have to pay $20 just to be able to use current USB devices. Typical Apple.15451275 said:Nice to see USB-C aswell, amazing that one connector can do so much!
http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/9/8177087/macbook-port-adapter-accessory -
TechyInAZ Reply15451357 said:That C is also the only port on the computer. No video out, no SD card slot, no Ethernet, nothing else. If you want to use it for multiple things at once, you'll have to pay extra for the adapters. You have to pay $20 just to be able to use current USB devices. Typical Apple.
http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/9/8177087/macbook-port-adapter-accessory
True. But to counter the lack of ports Apple made the ultrabook ultra thin and light. So it's up to the user if they either want a macbook (like the pro) with a lot of connectivity or if they want ultra portability instead. There are different laptops for different users. -
TechyInAZ Reply15450872 said:Looks nice but previous Core-M processors have been underwhelming.
Agreed, while the 5W TDP is astonishing. There is always a consequence...