Apple has unveiled its 2015 MacBook on Monday, and the $1299 notebook is marketed as being the thinnest Mac ever made while incorporating some design and functionality changes.
The notebook is only 13.1 millimeters thick and weighs less than one kilogram, making it even lighter than the 11 inch MacBook Air. It will also come for the first time with golden and grey paint jobs, alongside the traditional silver and white hues. The device’s screen will be similar to that of a Macbook Pro, hosting a 12-inch Retina display with 2304 by 1440 native resolution and an aspect ratio of 16:10.
The 2015 MacBook features a revamped keyboard, which sees keys being larger by about 17 percent, in contrast to the notebook’s thinner design. This actually means keys will be more closely positioned one in relation to the other.
The keys will also use a new “butterfly” mechanism, which will see them shift only up and down – similar to desktop keyboards – instead of the previous “spider” mechanism which saw them nudge horizontally depending on the angle at which they were pressed. Each key will also have an individual LED backlight to ensure that the whole keyboard will present the same brightness level in dim environments.
Where technical specs are concerned, the new MacBook seems quite lackluster, especially in relation to its price tag. It comes with three different variations of a dual-core Intel Core M processor, clocked at 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 GHz respectively. This will be completed by 8GB of RAM and flash storage options up to 512 GB. Graphics wise, it has an Intel HD Graphics 5300 integrated card.
The problem is that the best version hardware-wise will see $1,599 cut out of your budget, and if we consider technical specs only, it’s just not worth it, as similarly powerful notebooks can be bought for even half that price. The fact that Apple chose to equip its notebook with a low-frequency dual-core processor in a world where quad-cores and even octa-cores are becoming standard for handheld devices is baffling to say the least.
Apple also did away with multiple ports, as the MacBook comes with a single USB-C port which is to be used for all purposes: charging, data transfer and video output. This means to be able to do two of these tasks simultaneously, you will have to splash some more money on an additional adapter.
Image Source: Tech 2
David Mason says
It’s not baffling at all. The four and 8 core chips in smartphones are much less powerful for many tasks compared to this two core Intel chip. And for most people, memory is much more important than CPU cores or speed after a certain point. This computer is designed to be as lightweight and pleasant to use as possible while still having a long battery life. It still runs MacOS so it’s thankfully not limited like a smartphone or tablet. The choice to go all USB is a bit progressive, but in a few months it will be reasonable as the market is flooded with USB 3.1 standard adaptors, which is a much better situation thank Apple’s proprietary MagSafe or licensed Thunderbolt.
If you want a powerhouse, get a powerhouse computer. I’m not speaking as a Mac enthusiast, I run Linux on Thinkpads.
John Harrison says
Rediculous analysis. First of all the various colors are not “paint jobs”. The aluminum is anodized to create the colors. Second, there is no white MacBook. Get your basic facts right.
A pure specs comparison to a cheap windows machine is absurd. A buyer would consider this computer if they want to use OS X. So then the competition becomes the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro. Both are larger and the Pro is much more capable while the Air is cheaper. All are durable, well designed, and capable machines.
Sales of this machine might start out slow, as people grow accustomed to the idea of a single port. In a few years all small light laptops will look surprising similar to the MacBook.