A decade ago, Apple presented one of the products that has generated the most controversy throughout its history. On March 9, 2015, at the “Spring Forward” event, where the focus was on the Apple Watch, the company surprised the world with the debut of the 12 -inch macbook with retina screen.
It was a ultralight portable that promised to reinvent portable computer science, but that ended up being one of the most criticized products of the company.
MacBook Retina from 2015
The 12 -inch macbook was a clear commitment to portability. With a weight of just 920 grams and a minimum thickness of 13.1 mm, Apple brought to the extreme its minimalist design philosophy. To achieve this, he eliminated most of the ports and left a UNIQUE USB-C FOR EVERYTHING: load, data transfer and accessories connection. This, which today is common in the MacBook range, especially in the AIR, in 2015 was considered a controversial decision that forced users to depend on adapters.
Another of its great innovations was the Butterfly keyboarddesigned to be ultrafino and offer a more stable writing experience. However, over time it became one of Apple's greatest failures as far as hardware is concerned. The mechanisms were extremely fragile, they accumulated dust easily and suffered recurrent failures, which led the company to have to open several repair programs for such keyboards.
The performance was also a reason for controversy. Apple opted for Intel core m processors of low consumptionsacrificing power in exchange for energy efficiency and completely eliminating fans. However, these chips were not up to what many expected from a premium laptop with an initial price of $ 1,299 in the United States, just like a MacBook Pro at that time. The battery, although innovative in its staggered design, also did not offer outstanding autonomy.
The Macbook Air replaced it
Despite all his criticism, the 12 -inch Macbook laid the foundations for many changes that later reached the entire Mac line. It was the first MAC with a Hptic trackpad Without physical buttons, the first to adopt USB-C and the first to remove the iconic Apple enlightened logo on the lid. It was also Apple's first laptop in offering multiple colorsa detail that the Macbook Air line later adopted.
Apple tried to improve this model with updates in 2016 and 2017, adding faster processors and an improved version of the butterfly keyboard, but never managed to conquer the public. Finally, He was discontinued in 2019 with the arrival of the MacBook Air With New Generation Intel chip, which took many of his ideas but with a more functional design.
Today, ten years later, the 12 -inch Macbook is remembered as a failed experiment, but also as a product advanced to its time. His commitment to extreme portability, minimalism in the ports and the ultralight design go in the line of the current MacBook Air with chips of the M series. Despite its defects, it laid the foundations for the evolution of Apple's laptops.
Was it a mistake or a vision of the future? Today, it is still an open debate.
