Apple Releases Updated MacBook 12″ for Early 2016

Apr 19, 2016 - 17 Comments

MacBook 2016 models

Apple has quietly released an update to their 12″ MacBook lineup, with newer processors, improved graphics, faster memory, faster PCIe flash storage, longer battery life, and the addition of an all new Rose Gold model.


All models continue to offer a Retina 12″ display in the same ultra-thin and lightweight enclosure, available in the four distinct aluminum color options of Silver, Space Gray, Gold, and Rose Gold.

MacBook 12″ (early 2016) base model specs

  • 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core m3, Turbo Boost up to 2.2GHz
  • 8GB 1866MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM
  • 256GB PCIe-based onboard flash storage
  • Intel HD Graphics 515
  • Starts at $1299

MacBook 12″ (early 2016) better model specs

  • 1.2GHz dual-core Intel Core m5, Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz
  • 8GB 1866MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM
  • 512GB PCIe-based onboard flash storage
  • Intel HD Graphics 515
  • Starts at $1599

Aside from small differences in CPU, the primary differentiation between the base model and upgraded model are the size of the flash storage.

macbook-early-2016-model-2

Minor customizations are available through processor upgrades that range from $150 to $250. There remains no 16GB or 32GB RAM option however, as the machine is capped at 8GB, and the SSD storage sizes are not upgradable either.

macbook-early-2016-model-3

Those interested in buying one of the revamped MacBook models can head on over to Apple.com.

Separately, the non-Retina MacBook Air 13″ models received a minor update and now come standard with 8GB of RAM.

No change has been made to the MacBook Pro, however it’s likely the MacBook Pro model will get a fairly significant upgrade later in the year. Current rumors suggest the upcoming MacBook Pro will likely offer a redesigned thinner enclosure, improved specs, lighter weight, and the same four color option (Silver, Gold, Space Gray, Rose Gold) as other Apple products.

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Posted by: Paul Horowitz in Mac, News

17 Comments

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  1. muncle says:

    Do you know how much the essential USB-C VGA Multiport Adapter weighs? I give presentations regularly and most projectors at conferences are still living in the dark ages and require VGA connection. Amazon suggest it weighs 18g which I find hard to believe as my old display port to VGA adapter weighs 34g and only has one connection not 3. Shame to buy a laptop which weighs 160g less but then have to buy heavy cables to go with it. It would also be nice to know how much the USB C to normal USB3 adapter weighs as I guess I would have to lug that around too.

  2. Dexter says:

    I’m beginning to think OSXDaily should spin off another site called OSXHatersDaily. I’ve never read a bigger bunch of drivel from nit-picking whiners. If you don’t like Apple, then don’t buy it. These specious criticisms of the MacBook, VoiceOver, Macbook Pro and iPhone 6 Plus… and Tim Cook only illustrate how spoiled people are becoming. Why not actually •use• your devices, instead of hunting for every flaw, and expecting Apple to bend to your every immediate desire and whim? Kids today!

    • hunch says:

      I think the criticism on something like a revised MacBook is misplaced frustration over perceived declining software quality, and an apparently increasing disinterest in “pro” user markets. Just a hunch, but I see it everywhere that Apple is discussed where the user knowledge level is fairly high. Get a load of Twitter, for example, it’s basically Complain On The Internet As A Service.

  3. gurkan says:

    Dell XPS rocks. it’s just unbelievable how overpriced with that specs. I will continue to use windows 10 with my mid 2014 mbp and immediately switch to XPS when I have opportunity. They also have ruined OSX too, it’s sad.

  4. DG says:

    EVERY business leader considers the Return On Investment. Don’t be naive.
    He’s said what he said as it’s a useful ethical and soundbite. But make no mistake, they have considered the cost of this.

  5. Ginger says:

    I hope the new MacBook Pro is a lot better than this. The benchmarks for the MacBook are the same as my iPhone 6S Plus and that is not encouraging!

    • SteveT says:

      My wife has a 1st gen MB. Regardless the benchmarks, what I can say is that little machine can perfectly handle almost 100 web browser tabs (yep, that’s how she works), video streaming & airplay screen mirroring to Apple TV. I even installed a DJ software (which usually runs on my Pro) just for fun and surprisingly it works without skips or lags. So unless you want video rendering, encoding or other crazy CPU intensive tasks, this little golden book is awesome.

  6. Marcus says:

    Nice work Timmy. Your accomplishments since becoming CEO…

    Replacing the spinning beachball with the spinning rainbow.
    Re-introducing a 4 year old phone
    And now we have a rose gold-aka pink macbook.

    Oh, and let’s not forget how he scorned, mocked, ridiculed and bluntly told climate change skeptics to sell their  stock.

    • Ginger says:

      Marcus, I agree with you about the dull state of Apple affairs, and I am less than impressed about the software quality. A pink MacBook will undoubtedly appeal to my wife if she was shopping for one in another few years, but it has no appeal to me as a professional user. That’s all it’s own thing. Now, Tim Cook scorning and ridiculing a “climate change skeptic” is no different than mocking someone who denies gravity or is convinced the earth is flat. Should Apple appease other lunatics who are convinced of falsehoods? Should Apple degrade education and literature to placate the ignorant masses who want to stay ignorant, like so many politicians do in the USA? Get out of here, which is basically what Tim Cook said. That was the right thing to do. This is not the quantum world. There is no serious debate to be had about facts or reality unless the entire debating panel is on large doses of LSD and wants to talk about the colors the hear. You might find this interesting, since most anti-science comes out of industry making their fortunes on prolonged disbelief:

      http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/exxon-knew-about-climate-change-almost-40-years-ago/

      EOF

      • TPP says:

        The comment from Tim Cook was in regard to a question about the return on investment of sustainability programs, it had little to do with specifics you two are discussing:

        he categorically rejected the worldview behind the NCPPR’s advocacy. He said that there are many things Apple does because they are right and just, and that a return on investment (ROI) was not the primary consideration on such issues.

        “When we work on making our devices accessible by the blind,” he said, “I don’t consider the bloody ROI.” He said that the same thing about environmental issues, worker safety, and other areas where Apple is a leader.

        Sounds very reasonable to me. Indeed there is often little “ROI” for doing the right thing.

        From:

        http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/tim-cook-soundly-rejects-politics-of-the-ncppr-suggests-group-sell-apples-s

        • Sebby says:

          As I am, in fact, blind, I can say only that Apple’s accessibility commitment is miles ahead of the competition, but that, unfortunately, Apple has other priorities that suit them better.

          For example, OS X’s accessibility (with VoiceOver) is worse than it has ever been, and is not improving, while TVOS, iOS and Watch OS work nearly perfectly, with the watch being made accessible from the outset. This is a reflection of the general theory of OS X’s inevitable abandonment. I suppose I should be glad that I’m suffering this neglect just like everybody else, albeit that I think for the screen reader to fail probably has a worse impact since I can’t replace it, but while I’m glad Apple stands for this kind of social justice, it’s also apparent that they do, in fact, care about the bloody ROI. :)

  7. Sebby says:

    Nah. Still a single USB-C port and it doesn’t match the 11-inch Air yet (even though it probably will replace it).

    Otherwise, yeah, what Moby Mistake said. Apple is just going to keep improving the iPad Pro (keyboard support, maybe?). I *don’t* want to use Win10 because privacy, but then it’s not like Apple does privacy when it’s inconvenient, either …

  8. Edward says:

    They hold a giant 2 hour long press conference with streaming video and the whole production shebang that was unbearably boring to dump out a three year old iPhone SE with a spec bump and to put a ‘Pro’ and $100 larger price tag on the otherwise identical iPad line, and the Mac, which is where everyone gets all the work done, gets a Tweet from Tim Cook and a press release. Disappointing.

    • Moby Mistake says:

      Well if you buy into the Apple Marketing Speak then you would know the iPad Pro is the new workhorse! It’s where you get real work done! Never mind the dreadful ergonomics of trying to use a touchscreen all day (even Steve Jobs said “touch surfaces don’t want to be vertical. It’s ergonomically terrible. Touch surfaces want to be horizontal.” but what did he know?), and never mind the small screens without usable multitasking or windowing, get to work on that iPad!

      I fear a day where I will have to return to Windows, which is actively cultivating pro users (bash! Continuum! a file system in their mobile platform!), while Apple is actively shunning theirs.

      • PBH says:

        The new MacBook early-2016 model is pretty good. Geekbench scores about 2800 single core, 5800 multi-core. Not a pro user machine, but it is not meant to be, it is the replacement of the MacBook Air and will eventually be the entry level Mac.

        The MacBook Pro is the pro model, which will get an update soon too, probably at WWDC since it will be redesigned and they will want to show it off. I will likely get the new MBP but history tells me to hold off on brand new Mac hardware for a few months as they sort out the kinks in production, much like software updates ;)

    • Dexter says:

      Silly complaint. The choice to watch was yours. You could have switched off any time.

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