Apple announces new MacBook with 12-inch Retina display

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Corporate News, PC / Laptop

Apple just announced a brand new MacBook, which features an all new 12-inch Retina display, at this morning's Spring Forward event. While the Retina display is impressive with a 2304 x 1440 resolution, there's much more to the MacBook that warrants discussion. The smallest Apple notebook was previously the 11-inch MacBook Air, and the new MacBook has stolen that crown, even while having a larger display. It's 24% thinner than the MacBook Air, and it the first Apple notebook that has an all metal enclosure. The keyboard is full-sized, but redesigned with a new butterfly mechanism that makes typing more precise. The new Force Touch trackpad supports a new gesture, called Force Click. This is similar to what Apple announced for the Apple Watch - the trackpad is pressure senitive and can tell the difference between a light tap and a strong tap, and can do different things based on the force of the tap input.

One way Apple was able to get the new MacBook so small and thin is by eliminating all of the ports, foregoing everything you're used to in exchange for USB Type-C. This port is able to drive USB accessories, video for external monitors, power for charging, and more. Apple has also removed all fans from the inside, making it quiet, and even thinner than it would be otherwise. It's the first fanless laptop from Apple.

As far as specs go, the new MacBook starts with a 1.1GHz Intel Core M processor, Intel HD 5300 graphics, 8GB RAM, and a 256GB SSD for $1299. If you want something faster, you can go with a 1.2GHz processor with a 512GB SSD for $1599. The new Apple MacBook will be available in one month, on April 10th.