The rumors and leaks surrounding Apple’s future products never cease. Now, there are indications that the beloved 12-inch MacBook could return from the dead to be back on sale. Apple discontinued this notebook after focusing its attention entirely on the transition to Apple Silicon and thus the MacBook Air.
The well-known media outlet Bloomberg was the first to report on plans to revitalize the 12-inch MacBook last summer. According to the publication, Apple began developing a new 12-inch laptop with the intention of launching it in late 2023 or early 2024. A week later, famed analyst Ming Chi Kuo said that he had not heard of such a MacBook and that such a project was not in the works. However, it seems that plans have changed again.
It is not uncommon for Apple to remove certain products from its store and then relaunch them. In fact, the clearest example is the HomePod, which is back on sale, but improved. Now, a Naver (Korean social network) user nicknamed “yeux1122” suggests that a company in Taiwan is preparing to produce this alleged 12-inch MacBook.
It should also be noted that “yeux1122” does not have a great track record with respect to Apple, so this rumor should be taken with a grain of salt. The user claims that the company is still unclear about the future of the 12-inch MacBook and is still mulling over whether or not to launch it.
The 12-inch MacBook, a product with its pluses and minuses
At the time, the 12-inch MacBook was heavily criticized by users, due to its low power and lack of features. Apple’s intention with this notebook was to take the concept of the classic MacBook to a minimum and make it as portable as possible.
To do this, the MacBook required a great deal of design work: a battery segmented into tiers to store more lithium, the new “butterfly” keyboard and the absence of fans were some of its most striking features. However, its design caused the MacBook to have severe performance issues and to fall short of the company’s other products.
Today, this MacBook would not suffer from so many problems thanks to the new Apple Silicon chips. Will Apple do justice to the 12-inch MacBook with its return?
