Apple MacBook review

The 12-inch MacBook has certainly come a long way since its humble beginnings. What was once the budget alternative for the more powerful and more expensive MacBook Pro has evolved into one of Apple’s most svelte offerings to date. After a four-year hiatus, Apple reintroduced it in 2015 as Apple’s thinnest and lightest laptop, touting a 12-inch chassis and a higher price. 

Its reinvention only established it as an ultrabook that pushed the limits of how thin one could go instead – an achievement that the MacBook (2017) has proven to be more than just a fluke. This 2017 addition to the line brings back that svelte design alongside a few vital updates: namely, a stunning Retina display and even more powerful internals. Though unfortunately, it also comes with a higher price tag, putting it somewhere between the 2017 MacBook Air and the Touch Bar-less MacBook Pro in regards to price.

The 12-inch MacBook (2017) has become the go-to for those who place a premium on thin and light design, as well as want access to the Apple ecosystem. Even now that it’s been discontinued, it’s still sought after. Only now, you can have its svelte, brushed aluminum Apple ultrabook form factor at a much lower price than ever before.

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Price and availability

Unfortunately, the MacBook is no longer available at Apple’s online store, on the account of it being discontinued. Luckily, you should still be able to find the MacBook we reviewed here from third-party sellers for $1,299 (£1,249, AU$1,899) or possibly less. That price tag should get you everything found under our hot pink spec sheet.

For now, should your lavish taste or exacting needs require a more powerful 12-inch MacBook, there should still be more powerful configurations on hand. You’ll just have to look harder for them.

For example, you might be able to find a MacBook with an Intel Core i5-7Y54 and 512GB of SSD storage instead of the base model’s 256GB. It’s still going to be fanless, so it still wouldn’t be as powerful as something like the MacBook Pro, but it will definitely offer a boost in power. Just keep in mind that with great power comes great price tags, and this more powerful MacBook will cost $1,599 (£1,549, AU$2,349).

If you want to max out the Apple MacBook, it’ll set you back an exorbitant $1,949 (£1,864, AU$2,909) for an Intel Core i7-7Y75, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB PCIe SSD.

Keep in mind, though, that these processors are a bit out-of-date in 2019, what with both 8th-generation and 9th-generation chips now powering many laptops. If you want the latest fanless silicon, the refreshed and cheaper Apple MacBook Air (2019) might be a more ideal option for you.

If you’re shopping around for a Windows laptop with comparable specs, take a look at the Acer Swift 7, an Ultrabook that’s designed to compete with the 12-inch MacBook. Currently, it starts out at $1,699 (£1,499, about AU$1,200) for a similar Intel Core i7 Y-series processor, but with 8GB RAM and 256 GB SSD storage. You do get a Full HD, 14-inch display, however.

On the Chrome OS side, there’s Google’s older flagship Chromebook, the Pixelbook, starting at $999 (£999, AU$791) with a more powerful Intel Core i5 CPU and the same RAM, but half as much SSD space as the top-end MacBook.

Design

The Apple MacBook 2017’s look and feel hasn’t been altered much – if at all – over the 2016 model. That’s not automatically a bad thing. Coming in Space Gray, Gold and Rose Gold, the brushed aluminum feels just as cool and elegant as ever, which we appreciate.

The MacBook’s thin chassis and feathery weight is also as impressive as usual, impressive enough that its dimensions are one of its biggest selling points.

Although it must be said that an even thinner screen bezel or one extra USB-C port would have been amazing at this point.

One key advantage the MacBook 2017 has over the 2015 and 2016 models is the enhanced, second-generation butterfly switches that make up its new backlit keyboard. Travel isn’t any deeper, but feedback is more forceful, which allows for a typing experience that’s significantly more satisfying – not to mention, more comfortable.

The MacBook’s wide, glass-coated trackpad remains the same as last year’s, which just means it’s just as enjoyable to use as it’s ever been. Apple’s touch interface tech through both software and hardware stays practically unrivaled.

‘Practically’ being the operative word here, because Google may have already caught up to Apple with its Pixelbook. Frankly, the keyboard and trackpad on that thing are ones to be equaled.

Display and sound

It’s general knowledge by now that Apple has made a name for itself by designing superb displays – among other things, that is – and the 12-inch MacBook’s display steadfastly follows this tradition, remaining unchanged since its release in 2015. Editing photos and tackling graphically intensive workloads looks flawless on that Retina display, even though it’s not exactly the sharpest screen in school anymore.

The MacBook’s 16:10 aspect ratio, however, may just be uncommon enough to be infuriating sometimes – like while watching movies or editing images that are formatted to 16:9 in Fullscreen mode, for example.

When it comes to sound quality, the MacBook can without a doubt pump out some loud tunes with its four stereo speakers near the hinge. However, like all notebooks with mere millimeters to work with as audio chambers, the sound can be a bit thin and tinny, with some channels in songs simply disappearing altogether. 

To be fair, you’re not going to get much better audio from any laptop near this thin. And, Apple may have been aware of this, since it still kept the headphone jack in the MacBook.

Gabe Carey and Bill Thomas have also contributed to this review

First reviewed November 2017

Images credit: TechRadar

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