I’ve had my 12 inch macbook for a little more than 24 hours and my 2012 Retina Macbook Pro already looks like a brick in comparison. Truth be told, I’ve had mixed feelings about the rMBP. I bought the 1st generation right after WWDC 2012 and a few months later it was being repaired due to the ghosting bug, a few months after that more crashes and the logic board had to be replaced.

Even during periods of stability, the mabookpro was heavy (4 lbs) and battery life really only lasted between 3-4 hours per charge. So while the MacBook Pro was great for development for iOS apps and services, it wasn’t that portable as the battery wouldn’t last very long. When the weather is nice, it is great to sit at a local lake close to where I live and work outside. Can’t do that for very long if your battery doesn’t last longer than 2-3 hours at a time.

I initially looked at the 2015 MacBook, but due to my experience with Apple’s first retina notebook, I decided to skip and wait a year and try a gen 2 device instead. So I ordered a 2016 MacBook with a 1.3 GHZ Core M7 “Skylake” processor, 8GB of ram, with 512GB of storage to replace my MacBook Pro. I figured if the machine wasn’t for me I could still return it and get a full refund and I wouldn’t get rid of my MacBook Pro until I was satisfied with the MacBook.

This isn’t a comprehensive review or anything, just a collection of notes while the feeling is still fresh.

Cons

Speed

This machine isn’t going to win any speed records, it is noticeably slower than my MacBook Pro for certain tasks. Compiling software is a little slower but not too much. To be fair, the MacBook has a dual core CPU while the 15 inch MacBook Pro has a quad core.

Memory Capacity

Both my 2009 MacPro and my 2012 MacBookPro both have 16GB of ram, so initially I was a bit concerned with only having 8 GB to work with. I haven’t started up any virtual machines yet, but I’m sure I’ll have to make some adjustments to the VMs (single core vs dual core for example).

No MagSafe

After being used to MagSafe on the MacBook Pro for years, not sure what to think about it being missing on the new MacBook. The USB-C connection is pretty firm so if a pet or child, significant other, etc kicks that cable, the laptop will take flight.

Small Display

12 inches is the absolute smallest I am willing to go. Especially from a 15 inch display, 12 looks small but doable. 

Price

As with all things Apple, I wish things would be a bit cheaper, but I do realize that these things get cheaper over time. The original MacBook Air cost $1,799 before any upgrades back in 2008.

 

Pros

Single USB-C Port

I understand how people feel about only having one port that is used for both power and data. I see this a pro instead of a con simply because most of the time (> 99%) the only thing I have plugged in is an iOS device I am debugging. And even then, I mostly work using the iOS simulator and don’t have anything plugged in except for power.

Keyboard

Keyboard is definitely different (shallow but bigger keys) and for some it takes some getting used to. For me, this means I don’t have to type like I’m on a typewriter.

Battery Life

Battery life is really the main reason I bought this  machine and so far I am pleased with the results. I seem to be getting closer to 9 hours of usage on this machine

Weight

At 2lbs, it really is much more portable as it reduces the weight in my laptop bag. It also means I could probably get smaller bag too.

 

Conclusion 

A lot of the criticisms against the 12 inch MacBook were also leveled against the original MacBook Air. Doesn’t mean that the criticisms aren’t warranted, it just means for me at this time the portability and battery life are much more compelling. We’ll see after a week if I still enjoy the machine or will go back. At this point though, it would be hard to go back to a bigger laptop. It is entirely possible that I feel this way because I have a MacPro at my home as my main computer (and a server for storage).

It is also a bit strange to have a iPad that is larger than your laptop

 

Thanks for reading