Today at its Apple media event, Apple announced a brand new MacBook starting at $1,299.
Apple says the new notebook puts the full-size Mac experience in its thinnest and lightest form factor ever. It comes with a 12-inch Retina Display.
The new MacBook, which isn’t a part of either the Air or Pro lines, is just 2 pounds and 24% thinner than the MacBook Air. It comes in three colors: gold, silver and space grey, similar to other Apple products iPhone 6 and iPad Air.
Apple has redesigned the keyboard for the new MacBook, with a new butterfly mechanism, which Apple says makes keys more stable and precise while making the notebook 40% thinner. However, each key also has 17% more surface area.
The Cupertino company has also redesigned the Trackpad for the new MacBook. Apple calls it the Force Touch trackpad, and it can detect how much pressure a user is putting on the trackpad. For example, Force Touching an address brings up its location in a map pop-up. It also comes with Taptic feedback, which means that users can feel when they click on something. These two features mirror new features on Apple Watch. Users can adjust how much pressure is required to click, and all clicks are more quiet than before, according to Apple.
Apple has also done some work with the organizations of the internals, making the new MacBook the first fanless MacBook. The logic board is 67% smaller than the one in the 11-inch MacBook Air.
As for battery life, the new Intel Core M processor runs at 5 watts, and its new battery is custom-shaped to maximize as much space as possible within the device. For example, instead of being a straight rectangular block, it bends to match the bend of the notebook. This helps the new MacBook achieve 9 hours of battery life of web browsing and up to 10 hours of iTunes movie playback.
The new MacBook also comes with a new USB-C port, which gives users five ports in one. It provides power, USB data transfer, DisplayPort, HDMI and VGA capabilities. The MacBook does not use the traditional MagSafe charging method that’s available in other MacBooks.
The new MacBook is priced at $1,299 to start, with a faster processor and 512 GB SSD for $1,599.
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