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 MacBook (early 2015) in gold withISO keyboard | |
| Also known as | 12 in (300 mm) MacBook, Retina MacBook, MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015–2017)[1] |
|---|---|
| Developer | Apple |
| Manufacturer | Apple |
| Product family | MacBook |
| Type | Subnotebook |
| Release date |
|
| Introductory price | USD $1299,CAD $1549,Euro €1449,GBP £1249 |
| Discontinued | July 9, 2019; 6 years ago (2019-07-09) |
| Operating system | macOS |
| CPU | Intel Corem,m3,m5,m7,i5 ori7 |
| Graphics | Intel HD Graphics |
| Predecessor | MacBook (2006–2012) |
| Successor | MacBook Air (Apple silicon) (indirect, fanless) MacBook Air (indirect) MacBook Pro (indirect) |
| Related | |
The12-inch MacBook (also called theRetina MacBook, officially marketed as thenew MacBook) is a discontinuedMac laptop made byApple, which sat between theMacBook Air andMacBook Pro in Apple's laptop lineup. It shares the same name as itspredecessor that was discontinued three years prior to the release of this one.
Introduced in March 2015, it was more compact than any other notebook in theMacBook family at the time and included aRetina display,fanless design, and a Butterfly keyboard with lower key travel. It only had a singleUSB-C port, used for both power and data. It was revised in 2017, and discontinued in July 2019, a year after the release of the MacBook Air with Retina display.
The MacBook was announced at an Apple special event on March 9, 2015, and was released a month later on April 10. It employed Intel'sBroadwell Core M processors at a TDP of around 4.5 watts to allow for afanless design and a logic board that is much smaller than in previous MacBooks. It had a similar appearance to theMacBook Air, but was thinner and lighter, offered (at the time of introduction) more storage and memory, and a higher-resolution 2304×1440Retina display, but lower processor and graphics performance.[2] The MacBook has at times been available in space gray, silver, and gold finishes.
| This article is part ofa series on the |
| MacBook |
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| List of Mac models byCPU type |
The MacBook has only one port, a single, multi-purposeUSB-C port; it was the first Mac with USB-C. The port supports transmission speeds of up to 5 Gbit/s, and can be used for data, and audio/video output, and charging; it was the first MacBook withoutMagSafe charging. Apple markets an adapter that can provide a full-size USB-A connector, and a "Digital AV Multiport Adapter" with a charging pass-through, full-size USB-A port, andHDMI output.[3] AlthoughThunderbolt 3 technology uses USB-C connectors, the MacBook's USB-C port does not support Thunderbolt. It was one of only two Macs, along with the 2012Mac Pro, to not support Thunderbolt since it was introduced to Macs in 2011.[4] Thunderbolt devices, such as storage media and theApple Thunderbolt Display, are not compatible. Shortly after the MacBook's introduction, various companies began announcing cables and adapters for the USB-C port.[5]
Despite its small size, it features a full-sized keyboard and a large trackpad. The MacBook introduced a new Butterfly keyboard, with traditional scissor mechanism keys replaced with a new, Apple-designed butterfly mechanism, making the keyboard thinner and, as Apple claims, individual keys more stable. The keyboard's backlight no longer consisted of a row of LEDs and a light guide panel, but instead used a single LED for each key.[6] It also introduced theForce Touch trackpad, a solid-state trackpad that measures pressure sensitivity, and replicates a click with haptic feedback. The trackpad was later brought to theMagic Trackpad 2 and the 2015MacBook Pro. A similar technology (3D Touch) is also used in theApple Watch and introduced with theiPhone 6S.
The aluminum enclosure is 13.1 mm at its thickest point at the hinge end.[7] The battery was custom-designed to fill the available space in the small enclosure. It uses a 39.7 watt-hour lithium-polymer terraced battery cell which was advertised to provide "all day" battery life. Apple claimed nine hours of Internet browsing or ten hours of iTunes movie playback. The battery was improved in the 2016 refresh, with Apple claiming ten hours for Internet browsing, and eleven hours of iTunes movie playback.[8] The MacBook did not include anyberyllium,BFRs, orPVCs in its construction. The display was made ofarsenic-free glass. It was made of recyclable materials such as aluminum and glass, meetsEnergy Star 6.1 standards, and was ratedEPEAT Gold.
On April 19, 2016, Apple updated the MacBook withSkylake Core M processors, Intel HD 515 graphics, faster memory, longer battery life, faster storage[9] and a new rose gold finish.[10]
On June 5, 2017, Apple updated the MacBook with IntelKaby Lake m3, i5, and i7 processors (previously known as m3, m5, and m7). It featured the second-generation butterfly keyboard, which introduced new symbols for the control and option keys. It also features faster storage and memory.[11] On October 30, 2018, Apple quietly eliminated two color options (rose gold and the original gold) and added a new color option (new gold) to match the Apple devices's 2018 color scheme.[12][13]
On July 9, 2019, Apple quietly discontinued the MacBook line.[14] On June 7, 2021, Apple announced macOS Monterey which dropped support for early 2015 model MacBook.[15] On June 30, 2021, Apple added the early 2015 model MacBook to its "vintage products" list, making it eligible for only limited product support.[16] On June 6, 2022, Apple announced macOS Ventura which dropped support for the early 2016 model MacBook. On June 5, 2023, Apple announced macOS Sonoma which dropped support for the 2017 model, marking the end of macOS updates to the family. On June 30, 2023, Apple added the early 2015 model MacBook to its "obsolete products" list, making it end of product support and discontinues all hardware service.
Externally, the MacBook follows the design of theMacBook Air with a tapered aluminum enclosure. It has a flush screen with black bezels similar to theMacBook Pro. The Apple logo on the rear of the display is glossy and opaque, rather than backlit and white as seen on every Apple notebook since the 1999PowerBook G3 and 2001iBook.[17][18]
The design was very similar to the Touch Bar MacBook Pro (2016 - 2019) and the Retina MacBook Air (2018 - 2019), with a glass force touch trackpad, butterfly keyboard, and retina screen.[19]
The letters on the MacBook's keyboard are in theSan Francisco typeface, whereas previous notebooks made by Apple usedVAG Rounded.[6]
Apple updated the typeface of the model nameMacBook on at the bottom of the screen bezel toSan Francisco in the 2017 model.
Reception for the MacBook was mixed. Critics praised the design and overall quality of the product, with some regarding it as a potential successor to the MacBook Air, as the Air had an aging design and low resolution screen.[20] However, Apple continued to offer the MacBook Air while selling the MacBook at considerably higher price. Several described the MacBook as a limited first-generation proof-of-concept design for early adopters, and recommended against buying the MacBook until it reached greater maturity, and its price dropped sufficiently for mainstream adoption.[21][22][23][24][25][26] The slow performance of the Intel Core M processor was regarded as the new MacBook's main deficiency, relative to the cheaper and faster MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.[27] Among the other criticisms of the new MacBook are the lack of various popular ports, particularly USB Type-A ports, and that it only contains a single port which limits data transfer and overall convenience without the use of anadapter.[28]
The keyboard received considerable criticism as being poor for long-term use: developerMarco Arment described the notebook's build and small size as "absolutely amazing, revolutionary, and mind-blowing... until you need to use the keyboard for something."[29] He also criticised the trackpad as worse than on previous MacBooks, and said that he would be returning the model he had bought.[30]
A report byAppleInsider had claimed that the updated butterfly keyboard fails twice as often as previous models, often due to particles stuck beneath the keys.[31] Repairs for stuck keys have been estimated to cost more than $700.[32] In May 2018, two class action lawsuits were filed against Apple regarding the keyboard issue with one alleging a "constant threat of nonresponsive keys and accompanying keyboard failure" and accusing Apple of not alerting consumers to the issue.[33] In June 2018, Apple announced a Service Program to "service eligible MacBook and MacBook Pro keyboards, free of charge".[34]
| Model | Early 2015[35] | Early 2016[36] | 2017[37] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Timeline | Announced | March 9, 2015 | April 19, 2016[10] | June 5, 2017 | |||
| Released | April 10, 2015[38] | June 6, 2017[citation needed] | |||||
| Discontinued | April 19, 2016 | June 5, 2017 | July 9, 2019 | ||||
| Unsupported[a] | September 26, 2023 | September 16, 2024 | September 15, 2025 | ||||
| Vintage[b] | June 30, 2021 | July 31, 2022 | October 8, 2024 | ||||
| Obsolete | June 30, 2023 | September 23, 2024 | 2026 | ||||
| Production | Model identifier | MacBook8,1 | MacBook9,1 | MacBook10,1 | |||
| Model number | A1534, EMC 2746 | A1534, EMC 2991 | A1534, EMC 3099 | ||||
| MSRP (USD) | $1299 | $1599 | $1299 | $1599 | $1299 | $1599 | |
| Order numbers | MJY32 (Space Gray) MF855 (Silver) MK4M2 (Gold) | MJY42 (Space Gray) MF865 (Silver) MK4N2 (Gold) | MLH72 (Space Gray) MLHA2 (Silver) MLHE2 (Gold) MMGL2 (Rose Gold) | MLH82 (Space Gray) MLHC2 (Silver) MLHF2 (Gold) MMGM2 (Rose Gold) | MNYF2 (Space Gray) MNYH2 (Silver) MNYK2 (Gold) MNYM2 (Rose Gold) On October 30, 2018 Gold and Rose Gold were discontinued and replaced by MRQN2 (Gold) | MNYG2 (Space Gray) MNYJ2 (Silver) MNYL2 (Gold) MNYN2 (Rose Gold) On October 30, 2018 Gold and Rose Gold were discontinued and replaced by MRQP2 (Gold) | |
| Display | 12"glossywidescreenLED-backlitRetina Display,2304 × 1440 (16∶10), 226 px/in, with millions of colors (supported scaled resolutions:2880 × 1800,2560 × 1600 (default),2048 × 1280) | ||||||
| Video camera | iSight (480p) | ||||||
| Performance | Processor | 1.1 GHz 2-coreIntel Core M-5Y31Broadwell (Turbo Boost up to 2.4 GHz) | 1.2 GHz 2-coreIntel Core M-5Y51Broadwell (Turbo Boost up to 2.6 GHz) | 1.1 GHz 2-coreIntel Core M3-6Y30Skylake (cTDP Up mode, Turbo Boost up to 2.2 GHz) | 1.2 GHz 2-coreIntel Core M5-6Y54Skylake (cTDP Up mode, Turbo Boost up to 2.7 GHz) | 1.2 GHz 2-coreIntel Core M3-7Y32 Kaby Lake processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.0 GHz) | 1.3 GHz 2-coreIntel Core i5-7Y54 Kaby Lake processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.2 GHz) |
| Optional 1.3 GHz 2-coreIntel Core M-5Y71Broadwell (Turbo Boost up to 2.9 GHz)[13] | Optional 1.3 GHz 2-coreIntel Core M7-6Y75Skylake (cTDP Up mode, Turbo Boost up to 3.1 GHz) | Optional 1.3 GHz 2-coreIntel Core i5-7Y54 Kaby Lake processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.2 GHz) or 1.4 GHz 2-coreIntel Core i7-7Y75 Kaby Lake processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz) | Optional 1.4 GHz 2-coreIntel Core i7-7Y75 Kaby Lake processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz) | ||||
| Cache | 4 MB L3 cache | ||||||
| System bus | — | 4 GT/s OPI (max. theoretical bandwidth 4 GB/s)[39] | |||||
| Memory | 8 GB 1600 MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM | 8 GB 1866 MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM | 8 GB 1866 MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM Optional to 16 GB of RAM at time of purchase only | ||||
| Graphics | Intel HD Graphics 5300 with LPDDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory | Intel HD Graphics 515 with LPDDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory | Intel HD Graphics 615 with LPDDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory | ||||
| Flash storage | 256 GBNVMe/PCIe 2.0 ×4, 5.0 GT/s[40] | 512 GBNVMe/PCIe 2.0 ×4, 5.0 GT/s[40] | 256 GBNVMe/PCIe 3.0 ×2, 8.0 GT/s[40] | 512 GBNVMe/PCIe 3.0 ×2, 8.0 GT/s[40] | 256 GB NVMe | 512 GB NVMe | |
| Input/Output | Wi-Fi | Integrated802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, up to 1.3 Gbit/s) | |||||
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.0 | Bluetooth 4.2 | |||||
| USB | USB 3.1 generation 1 overUSB-C, up to 5 Gbit/s (for power, converts to USB Type-A and video out via separate adapter) | ||||||
| Audio | Speaker, 3.5mm Headphone Jack | ||||||
| Video out | USB-C DisplayPort 1.2 Alternate Mode (max.4096 × 2304} @ 48 Hz or3840 × 2160 @ 60 Hz[41]) | USB-C DisplayPort 1.2 Alternate Mode (max.4096 × 2304 @ 60 Hz[41]) | |||||
| Keyboard | Butterfly mechanism | Second-generation butterfly mechanism | |||||
| Power | 39.7Wh battery 29watt USB-C power adapter | 41.4Wh battery 29watt USB-C power adapter | |||||
| Appearance | Weight | 2.03 pounds (0.92 kg) | |||||
| Dimensions (width x depth x thickness) | 11.04 in × 7.74 in × 0.14 in–0.52 in (280.42 mm × 196.60 mm × 3.56 mm–13.21 mm) | ||||||
| Colors | Space Gray, Silver, Gold | Space Gray, Silver, Gold, Rose Gold | Space Gray, Silver, Gold, Rose Gold; in 2018, Rose Gold and Gold (original) were replaced with a new Gold | ||||
| OS | Minimum | OS X 10.10 Yosemite | OS X 10.11 El Capitan | macOS 10.12 Sierra | |||
| Latest release | macOS 11 Big Sur | macOS 12 Monterey | macOS 13 Ventura | ||||
| OS release | Model | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Early 2015 | Early 2016 | 2017 | |
| 10.10 Yosemite | 10.10.2 | — | — |
| 10.11 El Capitan |  | 10.11.4 | — |
| 10.12 Sierra | | | 10.12.5 |
| 10.13 High Sierra | | | |
| 10.14 Mojave | | | |
| 10.15 Catalina | | | |
| 11 Big Sur | | | |
| 12 Monterey | Patch | | |
| 13 Ventura | Patch | Patch | |
| 14 Sonoma | Patch | Patch | Patch |
| 15 Sequoia | Patch | Patch | Patch |
| 26 Tahoe |  | | |
| Windows version | Model | |
|---|---|---|
| Early 2015-Early 2016 | 2017 | |
| Windows 8[Note 1][Note 2][42][43] | | |
| Windows 8.1[Note 3][42][43] | | |
| Windows 10[Note 4][44][43] | | |
| Windows 11 |  | |
| Timeline of portable Macintoshes |
|---|
 See also:List of Mac models |
| Preceded by | MacBook (12-inch) April 10, 2015 | Succeeded by - |