The best worst MacBook

[@lukemiani]

Would you pay $150 for a 12 inch MacBook? Since filming I've actually been enjoying it quite a bit, despite the slow performance! Rather surprised that the listing showed so many issues- in total they said it had no power, bad battery, bad speakers, and a trackpad that wouldn't click!

[@Bc232klm]

No, that's $150 that could be spent towards a new MacBook Air.

[@ZzzsamzzzG59]

Hello, i bought a 2017 12" macbook back in 2019 for $250, it said it had multiple dead pixels, was going to do exactly what you were going to do, then i got it, they sent me the wrong laptop, different color, different serial number etc. also from the same seller as you. Seems they have a Q/C control issue.

[@MrVman858]

Would be funny if you complain to the seller and said false advertisement I wanted a non-functioning computer what is this crap and send them pictures and videos

[@pussypussypussypussypussy]

I would pay even more. That’s a great deal, even for nostalgia reasons, because I remember wanting this laptop SO BAD when it just came out. I still want it really, really bad because, performance and all other issues aside, it’s absolutely stunning visually, esp. the rose gold one. It’s one of my favorite Apple designs ever when it comes to just visual appeal and nothing else.

[@mr.techie8565]

$150? Oh yeah. But my name isn't Luke Miani so I can't get that good of a deal 🤣

[@zayneytem]

The laptop turning on unexpectedly is a common thing with me. I always bring my old laptop to the shop whenever there was an issue and when I do... EVERYTHING MAGICALLY WORKS!

[@That.One_Luke]

me💀

[@fireball0093]

I've never owned one due to their numerous problems, but I've always had a soft spot for them because of that ambitious form factor and how appealing it is to me as a secondary laptop. Imagine one with an Apple Silicon chip inside, it might just work.

[@TimonSchuetz]

This formfactor with the M1 would be beautiful

[@TechyySean]

I'd be sold on it. I'd be in line for one.

[@lukemiani]

I would kill for one of these with larger display + thinner bezels and an Apple Silicon chip!

[@TechyySean]

@@lukemiani dream laptop w/ the magic keyboard

[@leopoldbuttersstotch6060]

@@lukemiani can you delete the scam sex bots comment?

[@chumbawumba1959]

I had one of the 2015 models and loved it. Used it for infrequent travels to corp office (otherwise used 27in iMac). Light as a feather, fan-less, Retina display. Lots of "oohs" and "awes" when people would see it and touch it. Even used a USB-C to VGA adapter and drove projectors with it. For me, it was great. The ONLY thing I didnt like was the keyboard feel (altho never failed) and if I typed too quickly, it would miss characters or have false palm reads (even if disabled). For me, the "Macbook Nothing" was perfect executive travel Macbook.

[@sagew7377]

Likewise almost entirely. Got me through a winter of guest service emails at the resort I work at without issue! Still feels modern to me.

[@DimitriTheSaint]

Same here, I loved it, now I use an M1 that feels super heavy in comparison to the 12"

[@Melih_R_Calikoglu]

An incredible form factor. I have been using this for the last 6 years for work. Its retina screen is really great. Yes it is slow and yes the keyboard (butterfly) sucks. But as you said it was ahead of time. Didn't have the right components to carry out the job. And don't recommend buying it now in 2022. But hear me say: If Apple puts an M2 chip into this form factor (which I hope they will) it will be one hell of a portable computer.

[@TheOmegaRiddler]

Even if they put an M1 chip in it, it would be a nice little budget Macbook while the Air and Pro get the M2

[@Melih_R_Calikoglu]

@@TheOmegaRiddler Maybe such a device could also cannibalize the iPads. Don't know!

[@pedroh4778]

Same here. Just turned mine of after 10h of usage, just like almost everyday. I like it.. but definitely going to upgrade when the next air comes out

[@jangguttok7437]

yeah.. I don't really understand the hate that this 12" get when 2020 intel Air is wayyyy worst. even 2020 intel 13" MacBook Pro is worst the the 12". both 2020 intel MacBook went way too hot I sold my 2015 12" to "upgrade" (or so I thought) to the 2020 intel Air. it was the worst decision ever.

[@GavinDurbin1223]

I am really hoping that when the M2 MacBook Air and pro come out they will put the M1 in this thing and sell it as the equivalent to the iPhone SE or iPad 9th gen. Something under the 1000 mark but still with good performance

[@eUploads]

Would love it if Apple brought this design back with an M1 and the new not-butterfly keyboard.

[@Sonic6293]

And two USB C ports. It'd be killer at $1000

[@user-e-idk]

@@Sonic6293 well that is basically the MacBook Air

[@emrefifty5281]

M1 MacBook Air?

[@sicfxmusic]

Shh.. shh... don't! If you really want something from Apple, just ask the opposite. 🤣🤣

[@boltok1732]

@@user-e-idktheres no 12 inch macbook air

[@ard99x]

I've used the 2016 version for 6 years, I've recently upgraded to M1 Air. I'm not sure if the battery did not fail, I might have not made the purchase. 12 inch MacBook was more than enough for me for the first 5 years, it was light, cute, gold & efficient. Now my mom uses it as storage & a media consumption device. In my own personal opinion, it is still a good device.

[@chrisatye]

When I first considered moving to the Mac ecosystem, I looked at all the shiny MacBooks online but eventually decided to go to an Applestore to give them a go. This was such a disappointment; I loved the OS but this laptop… it was small, the keyboard was dreadful… not for me. It was another 2 years when the 2018 Mini came out before I eventually got one, because this was so bad. The only good thing is that it was the low point, Apple learned from it and it probably gave them the final push to Apple silicon. Which is brilliant.

[@shahriarfahim6533]

Imagine how incredible it would have been to combine the efficiency of M1 with the form factor of the 12" MacBook.

[@halpri]

I used one of these for several years and LOVED it. I was a student, so mostly what I did was carry it around in a backpack. It was so light and small! When I used it, it was for typesetting math (using LaTex), or sending email, or looking something up on a web site, or watching a video. It was almost perfect for these activities, once you got used to the feeling of typing on concrete. At home, I had an external keyboard, so the typing was a lot better. I eventually upgraded to an M1 Air, also a fanless machine, once I stopped going to school every day, but I could never bring myself to sell the 12", and I still pull it out now and then to admire it. Just holding this work of art in my hands is a real pleasure. I hope Apple eventually does a ultralight MacBook again; I would certainly buy it.

[@weljenks]

Love mine. I don’t do a lot of heavy lifting so it’s perfect for daily use and travel. The weight and screen clarity are on point. At this point I wouldn’t want a laptop over 2 pounds, definitely not over 2.5.

[@aasimwz]

Why not get an iPad then? Does pretty much everything that 12” MacBook can do and is way way way faster

[@weezintrumpeteer]

What year / specs do you have? I'm considering one for the same reasons.

[@weljenks]

@@weezintrumpeteer 2017, 256gb. 1.2 Ghz, dual core intel m3. I prefer it to an iPad because of the keyboard and macOS.

[@simonkimber1152]

Love mine too…… great for travelling and so light… an iPad is a hassle for serious work

[@DimitriTheSaint]

I have to disagree with a few things said here, I bought a macbook 12 back in 2017 and used it for 4 years intensively, then gave it to my wife and she still use it today, it is holding very well, and perfect for normal average user, safari, Word or Excel. It's not over heating as you said and the battery is still working good.

[@tbs3050]

Had one of these as my first ever MacBook, hammered it for years and frankly loved it, did everything fairly well, so portable and light, enjoyed the keyboard and never failed me! I’d have another in a heartbeat

[@joserascon9836]

I bought the original 2015 version when it first came out, and I used it throughout my undergraduate studies and career. And although it has seen better days it still sits on my desk everyday along side my trashcan Mac Pro as I use it as secondary machine. All in all, it has held up and still continues to work like "The Little Engine That Could."

[@jabezj8723]

I still have mine, and still enjoy the look and feel as well as it's capability to be compact in size. It makes it easy to work with in an office or travel environment (only for work). It's never meant for high intensity stuff and its understandable. For me I have never faced any issues as mentioned and therefore was a great buy.

[@mezhdutem]

I’ve got exactly this model and honestly it works fluently. I really like the butterfly keyboard. Nice option for a writer (like me)

[@dimakonstanta1868]

Помимо написания текстов какими ещё задачами нагружаешь?)

[@johnmckay1961]

I adore the form-factor of this machine, I wish they would bring it back and put an M1 chip in it!

[@Doompjez]

I have one for years now. It's surprisingly fast, super compact and the keyboard is amazing. I use it to watch movies, download and transfer files and apps, I use it for work (mostly writing) and webbrowsing. Never thought it was slow in any way. I absolutely love it!

[@nadireitor2870]

Completly agree with you, mate. This is not a fair review… I mean, if you want a computer for editing 4K videos and play AAA videogames, go for a Mac Pro, but instead, if you want a really light computer to do daily basis things, I think this one is a great choice. I love mine and I would buy it again with no doubt.

[@ChrisAngeloPerez]

I'm currently viewing this video, and working on my school paper on a MacBook early 2016, connected to an external monitor. It's not as zippy for sure but boy do I love how charming this thing is. I hope I get to use this for as long as I can.

[@evilvendingmachine]

If they only could release same design with M1 and usb 4 🤤

[@shaunrockett2885]

I have the 2017. Still love it and have no plans to replace it. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@oliviermarchildon8177]

i have this exact model, that have been using quite a lot since i got it a few months ago. Actually, i got 2 of them for 200$ CAD. Both presented as non working (mentioning 1 with ssd failure and the other one with a damaged screen). I figured that I could do a screen swap and at least end up with one working. Ends up, both of then works pretty well after all! So i tried to shop for a simplement replacement screen, that ended up costing me 250$ CAD for (per the ebay listing) a 2015 model dead(was actually cheaper looking for a dead unit than just a screen…). Once I received it, it was the wrong model… it was in fact a 2017 model also, but with a failed keyboard…. And the keyboard replacement program was still on so i had it repaired for free! So this is now my main computer. I gave the other working to my wife. The one with the broken screen is still not fixed, but is plugged to an external monitor and used as a “forture imac”. In all, i got pretty much 3 computers for 450$ cad, not the best deal, but still happy :)

[@jimscarlett]

My wife carried a 2015 in her purse as a doctoral student and college professor. She LOVED it. It no longer holds a charge beyond running between plugs, but especially when the battery was good, it was perfect for her use case. It did get a logic board and audio board under warranty, and the keyboard replaced under the extended butterfly keyboard program. So it wasn't exactly reliable, but the form factor was PERFECT. And all she needed, really, was a web browser, full Office suite, and iCloud - and a real keyboard (she actually really liked the butterfly keyboard despite its issues), making her gravitate to the Retina MacBook for work, and leave her iPad Pro for grading electronically submitted assignments with the Pencil. She has a 13" M1 Air now, which is great, and obviously a more capable machine that's better in almost every way, but she feels like it's huge and heavy. It no longer fits in her purse and has to go in her school bag. This form factor with Apple Silicon and a magic keyboard would be AMAZING. She'd probably line up to buy one.

[@GG-lq5yb]

I’ve still got one of these and love it still. Not had any problems (apart from changing battery). I’m no video editor or anything but for browsing, watching movies and making documents it’s still a good computer.

[@kriegs089]

The only thing I really liked about my 2015 12" was the speakers. They were fantastic! Way louder than my 2020 M1 MBA

[@internetplumber]

I still have and use (I'm typing this on it) an Early 2016 MacBook (m7, 8GB, which may have been the equivalent of 'maxed out' for this). When I first got it, the thing that impressed me most was the battery life. My daily driver was still a 2010 MBP at that point, and being able to take notes for up towards 10 hours was astonishing, even if I was taking 10 hours of notes on a butterfly keyboard. The keyboard has survived pretty well, as has the battery. It runs Monterey (I’ve even had Win10 running via Bootcamp, y’know, for fun), and even if it isn’t the fastest thing around (though given the relative cost the Geekbench 5 results don’t compare that poorly to my late 2016 i7 MBP - 19% slower on single core, but 55% slower on multi-core), if all you’re using it for is a bit of email and writing, it does the job well and is very portable. For the past couple of years I’ve been thinking of using it as trade-in on a new, smaller, MBP for myself (I’ve got a 16” MBP for work), but I never seem to get around to it. Maybe on March 8th.

[@koendecrock]

I have one of these, exactly the same specs, year and color, and have loved it ever since I bought it secondhand in 2019. I travel a lot, prefer a Macbook to an Ipad and use this mainly for some light work (email, writing docs, light Excel work) and watching movies or listening to music in the airport and on the plane. For that it is just perfect: it weighs nothing, has a good display, 256 GB of fast storage, has a tactile keyboard (which is very important to me) and is super portable. I understand all the issues with and complaints about this laptop, but for me it is not the best worst macbook; it is the best macbook for a very limited use case. I would never use it as my primary computer, but I always take this on short trips instead of my new Macbook Pro, and love it for what it is.!

[@RayTheVideoGuy]

My wife and I both got one, and I still use it to this day. It was not very powerful, but it was GREAT for portability, and I would take it with me for plane rides, when my MBP was too big.

[@chrisnt1371]

I really love the design of this Macbook and hopefully they will bring it back with a powerful processor and a better keyboard. Awesome video, as always!

[@tobiasosterberg]

I love my 2017 12 inch MacBook. Keyboard is actually great, and it’s quite fast. I disagree with almost everything in this video. It’s the best laptop I’ve ever had and I’ve gone through a lot of them. Priority for me is that it must be reliable, quiet, small and light. Today there are other options but 2017 this was the very best.

[@nitrax8629]

Got a 2016 12" MacBook personally, it has been an amazing machine for travel and light use, sadly even web browsing with more heavy sites is becoming unbearable though. Shame there really isn't a good replacement for it - the Air has always felt a bit awkward and bulky in comparison.

[@chriscasillas]

Watching this video on my base model 2017 12-inch MacBook! The computer has been great for me for the last 4+ years. I mainly use it docked at my desk with external peripherals. The most intense work I do on it is graphics with Photoshop and very light video editing and creation. This is a great machine for most people.

[@BowmanBoy2015]

I bought one of these brand new for my wife after her college graduation 7 years ago. It has held up quite well for the minor specs it has. Now she isn’t doing anything other than making classroom lessons or working on masters assignments, but it has held its value and then some.

[@1dsrocks]

I'm watching this from my maxed out 2015 12" Macbook. *chuckles*

[@Ade2bee]

I bought one, it’s the most useful little MacBook I’ve ever owned, the problem is the chips, the SSD card and the motherboard are prone to fatal crashing And self-destruction at a moments notice

[@cutieflysclay5496]

I have one of these, and I like it. It's also 2015 version...

[@intervations]

Thanks for an insightful video. I actually have the original 2015 model and use it as my primary device. I have (touch-wood) NEVER had any issues with it, other than because of its age, the battery needs replacing, which is quite normal. I use my 2015 model (which seems to have rubbed you the wrong way) for coding, illustrating, Final Cut Pro editing and much more and it never skips a beat.

[@CrazyPanda688]

Just bought one for £180, battery with 200 cycles, pristine condition. The form factor is unbeatable Perfectly fast enough for my needs. Doesn’t feel slow whatsoever despite what everyone else says and it’s only the 1.1ghz version with 8gb ram, early 2016 Perfectly snappy and useable. If you’d have told me this thing came out 4 years ago I’d have believed you, hard to think it’s actually double that yet still works so well for light tasks and the design is so futuristic. Imagine buying this thing in 2016

[@jameswaters5133]

I bought a 2017 for £200 a couple of months ago. I absolutely love it. It still looks like the future, and is SO cool to look at. Works fine for office tasks and browsing.

[@Slurkz]

Thanks Luke! Great one. 💜 In 2015 when I was looking for a replacement for my 2008 MBP, I was excited when the first MacBook was introduced. Beautiful machine. But I’m glad I waited for the first benchmarks, because it turned out to be only 30% faster than that 7 year old machine. And this was peak performance…. I did not buy it.

[@GANONINC]

I have a 2015 one and I modded it to improve the passive cooling of the CPU using some thin copper plates and thermal pads. It's not good for the battery, but it made the MacBook faster and should preserve the CPU and SSD. I think it's one of the best MacBook I ever used. And, if I really need power, I can use "Screen Sharing" to control remotely my iMac when I'm away, so it's also a very good professional VNC client.

[@dan_zuck]

Can u elaborate more on this? would love to mod mine in order to get a few years off it.

[@GANONINC]

@@dan_zuck I've just posted on MacRumors Forums some photos of how I did it. You should find this post in the "MacBook" subforum.

[@dan_zuck]

@@GANONINC Much appreciated!

[@mirorommelaere7616]

2 years ago, (when I knew shit about tech) I bought it for $700 and I thought it was a good deal😕

[@positivanollan6353]

I bought the 12-inch Macbook to my wife in 2015 and she still uses it as her only computer, 7 years later, and is very happy with it 😃

[@MrCed122]

I remember when the 2015 model was released and some people were saying that it didn't matter that it was underpowered, OS X optimisation would make it as fast a any other modern Macs, unlike the bloatware that was Windows. Then the first reviews came out and, surprise, Windows 10 ran better on it than OS X, because El Capitan was an unstable POS at release on the new MacBooks and because Windows 10 was really lightweight at the time (oh, how that changed since then!).

[@PossibleJothamChin]

I think that the 12” macbook is one of the best… I wish apple would bring the m1 or m1 pro to it… I don’t mind it being a little thicker for MagSafe and another usb c port

[@RealWorldReview]

The MacBook is known for the failing/random battery, so the reaction at 3:30 makes sense, but so does the fact that it works

[@vaclavstoupa1911]

MacOS tells me already for 2 years that I should visit the servis with battery, but it works solid 4hrs or more on battery. It has almost 800 cycles.

[@tatendamutasa2482]

I also bought a "supposedly" water damaged 12" Macbook for $65. It did have stuck keys which started working on they rown after me vigorously pressing them. It was the best purchase I've ever made. Its super tiny and a really awesome machine. Though I couldn't really watch 4K video coz it'd glitch...quite a lot

[@inmyslumber]

I really wish the 12” would be revived. I feel like it would excelled with an Apple silicone chip + the scissor mechanism keyboard. I love the design of it.

[@nuggo3068]

That moment when the robotic vacuum cleaner has more CPU cores than your laptop...

[@CraigGorsuch]

Owned a 2015 Retina 12” MacBook since the beginning as my main driver. Haven’t had any issues I couldn’t deal with

[@CherryTv_CUP]

I daily drive a 2016 12" MacBook that I got from Ebay for $128 and the display has a slight flickering and ghosting issue. The battery and everything else works 100% and in fact it is a very good machine.

[@phillipjames453]

I've got all 4 colors. The silver one is a 2015 model with a new battery and new keyboard replacement. The other 3 colors are 2017 models with no battery or keyboard issues. They are not my primary laptops but they are useful when traveling or on vacation.

[@rickypelletier363]

Luke has done a couple of videos on this Macbook. I have read a lot of comments saying they really enjoyed the experience. I did the same as Luke and purchased 2 different ones for around 300 dollars. The beat up one had the "ultimate" 2017 i7 1.4 16gb 512ssd logic board. The other had a dead logic board. I did purchase a grade A used battery with 23 cycles which was 29$. This was a nice little project but I wouldn't recommend this for everyone not familiar with taking apple laptops apart. I would like to see Luke pick up the fully maxed out 2017 because the performance is pretty decent. I have also done a thermal pad mod I found on mac forums if anyone is interested, just google macbook 12" thermal pad mod.

[@EDLuke246]

Loved the 11" MacBook Air, and loved this 12" MacBook too - I have the 2017 model. Still dreaming of an M1 or M2 12" MacBook, but don't think it'll ever happen sadly. It laid the groundwork for the new gen fan-less MacBooks!

[@zednik8956]

I still use one of these every day for general tasks, I use it as an ipad that can actually get stuff done. I have a main desktop which is a gaming pc with a 5800x, 32gb ram and a rtx 3080 so if i ever need grunt for anything then I have that. The 12" macbook serves a place for people like me who want something super light and portable but dont need a whole bunch of power. Its worth noting that I've not once felt that the machine held me back in the use cases that I have for it as I know that it isn't powerful so i dont do anything thats super demanding on it. The most demanding thing being xCode development when out and about. I am however looking to upgrade to a new macbook air hopefully after they redesign it

[@atomsofstardust]

I actually have the worst version of this worst MacBook (ie 2015 version) and let me tell you: no, there isn’t any justifications to have this abomination of a computer. I swear, it can barely play YT videos, and any time I have to edit a bit of video or music I wanna end myself and anything I do, that’s how miserable that machine makes me feel, because of how awfully slow it is. I bought it in 2020 because money were limited and I wanted a mac to type texts basically, but wanted to have good screen, force touch trackpad, and 500GB of ssd, and at that time I didn’t have an option to buy MacBook Pro 2015 because it simply was like $200 more expensive. I regret that decision every day of my life. P.S. Oh, and the battery is dead now and replacement of it is actually pretty costly because it’s all glued to the chassis, so it’s hard to replace it by yourself. Garbage piece of a device, trust me.

[@FLTech]

F

[@ronlevin2339]

installing windows will not help ? It might will be faster that MACOS ?

[@lbsiuk]

@@ronlevin2339 aparrently installing Windows 8 (or a light build of 10/11) is pretty common with these machines

[@chidorirasenganz]

Tbh I’d say you’re better off installing something like chromeOS especially with the release of Flex

[@dan_zuck]

I have the same exact model of yours, but only with 256GB of storage, was running smoothly until i decided to hop on big sur a few years ago, then battery started degrading after that, installed Monterey on it last month got ride of a few bugs and issues. Can barely keep an hour of charge so i pretty much plug it in everyday. This thing overheats and drop frames so much nowadays.

[@SurajKumar-dz6jn]

I had one of these and due to some financial issues i had to sell it but I really adored it and for my personal use it was perfect! I will always desire one too! ♥️

[@Marngel]

You should do a video on the 2018 MacBook Air. It’s one of those MacBooks that a lot of people tend to forget about, and it’d be interesting to see how it aged over 3 years later.

[@matejaem]

Lol I literally just said the same thing! I own the original 2018 one and you’re so right about people forgetting it, probably because Apple “updated” it so quickly with a 2019 version, and then they did it again with a 2020 one. None of them managed to last a whole year before they were replaced…

[@Marngel]

@@matejaem I guess I should have scrolled down the comment section a bit further lol. But yeah, I’m interested in what he thinks about the 2018 Air, mainly because it was the first Mac I ever owned. Prior to that, I was using Windows for my whole life. Although I own the M1 MacBook Air now, I would like to see how the 2018 Air stacks up and wondered if I could have just held on to it longer instead of selling it.

[@JasonChamberlain]

i bought the 2015 version a year after it came out, i just fell in love with what they did with the design. In the end it overheated constantly and couldn’t even handle my zoom meetings. Never doing that again

[@Corelila]

I use this laptop for traveling (I don’t travel a whole lot) if a client needs something I grab it off my big computer at home from the cloud. The other thing I use it for is writing. You never notice slowness if you’re literally just writing a book with it. Now I got mine used and there were several sticky keys from the start, so I tore the thing apart, cleaned the keys and boom. Perfect. The butterfly keyboard DOES take some getting used to, feels like my fingers are just slapping on the keys all the time but I can live with it.

[@akhyarrayhka4048]

12 inch macbook would be nice to have with m1 processor. it only needs better keyboard and newest arm processor

[@Pululupulu]

I bought a 2016 version new and never regretted. It’s a great companion to my heavy 15 inch MBP as well as the 16 M1 Max I have right now. To me it is a real computer in a form factor of an iPad (Even smaller than my iPad Pro 12.9)

[@yyouthcanoee]

I still use my 2017 12 inch MacBook every day. Luke keeps making videos on why he hates this thing lol

[@유성-l7z]

Seriously, I love this laptop...just slap a M1 and the updated keyboard and I'll be happy to use it as my main device for years to come

[@masonkeiper9587]

I had a 2015 inch, bought it for around $900 it was great for what I used it for, just casual stuff but then it got dropped and messed up the screen, still worked, considered keeping it for a little bit as just a random device to have, glad I sold it tho, got $400 out of it😬

[@拉雞毛]

They made this future computer blueprint in 2015. But get everything done in 2020. M1 Air is the result.

[@mattywampa]

I've had one of these for several years as a second / light duty computer. That form factor is wonderful, it's basically the size of a ipad, but has a real keyboard and mac OS. I agree with everything pointed out in the video though, it's way too slow for anything beyond the most basic computing tasks in 2022, but everything else about it is still really great. Honestly, if they just updated it with an M1 processor and zero other changes, I'd highly consider buying one.

[@creekfreak1997]

Bought an Apple-refurbished 2017 model for college classes, with a desktop Mac mini setup in my dorm. Fortunately mine never had any issues, was a dream to carry around, battery lasted a day away from home, and if I just uploaded everything I needed to iCloud, I was set. I knew I wouldn't need more than 1 USB C port either...this computer is perfect for SOME use cases, I'd be interested to see what Apple could do with this form factor now or in the coming years.

[@_Roland]

sold my m2 air for this. nothing is that portable. for me and my usecase, one of the best macbooks ever

[@KevDoy]

Recently picked one of these up for a great deal. Has it’s usual minor issues. 2017 i7 model. Can not believe how well this thing runs given all of the negative press they’ve received. Granted mines the best of the last ones made, but as a secondary carry for meetings, in-office days, or just chilling at the coffee shop its form factor makes it PERFECT.

[@gideonMorrison]

No keyboard issues with the 2017 model?

[@KevDoy]

@@gideonMorrison I have daily driven a MacBook Pro 2016 for 4 years. Never had a single keyboard issue. I’ve always put a keyboard cover on my laptops. Last owner of the 12” MacBook did as well. Zero problems.

[@SciFlyGal]

A fun video idea may be to compare this MacBooks performance to that 2007 black MacBook you did a video about before. I have a 2008 model black MacBook, and with Ubuntu running and an ssd it’s fully useable even today.

[@Powergeek2011]

My 2015 version just died a few days ago. 😭

[@oscarcharliezulu]

We’ve got one of these and I find it surprisingly awesome. You could say it’s slow, but it’s faster than the fastest laptop from 5 years ago and if you’re using office, web browser and even a bit of dev work, it’s more than fine. It’s tiny but so usable. I love it.

[@An-wc5lx]

Faster than the fastest laptop 5 years ago? I have the i7 16gb ram version and this claim is quite simply very false. I agree it is tiny and an absolute joy to use for light computing such as web browsing and word processing. It ain't fast but anyone who knows just knows...!

[@mattfrickendalen]

I love the size of the 12” macbook. The size of the laptop and the quality of the screen make it still feel “NextGen” even though I purchased mine in 2015! The big trend at the time was “Cloud Computing” I had figured the pitiful power would be a non-issue soon because Apple must have been working on some sort of remote “access to performance” cloud computing service. For an additional subscription fee I could use my impossibly small device to accomplish real tasks. This is still a possible use case at home with your own devices, but the simple apple ecosystem integration I imagined would happen never occurred (for many logistical reasons I am sure). I have replaced the keyboard through the free program, I still use it as my daily driver to this day. When I pull it out, people who don’t know the 12” often go “WOAH! Is that new?” It is a beautiful little machine that I would eagerly buy again if Apple released a refresh with a properly powerful/efficient SOC and the new-old keyboard.

[@Darthwriter]

My wife has this exact MacBook and she loves it. I've tried to get her a new M1 Air but she says there are not issues with the 12" MacBook and sees no reason to upgrade. She surfs the web, does her email and does all my business QuickBooks on it. (She's an accountant) She loves it.

[@vicentebickel6099]

I still have and use mine haha. I have it with the i7 and 16gb ram and 500gb storage. It has kept up relatively well but does slow down when it overheats. For normal tasks its pretty good but when I use Lightroom it starts to struggle

[@Techie21]

1:15 HOW DID YOU READ MY MIND?!?!?!?!? I was looking for a robo-vaccum!!

[@jamesbubnick]

I learned my lesson on the 2015 the hard way. Bought it used and was in excellent shape, zero scratches. Like new…the motherboard died 3 months later

[@morganwin350]

This review was very similar to my thoughts on the 2012 Air I just bought. It could be beat by a new base iPad yet it’s form factor as a computer and $100 price tag still make it a solid option as something I can always have with me but if it breaks or some one steals it I wouldn’t be upset.

[@EpicBr0]

Man i really hope this new 2022 macbook is just called the macbook. Then theres a $999 macbook air, a new $1199 macbook, and then the high end $1999 macbook pros

[@howiewilliams7378]

bought the 2017 macbook 12" because of its size and weight and to learn Mac OS. I am not disappointed. I have 15% lung function and am a VP at a large medical foundation working mostly at home and carrying a heavier laptop is problematic. So far this has done everything I have thrown at it including making explainer videos, light video and sound editing. Battery life has been acceptable and it is updated to the latest OS. It does exactly what I need it for and does it well. I can take it with me to appointments easily and keep up with my workflow. I has been a great machine! My primary machine is a windows desktop.

[@mustafabahsheemy]

If you still have it, can you show us a real-world performance test, because the low performance for you might be a great upgrade for others 😁, and thanks for your efforts

[@falklevien]

I got a 2015 version some time in 2017 for about 400€. Decent deal back then. I had a cheese grater Mac Pro as my primary machine then, so it made sense to get something from the exact opposite end of the spectrum. Also, it was fanless and I could use it without making a sound when my wife was asleep. And you know what? Nothing ever failed on the thing (knock on wood) Nowadays, my workflow has changed completely and I’m almost 100% mobile. The Mac Pro is gone, to the detriment of my energy supplier, and I’m still using the 2015 Macbook for those few tasks that can only be done on a desktop system. Funny how things go sometimes.

[@earlmcmanus194]

I bought one for school('17 base), I loved its 2nd-gen butterfly keyboard but invariably had battery and thermal throttling issues. I bought a new battery for it but that battery assembly is gathering dust in my closet now that I've got the 14" MBP. Steve would have loved the form factor, I really hope they bring it back, I don't see myself needing another Mac for some time but if this chassis came back with Apple silicon I'd buy it in a second.

[@aaronlane8276]

I bet Steve would have loved the fact that it was fan-less too because he originally wanted the MacBook Air to be fan-less.

[@ins1ghtz]

Got my wife’s one at the beginning of the year and it’s running Ventura really well. The form factor is amazing and it’s currently with me on my travels. If you’re not a power user and not video rendering etc it’s amazing although it surprisingly does anything I throw at it. I even use it sometimes as a VM for windows 10 and Linux and it does it no problems.

[@GavinDurbin1223]

I was thinking about getting one as a travel computer. I recently upgraded my 2012 unibody MacBook Pro with a M1 Mac mini and I am loving it so far. The issue is that I want something newer that is portable. Because yeah my 12.9 inch iPad Pro is good for traveling sometimes I do need a actual computer to work from. But yeah great video Luke!

[@musakphil0305]

I found one destined for the recycling bin. It works great so far. Can't argue with free.

[@richarddcrossley]

One thing that is amazing with the 12 inch MacBook (and was great with the MacBook Air 11) is if you have a work laptop you can carry them in tablet pocket of bags, and keep work and personal laptops separate without extra bulk.

[@sbstndltn]

This is why i think that they should bring it back with an A series SOC. It makes sense. Just get rid of that butterfly keyboard, there's no travel on that thing. Also, Magsafe. Also also, make it cheaper than the MacBook Air.

[@JoaoGuilhermePan]

My wife used to have this and she actually liked it. The problem began when COVID hit and she would do a lot of Zoom and Teams calls and the apps would just crash because of high temperature... so we just traded it in for an iphone 12 pro and she's supper happy lol

[@M22018]

Apple need to relaunch this model using M1 Chip and title it as MacBook SE with 12 inch, then they sell it cheaper than MacBook air or they sell it around $500-700 with 128GB I think many people will buy it and gonna love it.

[@KellyStarks]

So it essentially could be a replacement for a iPad for someone wanting a bigger better screen and a keyboard to do mail, KZbin, and web. Agree the form factor is very appealing .

[@ComeJesusChrist]

I’ve got a 2015 mid-spec one of these and it’s a nice portable computer. You have a full OS, keyboard, a great screen and provided that the battery is not faulty, great battery capacity. I use a dongle, but I only need it when I use a USB drive or an external monitor. I preferred my 11” MacBook Air, but that is getting frustrating to use due to Apple’s iCloud Keychain nonsense. The keyboard and the bezel are better on the MBA. I now mainly use my 2009 iMac that is going strong, so an ultra portable MB is complementing what I have. When you need a truly portable computer or need a second computer, these small Apple portables are truly amazing. Ideally, I’d go back to the days of Snow Leopard and second-third generation MBAs, (also running XP) and wonder what digital cloud-prison nonsense the future will hold.

[@heroicexecutive2025]

I bought this 12 inch 2017, i7, 512 GB like new used 3 years ago for $750 after taxes, and this is my favorite device ever! I love it more than my ipad pros, my iPad minis, all my windows machines, everything! I’m a huge fan of the keyboard, the minimalist trackpad, the speakers, the completely SILENT fan less run time, the battery is about 8 hours, and it is amazing. It runs Final Cut Pro well, it’s the smallest MAC OS - NOT IPAD OS. It feels amazing because it can fit anywhere, works well for years! It is not as weak as you may be guess it to be. I’ve had no problems with lag at all. I just love that it’s smaller than the 13” macbook air. It fits everywhere!

[@gideonMorrison]

No issues with the keyboard???

[@MoraFermi]

I'm definitely in the minority here... but I actually like the 12" MB keyboard. Yes, it has about zero travel but it has very crisp tactile event -- except for shift keys, sadly. I still use my 2016 rose gold one daily -- though I make sure it's constantly backed up!

[@gregedwards69]

It’s worth mentioning that the 2016 and 2017 models are also compatible with Monterey. I picked up a 2016 model recently in very good condition for this reason. No scratches or marks and only around 65 charge cycles on the battery (I avoided ones with high battery cycles or service battery issues as replacing the battery is just added cost and too much faff). I bought it as a second Mac, as an ultra portable alternative to my 15” 2015 mbp and 11” 2018 iPad Pro. So far I’m quite pleased with it. Sure it’s not a high powered machine, but as a casual sofa surfing laptop it’s great. I considered a similar period MacBook Air, but once you’ve gone retina, it’s hard to go back, and the form factor is delightful. It works great as a second screen via Luna Display with my main computer (slightly but noticeably larger screen res than the iPad Pro) and is ideal for chucking in a bag or suitcase for tasks that the iPad just can’t do - such as HX Edit for my Line 6 Helix. I love the fact it’s fanless which not only makes it silent, but also means it has a standby battery life similar to the iPad. Oh, and because it’s retina, I can force it to run higher resolutions than a few years ago would have required a much bigger screen. All in all, I’m quite enjoying using it. It even seems to run Lightroom (not classic) adequately for my needs. Could be a useful alternative to the iPad for this task.

[@youtube-ged]

I bought my MacBook 12" for $400. It's in a great condition but like you said it doesn't have a very good keyboard and the performance is so so! I don't know If I should return it or not! Confused!

[@BryanLankston]

When these came out in 2015 I was in high school and I wanted one so bad. Looking back I’m really glad I didn’t blow all my savings on a laptop with a phone processor in it.

[@jfdecastro]

I used 2017 12” MacBook for a couple of years.. yes it gets hot, specially with prolonged zoom sessions but other that that it was ok for typical office productivity work.. it was very light and easy to bring around.. not sure it deserves all the bad reviews…

[@xroyalstevenx9151]

I don’t think it does. Pretty much all ultrabooks heated up from being super thin and “powerful”, especially expensive.

[@santiagogonzalez8074]

I daily drive a i5 2015 11inch MacBook Air and I love it, I paid it like 200 bucks renewed and it's all I need for a machine that I put on my bag and forget that its there. I was thinking on getting a 12inch, but now, I think Im gonna stay with my little 2015.

[@txa1265]

I bought that model and loved it in so many ways … but also had to get rid of it because it failed to meet my needs in a couple of key areas: games and music (studio), two big hobbies for me. It was useless trying to load VST synths, and playing pretty much any game was a waste of time. Fortunately I got good money selling it to buy a 2018 15” MBP … and now the M1 MBAir is just incredible, not as small but really delivers that portable powerhouse