The beloved 12-inch MacBook form factor could make a return to Apple’s lineup, a new rumor suggests today. This comes after Apple discontinued the 12-inch MacBook several years ago after it refocused its attention on the MacBook Air and the transition to Apple Silicon.
The fate of the 12-inch MacBook
Bloomberg first reported on Apple’s work to revitalize the 12-inch MacBook last summer. “Apple has also begun work on a new 12-inch laptop and is considering launching it at the end of 2023 or in early 2024,” the report explained.
A week later, Ming-Chi Kuo said he hadn’t heard anything about a 12-inch MacBook, but he stopped short of saying such a product was definitely not in the works. This leads us to where we are today.
A sketchy rumor posted to the Korean social network Naver, by the user “yeux1122” suggests that even Apple hasn’t decided the fate of the 12-inch MacBook. This source has a so-so track record when it comes to Apple rumors, so we suggest treating today’s report with skepticism for now.
According to the rumor, which cites a “supply chain parts company in Taiwan,” Apple is “preparing to refresh” the 12-inch MacBook, but it “hasn’t been confirmed” if the product will actually launch quite yet. The supply chain is reportedly “preparing” parts and other things necessary for a 12-inch MacBook, but plans for mass production haven’t been confirmed.
Here is the full text of the post (translated):
Apple is said to be preparing to refresh the recent MacBook 12-inch model. It hasn’t been confirmed until the product launch yet, but the parts and major activities previously seem to be preparing a new product.
As early as the second half of this year, it will be confirmed whether the actual mass production will be carried out instead of the actual preparation level.