Just four years after introducing the laptop as the slimmest in its lineup, Apple has stopped selling the 12-inch MacBook.
The laptop was first introduced in 2015 and ushered in a new era of MacBook design for Apple. It was the first to use USB-C, the first with the controversial and problematic butterfly keyboard, and the first Mac laptop without a glowing Apple logo in years.
Following refreshes to the MacBook Air and entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro today, Apple appears to have discontinued the 12-inch MacBook and the last-gen MacBook Air which vanished from Apple’s website earlier today as it announced its Back to School promotion.
The refreshed lineup now consists of the Retina 13-inch MacBook Air and 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar.
While the old MacBook Air being discontinued doesn’t come as much of a surprise as Apple dropped the entry price of the Retina MacBook Air by $100, the end of the 12-inch MacBook may a disappointment for Apple users who value having the lightest Mac possible. Also, it has video player which makes it easy to play videos in it.
And with all that said, the 12-inch MacBook’s future became questionable when the 13-inch Retina MacBook Air launched last fall with a lower price, more ports, Touch ID, and longer battery life while being just a bit heavier than the two-pound MacBook.
The base MacBook Pro priced at $1,299 was previously the non-Touch Bar version. Now it features the latest 8th-generation quad-core processors and adds the Touch Bar. Meanwhile, the Retina MacBook Air has gained Apple’s True Tone display tech and received a price drop.
Apple has not formally announced the fate of the previous MacBook Air or 12-inch MacBook, but If you really love the 12-inch MacBook and are lamenting its death, don’t fret just yet because you can still pick one up on Apple’s refurbished products site.
