There’s been a lot of talk about an ARM-based 12-inch MacBook 2020 making an appearance before the year is up. And, Apple’s upcoming virtual launch event on November 10 might just be the venue for its unveiling.
At least, that’s what people are hoping for. Much of that excitement stems from the rumored Bionic A14X CPU, Apple’s supposed new ARM-based processor. With the Cupertino company slated to reveal a new set of MacBooks at its final event of 2020, there’s a possibility that the 12-inch MacBook will be the first laptop to feature the new silicon.
While it wasn’t included in last year’s lineup, the 12-inch MacBook is a good candidate to get the new Apple chip. To start, it’s already a laptop positioned to target mobile professionals who don’t necessarily need the most powerful laptop on the market as long as they have a reliable, functional and highly portable one.
And, with the new A14X looking to deliver between 15 to 20 hours of battery life on a single charge, the 12-inch MacBook is the ideal machine to take advantage of this extended battery life.
Here’s what we know so far about the highly anticipated notebook.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? Apple’s popular 12-inch model of MacBook
- When is it out? It could possibly be announced as soon as October 13
- How much will it cost? Hopefully starting around $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,749
New 12-inch MacBook release date and price
We’re expecting Apple to announce the new A14X-powered 12-inch MacBook at their October 13 event (which also happens to be Amazon Prime Day).
We don’t know anything for sure about the price, but one of the big reasons for Apple’s moving to their own silicon instead of relying on Intel or AMD was to reduce the costs. So there’s some reason to hope that a new 12-inch MacBook powered by Apple’s own chip will cost less than their current 13-inch MacBook Pro model, which sells for $1,299 (£1,299, AU$1,999).
Will we see it for $1,099 (£1,099, AU$1,799)? That’s entirely possible considering how the latest MacBook Air starts at $999 (£999, AU$1,599) but, again, the X-factor here is the new ARM processor. It’s not out of the question to see the cost savings of using their own chip to translate into a new 12-inch MacBook selling for less than even the latest MacBook Air.
We simply don’t know and Apple is staying very tight-lipped, as usual.
New 12-inch MacBook: what we want to see
This is what we want to see changed, or new, in a new 12-inch MacBook.
A working ARM-based Apple CPU
More than anything, we want to see Apple’s new Biotic A14X in action. We certainly don’t expect it to be the fastest CPU out there – the A14X is also expected to power the latest iPad Pro, so it isn’t quite as powerful as even true laptop-class CPU.
But there has been a lot of hype around ARM-based processors making the jump from mobile devices to laptops running the more robust macOS and Windows operating systems for a while now – we want to see if Apple’s new silicon lives up to its promise.
A cheaper 12-inch MacBook
One of the biggest benefits of Apple producing its own silicon is it not having to go through Intel or AMD, which saves Apple a lot of money. That cost savings is definitely not going to be passed entirely onto the consumer, but we’d like to see a huge chunk of it going into bringing down the retail price.
Excellent battery life
If Apple brings the A14X to their 12-inch MacBook, the battery life should see a substantial upgrade over previous generations, even as much as 15-20 hours which would double what the MacBook Air is able to achieve.