Apple finally releases the 2016 12-inch MacBook, and it boasts fairly beefed-up specs compared to last year's model.
Right off the bat, the updated ultra-thin notebook houses a new Skylake-based Intel Core M3 processor, the next-generation chip from the 2015 variant. Thanks to that plus a relatively heftier battery pack, it can now go for up to 10 hours on a single charge. It's also available in Rose Gold too, the same color that the latest iPhones sport.
Going into detail, the new chipset under the hood gave the MacBook a slight performance boost – aside from more power efficiency, that is. Christina Warren of Mashable tested it out on a 1.2 GHz configuration and shared Geekbench scores on 64-bit, clocking in at 2,894 for the single core and 5,845 for the multicore.
First Geekbench results from the new MacBook (1.2Ghz) pic.twitter.com/WqLo4Ymz4z
— Christina Warren (@film_girl) April 19, 2016
That's about 15 percent faster than the 2015 model that scored 2,437 for the single core and 5,049 for the multicore. Meanwhile, read and write speeds also improved based on the results of a Blackmagic disk speed test that Warren also carried out.
@holgr @tapbot_paul I just did one too! pic.twitter.com/rUlHMVzhmY — Christina Warren (@film_girl) April 19, 2016
As for the disappointing news, it still only has one USB-C port.
The entry-level 2016 MacBook with 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD comes with a $1,299 price tag. On the next tier, it has 8 GB of worth RAM, a 512 GB SSD and an Intel Core M5 for $1,599. Users also have the option to take a step further and upgrade to an Intel Core M7 for $150 from the Core M5 and $250 from the Core M3.
To boil things down, the 2016 MacBook is faster and capable of keeping the lights on longer, but despite these improvements across the board, buyers of the 2015 MacBook didn't really miss out on anything because the 2016 model isn't exactly anything new. Apple just updated the 12-inch MacBook. That's all.
