12-inch MacBook (2015): What’s new?

12-inch MacBook Features: Here’s what you need to know about Apple’s new MacBook

The new MacBook is the laptop that Apple says is the reinvention of the portable computer. It’s available to buy now on the same day that Apple Watch pre-orders go online.

If you’re weighing up whether to get one, we’ve picked out the key new features that might persuade you to invest in more Apple tech.

Thinner than Air

The
new MacBook with its 12-inch Retina display is only 13.1mm thick and
weighs just 907g, 4mm thinner and around 10g lighter than the previous
MacBook Air.

But the biggest improvements have been made to the
the keyboard and trackpad. Apple has ditched the traditional button
function, known as a scissor mechanism and invented a new butterfly
mechanism. The new keys are four times more stable and have a 17% larger
surface area, which should make for much more accurate and faster
typing. They’re also 40% thinner than the buttons on the old MacBook
Air.

In a bid to reduce the size of the components further, each
key has been illuminated individually, this should provide better
illumination all round according to Apple.

SEE ALSO: 12-inch MacBook vs Surface Pro 3

Feel the Force

The
all new Force Touch trackpad is now pressure sensitive and can provide
adjustable haptic feedback. Impressively, four sensors around the pad
can detect the amount of pressure you’re applying and provide
content-specific options when pressed firmly.

For example, while
watching a video on QuickTime, you can speed up the video by pressing
harder. Alternatively, a hard press or Force click as Apple is calling
it, can add appointments to your calendar from an email or open a Wikipedia entry from a word on webpage.

The logic board has been
made 67% smaller than the board in the 11-inch MacBook Air and runs
silently thanks to the removal of the fan. The additional space made by
the reduction in Logic board size has been used to house an all new
battery array, layer out in a terraced formation, contoured to fit the
MacBook’s housing efficiently.

This new approach should provide
35% more battery cell capacity, giving a stated 9 hours of wireless web
browsing and up to 10 hours of iTunes movie playback.

SEE ALSO: Best Laptops, Ultrabooks and Hybrids

One port Mac

USB-C
is set to be the new standard for ports in portable devices going
forward, so naturally the all-new MacBook features one. In fact, it’s
the only port on this device aside from the headphone jack, but it will provide USB, DisplayPort, HDMI
and VGA connectivity, as well as power of course.

SEE ALSO: USB Type-C: Everything you need to know

Apple is keen
for MacBook users to utilise all of its wireless solutions  such as
Airplay and Airdrop instead of being tethered to a Mac with wires. To
facilitate with this, the new MacBook has 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
4.0.

Power-wise the new MacBook starts at £1049/$1299, with a
1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor, which consumes only 5 watts of
energy, it also has 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD flash storage.

A second
configuration will also be available for £1299/$1599, using a 1.2GHz
Intel Core M, Intel HD Graphics 5300, 8GB RAM and 512GB of flash
storage.

SEE ALSO: Intel Core M: Everything you need to know

Apple said that this will be its most energy efficient
and environmentally friendly MacBook and will be the first ever to not
feature Beryllium, a carcinogenic metal.

Will you be buying the 12-inch MacBook? Let us know in the comments section below