Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Here’s Apple’s Brand New MacBook

Thinner. Lighter. Better?

Recode.net

It’s not a MacBook Air. It’s not a MacBook Pro. Apple’s newest notebook is simply called a MacBook.

Phil Schiller, Apple’s vice president of worldwide marketing, took the stage at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts to introduce this new notebook, which weighs two pounds and measures 13.1 millimeters — the lightest and thinnest MacBook yet. It’s also the first all-metal MacBook.

Its keyboard, which now spans the entire width of the laptop, has been replaced with a butterfly mechanism. This replaces the scissor mechanism previously used in its keyboard. Schiller says this is four times more stable and 40 percent thinner, with a larger key cap, a design that’s meant to make for a more precise experience. Each key has a single LED light beneath it that makes it glow.

This MacBook has one of Apple’s Retina displays, boasting 2,304 by 1,440 pixels. Schiller says a new technology was used for the screen, and that it now consumes 30 percent less energy than previous screens.

The Force Touch trackpad has four force sensors that give it a more even feel. But the real news here is the trackpad’s Taptic engine. This is the same technology used in the Apple Watch, providing haptic feedback when you touch it. So though the trackpad never actually presses down or moves, it feels like it’s moving.

It’s also pressure sensitive. In one example, Schiller showed how you can fast-forward through a movie at a quicker pace simply by pressing down harder on the touchpad.

The new MacBook’s internal logic board is 67 percent smaller, leaving more room for batteries, Schiller says. The design also allows for 35 percent greater battery capacity.

Other internal specs include the Intel Core M processor, as well as 802.11c and Bluetooth. It uses just five watts of energy, and Schiller called it the “world’s most energy-efficient notebook.”

Apple has changed its power adapter to use the USB-C cable. Like the iPhone Lightning Connector, this USB-C cable is reversible, so you won’t have to worry about putting it in upside-down.

Apple estimates that this MacBook’s battery gets up to nine hours of Web use and up to 10 hours of iTunes movie playback time.

It also mimics the color choices of the iPhone, coming in silver, space gray and, yes, gold. The last time Apple had a MacBook in any color other than aluminum was 2011, when the last white MacBook was sold. The last black MacBook was sold back in 2008.

There are two models with 12-inch displays: The $1,299 1.1Ghz dual core Intel core M model and a $1,499 model with twice the internal storage.

It ships April 10.

Lest the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro feel left out, they will also get updates. The MacBook Air will get Intel’s fifth-generation i5 and i7, twice as much flash storage. The MacBook Pro will get updated with its own faster processors and storage, as well as the Force Touch trackpad and a 10-hour battery life.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Technology
The case for AI realismThe case for AI realism
Technology

AI isn’t going to be the end of the world — no matter what this documentary sometimes argues.

By Shayna Korol
Politics
OpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agendaOpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agenda
Politics

The AI company released a set of highly progressive policy ideas. There’s just one small problem.

By Eric Levitz
Future Perfect
Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.
Future Perfect

Protecting astronauts in space — and maybe even Mars — will help transform health on Earth.

By Shayna Korol
Podcasts
The importance of space toilets, explainedThe importance of space toilets, explained
Podcast
Podcasts

Houston, we have a plumbing problem.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram
Technology
What happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputerWhat happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputer
Technology

How they’re using AI at the lab that created the atom bomb.

By Joshua Keating
Future Perfect
Humanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious missionHumanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious mission
Future Perfect

Space barons like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk don’t seem religious. But their quest to colonize outer space is.

By Sigal Samuel