Apple Says Original 12-Inch MacBook Now Obsolete

Apple today added the original 12-inch MacBook to its obsolete products list, meaning the laptop is no longer eligible for repairs or service at Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers.

2016 12 inch macbook feature
Introduced in March 2015, the 12-inch MacBook featured a thin and light design that weighed just two pounds. With prices starting at $1,299, the original model's standard specs including a 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor, integrated Intel HD 5300 graphics, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD.

"Apple has reinvented the notebook with the new MacBook," said Apple's former marketing chief Phil Schiller in a March 2015 press release. "Every component of the MacBook reveals a new innovation. From its fanless design, ultra-thin Retina display and full-size keyboard that's 34 percent thinner, to its all-new Force Touch trackpad, versatile USB-C port and breakthrough terraced battery design, the new MacBook is the future of the notebook."

The 12-inch MacBook was also the first MacBook model to feature Apple's infamous butterfly switch keyboard design, which was prone to failure and eventually dropped from the entire MacBook lineup after years of complaints and lawsuits. Apple last updated the 12-inch MacBook in June 2017, and it was discontinued in July 2019.

Apple classifies a product as technologically obsolete once more than seven years have passed since the company stopped distributing it for sale. The original 12-inch MacBook was discontinued in April 2016 upon the release of a second-generation model with improved specs, so the laptop recently crossed that seven-year mark.

In addition to the original 12-inch MacBook becoming obsolete, Apple has classified the stainless steel models of the Apple Watch Series 2 as vintage. Aluminum Series 2 models were previously classified as vintage last November.

The vintage products list features devices that Apple stopped distributing for sale more than five years ago and less than seven years ago. Apple provides service and parts for vintage devices for up to seven years, or as required by law, but repairs are subject to parts availability.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)
Related Forum: MacBook

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Top Rated Comments

mdnz Avatar
21 months ago

8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD
Thankfully after 8 years we've had such a big advancement :)
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
matttarantino Avatar
21 months ago
Bring it back with M3!!
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
21 months ago
That’s very sad. MacBook 12” was the perfect size for so many people.

The design was futuristic and ahead of its time. ?



Attachment Image
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ignatius345 Avatar
21 months ago
This was such a maddening little MacBook. Perfect screen, perfect weight and size for an ultra-portable writing and emailing machine. I could even have lived with the poor battery life, but that bloody keyboard just wrecked it for me. They could execute this design perfectly today, though, and I really wish they would.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Populus Avatar
21 months ago
PLEASE BRING IT BACK WITH AN M3 APPLE!!

EDIT: okay, @matttarantino was faster than me.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spock Avatar
21 months ago
I remember thinking that this machine was going to the be end of the MacBook Air... wrong. I think that this was one of the first machines that Apple realized Intel could no longer provide what they needed in a machine, this would have been amazing with Apple Silicon.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)