The new MacBook’s biggest problem is that it still has just one USB Type-C port. That means that without one of Apple’s pricey dongles (or a third-party adapter), you’ll often have to choose between recharging your system and plugging in any kind of peripheral that isn’t a pair of headphones. There’s no SD card reader (micro or otherwise), which means if you want to transfer pictures or videos so you can edit them on the MacBook’s 12-inch Retina Display, you have to carry around an adapter with you at all times. Was it really too much for Apple to tack on a second USB port in the year since the first 12-inch MacBook was released? MORE: Which MacBook Should You Buy? MacBook vs. Air vs. Pro In fact, iPhone owners are forced to buy a $25 adapter if they want to connect their phones to this MacBook, since the Lightning cable that comes with every iPhone features a plug with an older USB Type-A connector. And Apple’s USB-C dongle featuring HDMI, USB-A and USB-C ports costs an even pricier $79. That means you are practically required to purchase about $100 of adapters when you buy a new 12-inch Mac if you ever want to hook it up to any of your other devices. This brings me to my next point: the MacBook’s price. Starting at $1,299 for an 6th Gen Intel Core m3 CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, the new 12-inch MacBook costs $400 more than an 11-inch MacBook Air, which has more ports, a faster Core i5 processor and arguably a more comfortable keyboard, albeit with half the RAM and a smaller, 128GB SSD. Measuring 0.68 inches thick with a weight of 2.38 pounds, the 11-inch MacBook Air isn’t really that much bigger or heavier than the 0.52-inch thick, 2.03-pound MacBook either. Then there’s the 13-inch MacBook Air, which features an Intel Core-i5 CPU and way better battery life, and now comes standard with 8GB of RAM, all for just $999. In our most recent review, the 13-inch MacBook Air boasted a battery life of 14 hours flat. Even if you take Apple’s claim of an extra hour of battery life for the 12-inch MacBook at face value, and add that to the 8:43 mark we got from last year’s machine, the new MacBook would still fall about 4 hours short of the 13-inch MBA’s time. The 12-inch MacBook’s biggest advantages are in its larger base storage and high-res screen. But if Apple ever bothered to update the Air line instead of letting it languish, those advantages probably wouldn’t remain. As it stands, the 12-inch MacBook seems like a laptop for people with more money than sense, and because Apple didn’t feel like addressing the system’s issues, I don’t feel like this new model is much better than the 3.5-star version we reviewed last year. But maybe there will be a surprise beneath that shiny, new rose-gold finish.
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