Apple upgrades 12-inch MacBook

Apple has updated its 12-inch MacBook with new Intel Core m processors.

Apple MacBook 12-inch

Apple has updated its 12-inch MacBook with new Intel Core m processors.

The original 12-inch MacBook was announced 13 months ago and brought new features to Mac.

It had a screen size midway between the 11-inch and 13-inch sizes of MacBook Air, a new Force Touch trackpad that supports two levels of pressure and a USB Type-C connector; a feature that is increasingly common on laptops, smartphones and tablets.

Last year the new MacBook had a 1.1 Gigahertz dual core Intel Core M processor, 8 GB of memory and 256GB of solid state storage and cost $1799 in Australia. One with 512GB of SSD storage and a faster processor would cost $2199.

This year you’ll pay $200 to $300 more for the 12-inch MacBook, but you’ll get more also. One with a 1.1 GHz dual-core Intel Core m3 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.2 GHz, 8GB of memory and 256GB of flash storage will cost $1,999.

A model with a 1.2 GHz dual-core Intel Core m5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.7 GHz, 8GB of memory and 512GB of flash storage will sell for $2449.

You can configure core m7 versions of the MacBook if you need the extra grunt.

Apple also announced that 8GB of memory would be standard across all configurations of the 13-inch MacBook Air.

The new 12-inch MacBooks reflect Intel’s move from offering a single Core M processor previously to a series of sixth-generation Core m3, m5 and m7 lower powered processors that are designed to offer more powerful mobile computing on the go.

Apple announced overnight that its new 2016 MacBook range would offers improved graphics performance, faster flash storage and an additional hour of battery life. The 12-inch units were thinner and lighter, weighing 920 grams and 13.1mm thick, Apple said in a statement.

They have an all-metal unibody enclosure, and are available in four aluminium finishes — gold, silver, space grey, and for the first time on a Mac, rose gold.

“MacBook is the thinnest and lightest Mac we have ever made and it’s our vision for the future of the notebook,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

Apple says the new Intel HD Graphics 515 in the MacBooks would deliver up to 25 per cent faster graphics performance, and faster PCIe-based flash storage. The units would offer up to 10 hours of wireless web browsing and up to 11 hours of iTunes movie playback.

The new laptops were fanless for silent performance, with 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity.

They come with Apple’s latest OS X operating system, El Capitan.