For Apple, the 12-inch MacBook is a lot like the iPhone 13 mini: beloved by a small audience but never a big seller. It represented a vision of the future—one that Apple has largely realized with the Apple Silicon MacBook Air and the latest generation of iPad Pro models. Today, Apple clearly wants you to choose an iPad if you’re looking for a small, portable device, and with the maturity of iPadOS, that approach makes a lot more sense now.

Back in 2021, I bought a four-year-old 12-inch MacBook. Yes, that 12-inch MacBook—the one Apple introduced in 2015 to replace… well, it’s complicated.

The 12-inch MacBook wasn’t a successor to the original “People’s Mac,” the unibody MacBook that came in glossy white or the coveted matte black (an extra $100 for that black finish, because why not?). Nor was it a replacement for the MacBook Air, Apple’s famously envelope-thin ultrabook. Instead, the 12-inch MacBook was something new—an experiment, a vision for the future of ultraportable laptops, though many people at the time didn’t quite know what to make of it.

A Confusing Launch

When Apple launched the 12-inch MacBook, it wasn’t just met with skepticism; it was met with downright confusion. The MacBook Air lineup was still going strong, anchored by the ultra-portable 11-inch model, which was both cheaper and faster than the new MacBook. The 13-inch MacBook Air? Faster too.

Apple sold the 12-inch MacBook alongside the 11-inch Air—at least until 2016, when Apple officially discontinued the smaller Air. (Unofficially, you could still find leftover stock in corporate IT departments and retail shelves for years.)

The criticism came swiftly. The 12-inch MacBook wasn’t a “real” MacBook Air replacement, reviewers said. It was slower than the outgoing Air and saddled with the infamous butterfly keyboard—a thin, low-travel design prone to failure if even a speck of dust got under a key.

But here’s the thing: the 12-inch MacBook was never meant to be a MacBook Air replacement. It was something else entirely.

A Laptop for Executives

The 12-inch MacBook was Apple’s take on the ultra-premium ultraportable. It wasn’t meant for college kid abuse, programming, or video editors; though it could do all those things, just not fast. It was designed for corporate executives and frequent travelers—the kind of people who had once shelled out big bucks for a Sony VAIO or Toshiba Portégé.

These were laptops for the boardroom set, not the power user crowd. They were small, lightweight status symbols, meant for checking email, approving budgets, and glancing at spreadsheets prepared by someone else. And in that context, the 12-inch MacBook made sense.

In the corporate world, I saw this dynamic firsthand. Executives didn’t need the fastest computer; they wanted the smallest, lightest one that looked good in a conference room. And if, after a year or two, they decided it wasn’t fast enough? They’d upgrade to the next shiny ultraportable. That was the cycle.

A Niche, Not a Flop

It’s easy to look back on the 12-inch MacBook and call it a failure. It never sold in big numbers, and it was overshadowed by the more affordable MacBook Air. But the 12-inch MacBook wasn’t trying to be a mass-market laptop. It was niche, luxurious, and forward-looking in ways that only became clear later.

For one thing, it had a Retina display—something the MacBook Air didn’t get until 2018. It had no fan, making it completely silent. And it was thinner and lighter than anything else Apple had ever made, so much so that the single USB-C port and lack of ports became a punchline.

But Apple wasn’t aiming for “most ports per dollar.” It was aiming for smallest, lightest, and most elegant. This was a laptop that cared about design and portability above all else.

The Legacy of the 12-Inch MacBook

Today, Apple’s Mac lineup is in a much better place. The MacBook Air has a Retina display and M-series chips that blow Intel’s processors out of the water. The iPad Pro is a serious contender for anyone looking for a lightweight, portable computer. And yet, the 12-inch MacBook still has its fans—including me.

For the right user, it’s still a compelling machine. Sure, the butterfly keyboard is a risk, but if you’re someone who needs a lightweight, Retina-display laptop for writing, light web browsing, and the occasional photo tweak, the 12-inch MacBook is hard to beat—especially at the prices you’ll find on the used market.

If someone asks me for a “bulletproof” vintage Mac, I’ll point them to the 11-inch MacBook Air from its final year, which is a little workhorse. But if they want something more luxurious, delicate, and beautiful? I’ll happily recommend the 12-inch MacBook.

Apple may have moved on, but this little laptop remains a unique and fascinating part of the Mac story—and it still deserves some love.