Mac · Retina & Beyond · 2015

MacBook (12-inch Retina)

Apple’s vision of the future laptop: under a kilo, fanless, gold, with one USB-C port for everything. Bold and beautiful — but the new butterfly keyboard proved troublesome.

MacBook (12-inch Retina): key facts

When was the MacBook (12-inch Retina) released?

The MacBook (12-inch Retina) was released in April 2015. Apple discontinued it in July 2019.

How much did the MacBook (12-inch Retina) cost?

The MacBook (12-inch Retina) launched at $1,299 in 2015 — about $1,728 in today’s money (approximate, US CPI).

What are the MacBook (12-inch Retina)’s specs?

The MacBook (12-inch Retina) used a Intel Core M running at 1.10 GHz, with 8 GB of memory and 256 GB of storage. It ran OS X 10.10 Yosemite.

Why does the MacBook (12-inch Retina) matter?

First single-port USB-C Mac, first fanless Mac laptop, debut of the "butterfly" keyboard.

Full specifications

CPUIntel Core M · 1.10 GHz
Cores2
Memory (RAM)8 GB (up to 16 GB)
Storage256 GB
Display12" Retina, 2304×1440
GPUIntel HD 5300
PortsSingle USB-C, headphone
Weight0.92 kg
DimensionsFanless 13 mm wedge
Operating systemOS X 10.10 Yosemite
ReleasedApril 2015
DiscontinuedJuly 2019
Launch price$1,299

How the MacBook (12-inch Retina) compares to today

A 16 GB Apple Silicon MacBook Pro has about 2.0× more memory than this device shipped with.

At 1.10 GHz, the clock is roughly 2.9× slower than a single performance core of a 16 GB Apple Silicon MacBook Pro — and that is before counting cores, width and IPC.

This held about 65,500 modern phone photos — a respectable library even today.

Launched at $1,299 in 2015 — about $1,728 in today’s money (approx., US CPI).

Cross-architecture speed figures are clock-only and approximate; inflation figures use US CPI.

Did you know?

The butterfly keyboard’s reliability woes led to a years-long Apple repair programme.

Related Mac models

Open the MacBook (12-inch Retina) in the interactive archive →

Last updated: 2026-06-25