MacBook

The MacBook is a brand of notebook computers manufactured by Apple Inc. from early 2006 to late 2011, and relaunched in 2015. It replaced the iBook series and 12-inch PowerBook series of notebooks as a part of the Apple-Intel transition from PowerPC. Positioned as the low end of the MacBook family, below the premium ultra-portable MacBook Air and the powerful MacBook Pro, the MacBook was aimed at the consumer and education markets. It was the best-selling Macintosh ever. For five months in 2008, it was the best-selling laptop of any brand in US retail stores. Collectively, the MacBook brand is the "world's top-selling line of premium laptops."

There have been four separate designs of the MacBook. The original model used a combination of polycarbonate and fiberglass casing which was modeled after the iBook G4. The second type was introduced in October 2008 alongside the 15-inch MacBook Pro; the MacBook shared the more expensive laptop's unibody aluminum casing, but omitted FireWire, which hurt sales. A third design, introduced in late 2009, had a polycarbonate unibody casing and no FireWire ports.

MacBook (Retina)

The MacBook is a line of Macintosh portable computers introduced in March 2015 by Apple Inc. The MacBook has a similar appearance to the MacBook Air, but is thinner and lighter, and is available in space gray, silver and gold. Other features include a high-resolution Retina Display, a Force Touch trackpad, a redesigned keyboard, and only two ports: a headphone jack and USB 3.1 Type-C port for charging, data transfer and video output.

In the Macintosh product line, the MacBook sits below the MacBook Pro in terms of average specifications, while compared to the MacBook Air its features reflect different priorities. The base model MacBook has a 256GB SSD and 8GB of RAM, both double that of the MacBook Air base models, and a better display, but the MacBook's 1.1GHz processor clock speed is slower than the latter's 1.6GHz processor. Many reviewers have also criticised its keyboard for being more uncomfortable than that on the MacBook Air.

Design

The MacBook is designed for thinness; the aluminum enclosure is 13.1 mm at its thickest point. The MacBook includes Intel's Core M processors (Broadwell architecture) which requires no fans or heat pipe, which allows the logic board to be smaller than the one of the MacBook Air. The computer features a high-resolution 12" IPS 2304×1440 Retina Display and a full-size keyboard, as well as a large trackpad that responds to multi-touch gestures – such as pinching, swiping and rotating – as well as pressure.

MacBook family

The MacBook family is a brand of Macintosh laptop computers by Apple Inc. that merged the PowerBook and iBook lines during Apple's transition to Intel processors. The current lineup consists of the MacBook (2006–present), the MacBook Air (2008–present), and the MacBook Pro (2006–present). The new MacBook (2015) is the only MacBook that does not incorporate the use of a MagSafe charger, but rather a USB Type-C port.

Overview

The MacBook family were initially housed in designs similar to the iBook and PowerBook lines which preceded them, now making use of a unibody aluminum construction first introduced with the MacBook Air. This new construction also has a black plastic keyboard that was first used on the MacBook Air, which itself was inspired by the sunken keyboard of the original polycarbonate MacBooks. The now standardized keyboard brings congruity to the MacBook line, with black keys on a metallic aluminum body.

The lids of the MacBook family are held closed by a magnet with no mechanical latch, a design element first introduced with the polycarbonate MacBook. Memory, drives, and batteries were accessible in the old MacBook lineup, though the newest compact lineup solders or glues all such components in place.