MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016)
Quick look
- Price
- £1,0492launch price
- Chip
- Core m31.1GHz dual-core Intel
- CPU
- 2-coreCPU
- GPU
- Not available3GPU
- Memory
- 8GBmemory, base
- Storage
- 256GBstorage, base
- Display
- 12-inchdisplay
- Battery life
- Up to11 hrsvideo playback, claimed
- Released
- 20 April 20162ReleasedIn Apple Stores; available online from 19 April 2016.
- Security updates
- 16 September 20244Security updates ended
Each figure is from the source marked1 unless it carries its own number.
Specifications
Body
- Dimensions
- 3.5–13.1 x 280.5 x 196.5 mm
- Weight
- 0.92 kg
- Colours
- Rose Gold, Space Gray, Gold, Silver
- Ports
- USB-C port, 3.5 mm headphone jack
- Thunderbolt ports
- No Thunderbolt ports.5
- USB-A ports
- No USB-A ports.5
- HDMI
- No HDMI port.6
- SD card slot
- No SD card slot.6
- Headphone jack
- Yes
- MagSafe
- No MagSafe port.6
- Keyboard
- Full-size keyboard with LED-backlit keys
- Touch ID
- No Touch ID.6
Display
- Display size
- 12 in
- Resolution
- 2304 x 1440
- Pixel density
- 226 ppi
- Display type
- Retina display
Chip and memory
- Chip
- 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core m3
- Apple silicon
- Intel processor, not Apple silicon.5
- CPU cores
- 2
- Graphics
- Intel HD Graphics 515
- Chip options
- 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core m3; 1.2GHz dual-core Intel Core m5; 1.3GHz dual-core Intel Core m7
- Memory (base)
- 8GB
- Memory (maximum)
- 8GB
- Memory options
- 8GB
- Memory upgradeable by user
- No, as Apple documents7
- Storage (base)
- 256GB
- Storage (maximum)
- 512GB
- Storage options
- 256GB or 512GB
Battery and power
Connectivity
- Wi-Fi
- 802.11ac Wi-Fi
- Bluetooth
- 4.0
- Ethernet
- No Ethernet port.6
- External displays (base)
- 1
Camera and audio
- Camera
- 480p FaceTime camera
- Speakers
- Stereo speakers
- Microphones
- Dual microphones
Software support
Previous and next model
Previous model
What changed
- Chip
- 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core M MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015)1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core m3 MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016)
- Battery capacity
- 39.7 Wh MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015)41.4 Wh MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016)
- Video playback (claimed)
- 10 h MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015)11 h MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016)
Next model
What changed
- Chip
- 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core m3 MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016)1.2GHz dual-core Intel Core m3 MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, 2017)
- Video playback (claimed)
- 11 h MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016)12 h MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, 2017)
- When does the MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016) stop getting updates?
- Should I upgrade my MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016)?
- Which Macs run macOS 27?
- Which Macs run macOS Monterey?
- Which Macs run macOS Big Sur?
- Which is the lightest MacBook?
- Which Mac has the longest battery life?
- How many external displays does each Mac support?
- How many charge cycles is each MacBook rated for?
- Can I upgrade the memory or storage in my Mac?
- Ports, displays and chargers for every Mac
Comparisons
Against its own line
Against the rest of the range
- MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016) vs MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
- MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016) vs MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
- MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016) vs iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015)
- MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016) vs iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015)
- MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016) vs iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)
- MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016) vs MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)
Sources
Apple Support (UK) — MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016) - Technical Specifications ·
↩- ↩
Not published by Apple.
↩endoflife.date — Apple macOS ·
↩No Thunderbolt ports. No USB-A ports. Intel processor, not Apple silicon.
↩No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No MagSafe port. No Touch ID. No fast charging. No Ethernet port.
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro: how to remove or install memory ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Determine battery cycle count for Mac laptops ·
↩- ↩
Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook model ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook model ·
↩Feature updates: end date not published by Apple.
↩This is endoflife.date’s cycle end for Monterey, not necessarily the day of Apple’s last patch. The newest macOS Apple lists this Mac for is macOS Monterey. endoflife.date records security updates for Monterey as ended on 16 September 2024.
↩
Not published by Apple
MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016). Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: brightness, refresh rate, wide colour (P3), nano-texture option, GPU cores, storage upgradeable by user. Geekbench 7: the Mac chart has no entry for this Mac, so no figures are shown (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016) - Technical Specifications; Identify your MacBook Pro model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Updates MacBook with Latest Processors, Longer Battery Life & New Rose Gold Finish, read 9 Oct 2026.