The MacBook has just died — and it went quietly.
Apple on Tuesday revealed surprise updates for its MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops — and meanwhile discontinued its 12-inch MacBook, the only remaining standard version of the company’s iconic laptop.
The 12-inch MacBook, which was introduced in 2015 to replace a 13-inch version and which has not seen an update in two years, is no longer listed on the Apple Store Web site.
The low-key announcement came in the form of a press release shared on the company blog — a strategy that Apple has embraced recently to announce incremental upgrades.
Apple’s MacBooks — a core product for the company a decade ago — in recent years have taken a back seat as the iPhone has come to account for nearly two-thirds of the company’s revenue.
“It’s weird the way they’ve been updating some of this hardware stuff lately,” CFRA Research analyst Angelo Zino told The Post. “You’ve been seeing these announcements and they’re not taking place at events.”
Back in March, Apple announced its refreshed AirPods, iMacs and iPads in three consecutive days of press releases.
In previous years, these announcements might normally have been reserved for the stage at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.
The new MacBook Air, which will now come with Apple’s TrueTone screen technology, also will have its price lowered to $1,099 from $1,199, and will be offered to students for $999.
The upgraded MacBook Pro, meanwhile, has a beefed-up processor and upgraded graphics performance, but keeps its $1,299 price tag. Students will be able to buy it for $999.
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Author: Nicolas Vega
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