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MacBook Pro 13" (Mid 2012)

A1278 · MacBookPro9,2 · 2012–2016 · laptop

13-inch unibody MacBook Pro A1278 open on a white background — © Raimond Spekking / CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Specifications

Cpu: Intel Core i5-3210M 2.5 GHz / Core i7-3520M 2.9 GHz
Ram: max: 16 GB DDR3L-1600 (2×8 GB; Apple claimed 8 GB) · base: 4 GB
Ports: MagSafe · USB 3.0 ×2 · FireWire 800 · Thunderbolt · SDXC card slot · Gigabit Ethernet · Audio in/out
Battery: 63.5 Wh sealed
Display: 13.3" 1280×800 LED-backlit
Storage: base: 500 GB HDD · options: 750 GB HDD · 128 GB SSD · 256 GB SSD · 512 GB SSD
Weight: 2.06 kg
Os Support: latest: macOS 10.15 Catalina · shipped: OS X 10.7 Lion
Release Price: $1,199

Upgrade paths

RAM

16 GB DDR3L-1600 (2×8 GB) · Two SO-DIMM slots under the bottom panel. Apple's official max is 8 GB, 16 GB works flawlessly and is the whole point of this machine.

~$35

EASY

storage

2.5" SATA III SSD · The last MacBook Pro with a standard 2.5" drive bay. Ten screws, one bracket.

~$40

EASY

storage

2nd 2.5" SATA drive via optical-bay caddy · Replace the SuperDrive with a data-doubler caddy for SSD + HDD.

~$15

MODERATE

battery

63.5 Wh replacement pack (A1322) · Screwed in with tri-wing screws, not glued. Sold until October 2016, making it the last user-serviceable MacBook Pro.

MODERATE