The 13-inch polycarbonate MacBook represents Apple’s mainstream notebook formula at its most recognizable in the late 2000s: simple, durable, and aimed at students and everyday users rather than the more premium Pro market. It also matters as the last major chapter of Apple’s long white-plastic consumer laptop lineage, making it feel like the endpoint of a design tradition that began with the iBook before Apple fully shifted its notebook identity toward aluminum unibody machines.

• EveryMac