Can 12" Macbook handle Microsoft Office work?

Sara,

You can compare these two models on the Apple webpage : https://www.apple.com/mac/compare/results/?product1=macbook&product2=macbook-pro -13

1. The price : the new MB is 200USD more than the MBP. +1 for MBP
2. General size : half the weigh and a huge difference of thickness… +1 for MB
3. Speed : the SSD and the 8gigs or RAM will provide a much more faster usage. +1 for MB
4. Display : The new MB is fitted with a retina display. +1 for MB
5. Battery : 9hrs/7hrs. +1 for MB
6. Connectors : as you might be aware, the new MB is fitted with the USB-C technology, and nothing else. That means you won't be able to charge your mac and plug a USB stick, nor a headphone, nor an external display at the same time without using a HUB (79USD, not included in the box). -1 for MB
7. Storage : half the storage on the MB, but it's normal as it's using SSD technology instead of regular HDD. I would say that it's 1pt each but as you can't extend the storage on the MB without plugging an adapter, +1 for MBP

That means 2 points for the regular MBP and 3 for the new MB.

In my opinion you should go for the MBP 13" with retina display, which is a good combinaison of these two : retina display, SSD, long battery life, basic connections provided (HDMI, USB, headphones, thunderbolt). But if was you I would take the 256gb storage version (if affordable), because 128gb is really poor.

Regards

All these applications might seem powerful but are actually light and easy to run, comparing to Final Cut or Adobe Creative Suite softwares.

The new Macbook is equipped with SSD and you'll definitely get better performances than on your old Macbook.

The question between a MBP and a regular MB is another problem and should definitely not influence your choice for such usage.

You should definitely not need more than the 2.7GHz processor for your usage !

I'm working with the 15" rMBP that has a processor of 2.3GHz for three years now. I'm playing games, using MS office, photoshop, logic pro X, final cut… And never had any issue of performance.

I used the new MacBook for a couple of days in the same fashion as you would use it - basic MS Office stuff, email, calendar, etc. It handled that stuff with no problem. It's when you start doing the heavier stuff, like music or video editing, where it becomes a problem. The MacBook is not built for that, which is what most people don't realize. It's a portable machine built for basic tasks - a step above a tablet. I returned it and went back to the 13" MBP Retina because I didn't like using dongles to plug in things like my external hard drive or thumb drives. For the money, I'd go with a 13" MBP Retina.