We have learned that Makita will soon be refreshing their 12V Max compact cordless power tool platform with brand new offerings. Not only will there be new tools, but there will be a new battery pack form factor.
Makita’s 12V Max lineup has grown a little long in the tooth, compared to what Bosch and Milwaukee have been bringing to market. Bosch and Milwaukee both have brushless drills and drivers, and Milwaukee has an expansive lineup of compact M12 power tools.
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Makita has been steadily adding to their 12V Max lineup, such as with a recent tile and glass cutting saw, and I just spotted and interesting new 12V Max LED lantern/flashlight combo device. But nothing new has happened with their core drill/impact/fastening tool selection – until now.
Right now only limited information is available, but I’ve been sitting on the story long enough. Here are the juicy tidbits that we know so far:
At first glance I thought that these were simply blue-colored versions of Makita’s current 12V Max combo, but they’re not – they’re completely different tools with a completely different battery form factor.
A product manual that I caught glimpse of listed 3 battery packs: BL1016, BL1021B, and BL1041B.
The BL1041B battery pack weighs more than the other two, indicating it is probably a higher capacity battery pack.
And batteries with B at the end of the model number have a fuel gauge!
This is important enough to emphasize: some Makita 12V Max Li-ion batteries will have a built-in fuel gauge! It’s about time, and could we please see this feature come to Makita’s 18V battery packs too?!
I have seen conflicting specs for the new Makita 12V Max CXT tools, but these are the ones I believe are accurate:
3/8″ Drill/Driver
- 2-speed gearbox 0-450 / 0-1,700 RPM
- Up to 210 in-lbs max torque
- 7-7/16″ long
- Weighs 2.8 lbs
1/4″ Hex Impact Driver
- Variable speed 0-2,600 RPM, 0-2,400 IPM
- Up to 970 in-lbs max torque
- 6-1/8″ long
- Weighs 2.2 lbs (with battery)
The new drill/driver and impact driver are said to have ergonomically designed handles with rubberized soft grips for increased comfort, and also built-in LED worklight. They also feature a 12-volt slide battery design that enables the tools to stand upright for user convenience.
There’s no word as to whether Makita will continue to sell and support both battery pack sizes simultaneously, but we believe they will, at least for the foreseeable future.
ETA: Nov 2015
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First Thoughts
I also saw a $99 price tag tied to this combo, and it seems plausible and unlikely at the same time. The new drill/driver and impact driver discussed here won’t trump competing models, but a lower price point will definitely make them more appealing.
A pro-grade drill and impact combo for $99? Even users absolutely repulsed by the idea of compact 12V Max tools might be swayed into giving the new Makita combo a closer look.
There’s a HUGE category of tools that Makita requested that the CXT branding be applied to – here’s the trademark application so you can see for yourself. Right now it looks like the CXT branding refers to the 12V Max lineup, and that the trademark app simply lists every power tool category that Makita could think of. Scroll saws? Slide compound saws? You’re not going to find these or a lot of the tools powered by 12V battery packs anytime soon.
The idea of a new Makita 12V Max slide pack form factor is very exciting, as it could indicate a roadmap of new tools and innovations, especially if there will be both compact and high capacity battery packs.
Oh, and a battery fuel gauge on select 12V Max CXT battery packs? YES!! And if Makita is building 12V Max batteries with fuel gauges, maybe it’s only a short matter of time before we see fuel gauges on their 18V battery packs.
Please keep in mind that some of these specs are still unconfirmed.
You can probably tell that I’m excited by this news. Are you? What kind of tools would you want to see Makita bring to their new 12V Max power tool platform?
I’d like to see brushless everything and anything – drills, impact drivers, circular saws – the works. Maybe Makita could mirror some of the convenient and unique tools that are currently only available in Milwaukee’s M12 lineup. I think that, given Makita’s presence in the masonry tool market, a compact rotary hammer would be a great idea.
Hang Fire says
Jul 14, 2015 at 1:27 pmIs the new battery form factory compatible with the old tools?
Sorry, but it is hard to get excited about a new fuel gauge. Makita ruled the market, years ago back when they were US made. They have a lot more catch-up to do.
Stuart says
Jul 14, 2015 at 1:36 pmNope, does not look to be.
I cannot imagine any way for the upcoming CXT tools and current 12V Max tools to be compatible. Even if Makita came out with adapters, which I doubt they will, the different form factors would likely give the tools awkward ergonomics.
Makita USA wouldn’t comment about whether the new CXT lineup will replace the 12V Max lineup. My guess is that they’ll eventually discontinue the current lineup in a couple of years once they’ve grown the CXT lineup big enough.
The CXT lineup is getting 2.0Ah and 4.0Ah battery packs, while the current stem-shaped batteries are only 1.3Ah or in some cases 1.5Ah. I think that the 12V Max LED flashlight and lantern posted about today will be among the last new developments we’ll see in the platform.
logan says
Jul 15, 2015 at 12:12 amFunny that your comment is on the COO of a Japan based company.
Only dewalt, that I’ve seen, can write USA on cordless tools. This is well after they shut down most USA production. AFAIK, Makita never closed their American factory (in Georgia) don’t know if there were others. Seems sad that a foreign company was kinder to American workers (by keeping their jobs) than american based ones who were more than happy to close plants here for a larger profit margin.
Buying a makita tool that says China is less offensive to me than a dewalt or milwaukee that says the same, hopefully for obvious reasons.
Makita also runs their own production facilities rather than outsource, even overseas. For what that’s worth. (Per Makita USA rep)
guu says
Jul 15, 2015 at 8:37 amI have seen “Made in the USA” (And Malaysia, China, Russia, Germany…) Bosch power tools being sold this year. I think it was a corded tool though. Might be old stock too, didn’t think to look at the mfg. date.
Nathan says
Jul 14, 2015 at 1:43 pmso I guess I have to say it – how do these compare to the dewalt 12v versions? and interesting that makita chose to move to that type of battery shape for the same reasons dewalt did.
hmm. glad to see new stuff though
Matt says
Jul 14, 2015 at 1:53 pmwas gonna say they look like a teal version of what dewalt did 5 yrs ago. Not sure a battery gauge is innovative enough to tow the line.
At $99 though, if indeed true, I’m sure most of us tool junkies will have to give them a spin
BikerDad says
Jul 14, 2015 at 2:09 pmSo, not brushless? In which case my response is “meh”
logan says
Jul 15, 2015 at 12:18 amIs brushless that big a deal? How often are brushes actually changed on cordless, or even cordless, tools? Metabo shows that brushed motors can be monsters for power, so other than battery life, is there really a reason to pay the premium? I couldn’t tell you how many brushless tools get returned over brushed. (For disclosure, I own brushless, and work for a distributor of red, yellow and green )
Nick says
Jul 15, 2015 at 7:59 amI think battery life is king in cordless, this stuff is plenty powerful but when using battery power I want/need it to last as long as possible.
Chris says
Jul 16, 2015 at 6:17 amBrushless is for the most part is one for run time but the top thing for many is the cool factor, want to own the newest, lot of tool guys… Most of the population still buy brushed…
John says
Jul 14, 2015 at 2:54 pmSome may regard this as nitpicking, but I wish battery gauges would include a <10% indicator. Why stop at "0-25%"? There's 'symmetry' there, sure, with the other levels, but it really isn't very useful.
Stuart says
Jul 14, 2015 at 7:38 pmWhile I agree with you from a practical sense, bringing the battery down to 10% or less might not be the best for the battery’s longevity. Maybe some brands tweak the voltage cutoff to help prevent this. If not, maybe they should?
firefly says
Jul 15, 2015 at 12:03 amI personally think 25% make better sense. If a battery show one bar it better get charged soon while still have some juice left. That’s the way I look at it. Were there a particular reason why you care for a smaller reporting scale?
John says
Jul 15, 2015 at 12:44 amWell, imagine if your car’s gas gauge wasn’t very precise: once you dropped to 1/4 tank you were never given any further information about how much gas you had left.
For a cordless tool, I want to know when I *really* need to think about swapping out for a fresh battery. I don’t start looking for a gas station at 1/4 tank, so that’s my analogy.
To Stuart’s point, I was unaware that battery performance/longevity could be negatively affected by nearly draining a battery with each use. I thought the latest battery technology was indifferent to how much charge remained when a battery was recharged. I guess I need to double-check my owner’s manual (DeWalt).
Stuart says
Jul 15, 2015 at 1:03 amI’m not saying that’s the case here, but it’s true with some Li-ion and LiPo batteries.
Your instinct is correct – if this is something to be very mindful of, it’ll say it in the owner’s manual.
Most often, there’s a low voltage cutoff so this shouldn’t be a legitimate concern.
firefly says
Jul 15, 2015 at 10:48 pmI guess we have different usage pattern. I never have to think that hard about when to swap out for a new set of battery. I like to have a fresh one available and swap to it when the first one run out of juice and put the first one into the charger. The gauge is nice at the end of the day so I know whether I need to throw my battery in the charger.
This is because I don’t have to worry about my battery run out of juice midway. On the other hand having your car run out of gas in the middle of the road is a hugely inconvenience if not potentially dangerous so I do pay more attention to the gas tank 🙂
Really though, I don’t think having only four bars for the gas tank is even that bad. At the very least it will get people to fill up the gas earlier and less likely to strand themselves. Certainly knowing exactly when the car will be out of gas can help us decide to wait and find a cheaper gas station but I have also seen people pushing their luck and end up stranded on the road. More information is only good when people use them intelligently which isn’t always the case.
Back to the number game, I think what we really want is neither 10 or 25 but rather when are we on the last leg of juice and it need to be charge soon. Because for a really large battery even 10% can be too much. Or if the battery is really small 25% can be too little. I guess manufactures can make it more user friendly by setting the last bar as an indicator that the battery need to be charge soon depend on the battery capacity.
pete says
Jul 14, 2015 at 7:01 pmHum…. I like it. While I switched from Makita to Milwaukee a while ago I know I won’t switch but these do look nice.
Which leaves me to thinking about the 10% battery gauge comment… If there was a temporary cut off on the tool when It reached 10% or whatever the good threashold was on battery level drainage to stop to keep the battery life prolonged. So when the tools hits 10% it cuts power and beeps twice or something then if you power back on the trigger it will keep drilling till 0%. Just something I was thinking of to prolong battery life. while most tool manuf. don’t care because they couldn’t sell more batteries the consumers could probably benefit from it.
Richard G. says
Jul 14, 2015 at 8:05 pmAs of now, I think that DeWalt has the best 12v power tools. I am not talking about amount of different tools, Milwauke is a leader in that, but an eye appealing and ergonomics is just the superior to anything else which is on the market now, and I doubdt that Makita will do something better than a big red or yellow teams. B.t.w. Stuart, off topic if you don’t mind, do you have any hints from Dewalt, if they are working on a 18v jobsite fan?
Stuart says
Jul 14, 2015 at 8:29 pmDewalt hasn’t indicated anything about an 18V jobsite fan, but I wouldn’t consider it impossible.
Dewalt is very careful about perception and won’t come out with tools that might not be construed as professional. For example, you probably won’t see a Dewalt inflator, as such tools are generally marketed towards DIYers and consumer applications.
I like Dewalt’s 12V Max tools, but they haven’t kept up with the times and they don’t seem to be rushing to keep up with Milwaukee. Is this a bad thing, or a good thing? I can’t really say one way or the other.
Oscar says
Jul 15, 2015 at 4:23 amAre the tools in the picture the new 12v???
Those the drill have a hammer mode?
Oscar says
Jul 15, 2015 at 8:27 amDoes****
Stuart says
Jul 15, 2015 at 9:28 amYes, and yes. Likely hammer + rotary mode, as on other hammer drills. Hammer only? Doubtful.
sp says
Jul 15, 2015 at 9:01 amI don’t see any worklight on these tools.
Are they equiped with this?
May by that’s the reason for releasing that 10.8 / 12V LED lantern / flashlight a few days ago… … (?)
Stuart says
Jul 15, 2015 at 9:30 amIt’s not clear, but Makita USA said more details would be available when the tools are closer to launch. If there are LEDs, they’re going to be small and at the front of the tools.
sp says
Jul 15, 2015 at 12:01 pmThanks.
And what about that shocking blue color ?
What does it indicate ?
Pablo says
Jul 15, 2015 at 10:16 pmWell, in the past, white has been entry level and blue has been “pro” level. I don’t believe that the blue 10.8/12v tools were previously available (at least in this US), everything I’ve ever seen was white.
That said, these tools seem rather large for a 12v class.
sp says
Jul 16, 2015 at 1:35 pmAs much as i know the white tools are / where idetical to the teal ones.
The only difference is that the white ones come / came in package containing low cpacity 12v / 18v batteries.
Sean says
Jul 17, 2015 at 11:38 amI don’t see how a new battery form factor is good news for people who already bought into the old system. I’m glad I wasn’t one of them. Luckily I only have 12V Milwaukee and 18V Makita (and 18V Ridgid).
I guess now is a better time than later for Makita to make this change. The old Makita 12V line is kind of lacking. Unlike the M12 line, there are only a handful of tools Makita 12V users could have bought that they’d need to replace once the old 12V batteries are no longer supported.
Maybe this will give Makita a new opportunity to market their 12V line and create the same variety of tools they have in their 18V lineup. Regardless, switching battery platforms is typically an unnecessary and annoying move. It’s kind of like when you think about marrying the girl who ran off another guy a couple times and came right back during that first year you date: you start thinking “she will *probably* do this again a year or two after we’re married….”
Dominic van Lievenoogen says
Jul 17, 2015 at 12:21 pmYou would be surprised asto why a change in platform is required.
All modern 18v/20v max tools feature an electronics package that provide overload/over heating and over discharge protection to both the tool and battery.
The reason that dewalt changed from their old stem packs to the new slide packs—> adding those electronics.
Milwaukee change from old v18 to the m18 platform? To add those electronics.
Makita 4.0 and 5.0 amp batteries only fit on tools with the ‘ star ‘ protection? Because of needed electronics.
Its these electronics that protect our current high amperage draw tools and protects oir battery.
If you want too launch and support a decent battery platform with decent and strong tools the electronics package is needed. Plain as simple.
The old stem pack style Makita 12v batteries and tools do not feature these protection circuits so…
The change to a new platform ( even making the old type obsolete ) is very much neccesary unfortunately
jim says
Sep 7, 2015 at 4:32 pmwill you be able to charge new 12v slide packs on 18v charger? like on dewalt 12v and 20v.
moneyintebank says
Nov 26, 2015 at 6:23 pma 12-volt slide battery design is the best. Makita did it right
Jmryd says
Dec 5, 2015 at 7:37 pmJust picked up this combo pack today for $99 bucks. The 12v line of products are very popular in the automotive repair feild for light weight, repetitive work such as removing small 8 & 10am bolts. (Covers, brackets, etc). The combo pack does not include the battery life indicator batteries though. The ergonomics are far better than the old 12v line, or even Milwaukie m12. The handle is much narrower, light weight, easy to hold. I’m a happy camper.
Cesar says
Jan 12, 2016 at 10:38 pmI got the combo today They are awesome, I wish they come up with multi tool 12 bolt And 3 amps batteries
Cashew says
Mar 30, 2017 at 7:19 amIt sucks that you can’t figure out how much life left in the battery.why would Makita make a driver that doesn’t tell you how much life battery has other then that this combo is great I bought it for 70 dollars at home depot’s and I won’t even use the drill