15-Inch MacBook Air Demand Reportedly 'Weaker Than Expected' So Far

[smithrh]

I can't read the orginal article but the wording in the MR post that "suppliers have requested a reduction" doesn't make sense.

Is it "suppliers have been requested to reduce?"

Apple is the only party making decisions on how much to produce. Suppliers will make whatever they're contracted for.

 

[k1121j]

If Apple would get with the program and stop starting with a base model 8GB/256GB things might change. It’s almost 2024 that’s just crazy small amounts of memory and storage for MOST people. Greed on those upgrades clearly the reason. Not buying anything till that changes and if my 2016 MBP with 16/512 dies before then I may just “think differently”.

 

[adrianlondon]

I was initially tempted to upgrade my 2020 Intel 13" MBA, but decided not to for three reasons. In order:

1. Surprisingly, despite all the hate, my Intel i5 (with fan) performs perfectly well, even when coding and doing basic ML
2. I run my 13" at 1680x1050 so wouldn't get much more useful space when going to the 15"
3. The cost, as it's not cheap (and I wouldn't get much selling my current MBA)

So ... maybe next year.

 

[jz0309]

Digitizes? so take this with a very big grain of salt ...

 

[TallManNY]

With rumors of the M3 forthcoming to the Air, I assume most people are choosing to wait since it’s unlikely Apple will only update the 13” model with the newest processor.

No. The high level laptop market is still fighting the existence of a bunch of nice laptops bought in 2020 and 2021 for work from home plus the massive downsizing of tech companies here in 2022 and 2023 (many of which were using Apple products and now have 1,000 of extra Mac set ups with no employees to use the stuff). Someone made a projection that didn't take these factors into account and now they are wrong. That is all to see here.

But yes there is only modest performance increases between M1 and M2. It doesn't really matter though. If you have an M1 machine right now, then you bought it in November 2020 at the earliest. So the oldest M1 machine out there is not yet three years old. There should be no expectation that those owners are buying a replacement in 2023.

 

[emmab2006]

doesnt surprise me . 15 just is not portable. Totally ridiculous product. The Air name should be reserved for 10-13 inch devices. Not 15.

 

[Analog Kid]

I find this strange. That looks like an amazing machine. I wonder how much of this is because of the unexpected release timing-- people either have the machine they needed from the last M2 update cycle or are waiting for the next M3.

Is tracking release dates just a MacRumors thing, or do normies do it to?

 

[Orange Bat]

I've been deploying these where I work, and I bought one after looking at a 13" and a 15" side by side at a Costco of all places. All this talk about it not being an M3 or supporting more than 1 external display is only of interest to tech enthusiasts. It papered over a large hole in the line up and it's an easy laptop to recommend.

Exactly. The low-end Apple Silicon M processors are more than capable for a majority of people buying a Mac, and the M2 is a great processor. I also think a majority of people who are tech enthusiasts are looking for a machine to be an “all-in-one” laptop/desktop combination while Johnny Lunchpail and Sally Housecoat just want a simple laptop.

 

[senttoschool]

It can't power 2 external displays if it could it would have been instabuy for me.
Additionally, the m3 chip is incoming.

The number of people who need 2 external monitors on a thin and light laptop is in the low single digits in percentage.

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

Give us that M3 chip and demand will go up.

This!

Apple easily could have and should have launched the current 15” M2 Air alongside the 13” version back in June 2022 and then no new MBAs until M3 (2023-2024?).

I would have definitely upgraded to an M3 15” Air from my M1 Air.

However, considering this product cycle, I have a slight suspicion that Apple might only do M3 for the 13” Air in 2023-2024, and that 15” M3 Air has to wait until late 2025.

Genuinely terrible decision by Apple if that’s how it plays out and we have to pick between M2 15” or M3 13”.

 

[mrat93]

Here’s my unsolicited prediction for the fall:

The M1 Air now often goes on sale for $750 — I think Apple will lower the price to $799. $999 for the company’s cheapest laptop is still a lot.

M2 13” Air will be replaced by the M3 and start at $999.

M2 15” drops to $1,199 and is upgraded to M3 next year.

And storage/RAM upgrades will be half the cost they are now. Still overpriced, but better than before.

 

[t0rqx]

Should have used the M3. Yeah postpone it another year, but don't come crying that sales are slumping. Do not even consider anything like resurrection of an 11" or 12" Macbook. Stop wasting resources and bring back the ****** magic!

 

[Sami13496]

I don’t know about sales figures but I’ve been waiting for bigger Air for years. I need bigger display but don’t need Pro performance, ports or any of that Pro stuff. I am little disappointed with price though. In my country 15 inch Air starts from 1600€. With upgrade to 16 Gb RAM its 1800€. Not because it’s close to Pro price territory. I don’t need Pro. But because it’s pricy for what it is.

 

[cocky jeremy]

Instead of Pro and Air and all of this, just make one laptop model, have options for screen size, hard drive, CPU, etc.

 

[azentropy]

My take is the M2 and still sticking to a base of 8/256 with the step up "standard" configuration is still 8/512 is hurting sales.

 

[reallynotnick]

The lineup is a bit of a mess at the moment.

13 Macbook pro (with Touch Bar)
13 MacBook air
14 MacBook pro
15 MacBook Air
16 MacBook pro

I'd say the only thing a mess is the 13" Pro, otherwise the lineup is pretty straight forward its just do you want a standard or high end machine and do you want a larger display for that machine?

It doesn't make sense to list them by screen size as the primary choice is power.

 

[Sami13496]

Should have used the M3. Yeah postpone it another year, but don't come crying that sales are slumping.

I’m not sure M2 is the reason. People who buy Airs don’t care about processor (that much). Air buyer segment is not typical MR user I say the problem is price and people just bought new 13 inch.

 

[Black0ut21]

I think my only delay on it is m3 coming soon and I want 2 monitors with out a dock

 

[johnnytravels]

Aficionados are waiting for the M3, regular customers wonder why it’s equipped like their current five year old machine in terms of SSD and Ram and why, when adjusting the specs, the price approaches current Pro prices. It just seems like a bad deal for many I think.

 

[Tomboman]

Well, a lot of people were holding of until it will have a M3 - If you don't really need it right away, they don't buy one with an 1 year old chip now if they could wait a few more months. If I wouldn't have needed to replace my Macbook Pro 2016, I would have waited for the M3

And of course, if you max it out, it is almost a MacBook Pro with a M2 Pro chip... But maybe that price police is exactly what Apple wants, drive more people to the MacBook Pro

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

PC sales in general are just slow due to inflation and the recession. On the bright side, Mac is still outperforming the competition even with lower sales across the board.

 

[adrianlondon]

I find this strange. That looks like an amazing machine. I wonder how much of this is because of the unexpected release timing-- people either have the machine they needed from the last M2 update cycle or are waiting for the next M3.

Is tracking release dates just a MacRumors thing, or do normies do it to?

I would assume "normies" don't care what CPU is inside so long as it's not outdated (it isn't - the M2 is the latest chip available in the Air) and performs well for what they (think they) need.

Homer Simpson talked into buying an M3 Pro ....

 

[Orange Bat]

I was initially tempted to upgrade my 2020 Intel 13" MBA, but decided not to for three reasons. In order:

1. Surprisingly, despite all the hate, my Intel i5 (with fan) performs perfectly well, even when coding and doing basic ML
2. I run my 13" at 1680x1050 so wouldn't get much more useful space when going to the 15"
3. The cost, as it's not cheap (and I wouldn't get much selling my current MBA)

So ... maybe next year.

Honestly I think people get too hung up on processors in 2023. Even Apple’s lowest end processor is more than capable for 99% of the things a majority of users want to do on their machines. My 15 inch M2 Air is a terrific machine that does everything I want with room to spare, and all without a fan, which is pretty incredible. If your 2020 Intel machine is working for you there’s no good reason to upgrade, and that’s being a smart consumer.

 

[SW3029]

Needs that M3 chip and USB-C port on the other side baby

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

I’m still curious why Apple is staggering the Air models. All the Pro models get updated at the same time but now we have an issue where the 13 and 15” MBA are far enough apart they might actually be on different gen chips at some point…weird.