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

dantracht said:
Another misjudgment like the 14 plus? Too many options in the lineup?
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Or most people who wanted/needed a computer purchased one already within the last couple years, particularly during Covid work/school from home period, and have no need to buy another one as the difference between an M1 and M2 chip isn't as significant as going from an Intel chip to M1.

Besides, it's summer time and a lot of people are out traveling, not shopping. Just look at TSA checkpoint numbers. On most days they're higher than 2019 (pre-pandemic) numbers.
 
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Analog Kid said:
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?
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My gut instinct agrees with you as to it being a timing issue. Had this come out at the same time as the 13" M2 Air, that's what I'd be typing on right now as opposed to the 13".
 
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I really think the greedy storage and RAM pricing can’t be helping things.

The price seems reasonable until you realise it only comes with 256GB storage and 8GB RAM which just isn’t enough if you plan on keeping the computer for any length of time. And these cost £200 each to upgrade.

Of course Apple know what they’re up to. They intentionally sell an under specced computer to get you to upgrade and whack on a huge premium for those upgrades.

So with an acceptable spec you end up with a computer which is nearing £2k, which is an instant turn off.

Either up the entry level specs or slash the storage prices if sales are struggling Apple.
 
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a m u n said:
That’s because when you configure it to a decent setup, it ends up costing nearly as much as a last-generation 16-inch MacBook Pro.
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emmab2006 said:
doesnt surprise me . 15 just is not portable. Totally ridiculous product. The Air name should be reserved for 10-13 inch devices. Not 15.
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SactoGuy18 said:
People used to laugh and denounce my idea that the 15" MacBook Air should get a better SoC cooling system. the 15" MacBook Air currently suffers from the thermal throttling that affects the 13" M2 MacBook Air, alas.
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My view is that the 15” is, frankly, pointless. You lose all of the portability benefits of the smaller size and get none of the horsepower associated with the pro models.
 
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4odomi said:
The main issue is the base configuration…
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I honestly disagree and I’m a huge critic of Apple in this regard. The base 8gb/256gb is fine for probably most people who want a laptop nowadays in 99% of scenarios.

The issue is upgrade pricing. The M1 Air often goes on sale for $799 or $750, but if you want to upgrade to 16gb RAM and 1tb of storage, the MSRP is literally double the price, when in reality, those parts cost well less than $100 total.
 
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Marbles1 said:
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
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Don't know if I can agree with that. Yes, the 13'' MBP doesn't belong, but otherwise, I think the lineup makes the most sense since a long time ago (ever since the 15 MBP got more and more expensive, leaving a large hole)

You have a small consumer device, and a big consumer device.
You have a small pro device, and a big pro device.
Consumer devices are much cheaper than the pro devices.
The cheap devices are not crippled by cost savings (although SSD space might be pushing that) and perfectly usable for most.
The pro devices aren't crippled to achieve mainstream appeal and can actually handle pro workloads.

So (again, besides the antiquated 13 inch MBP), this lineup makes total sense to me, and I don't know what I would want changed about it (other than prices lower, naturally 😁)
 
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I owe $500-ish for my 2021 16” base MBP. Should be paid off, interest free, just as the new 16”
MBP M3 releases? Hmmmm.
 
Sami13496 said:
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.
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I’m an Air owner, although I have owned Pros in the past. I do care about processor: I want the most efficient processor possible with the longest battery life and least heat. While also having good performance, of course!
 
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Too many options and weird naming conventions on top of being too expensive in todays economical climate

Unpopular opinion but they should get rid of the silly "Air" name

MacBook 13 Inch (previously Air)
MacBook 15 Inch (previously Air)
MacBook Pro 14 Inch
MacBook Pro 16 Inch

by the way, why do they not have the same screen sizes anyway?
 
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I didn't buy because thought it was too heavy when I tried it in the store and the GPU scaling for the res they chose is very intensive. An adjustable notch menu bar height (default height is too tall), few more ports and proper stereo speaker grills might have swayed me. Sticking with M1 Air until 3nm that should be a worthwhile CPU upgrade.
 
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Jws said:
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.
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Is it unlikely though?

So far, the 15” Air had a separate launch and appears to be an attempt at generating some much needed M2 sales while everyone is holding on to splurge on M3 when it drops.

We’ve only seen one iteration of the 15” MBA so far. It’s not a given that it’ll stay in the Mac line-up, or that we’ll see new models every time we get a new 13” MBA.

If M3 Air and 13” MBP drop in late 2023 then I can’t see the 15” MBA gettin M3 on the same date.

15” Air only launched last month. Judging from past product cycles, then there’s no way 15” Air gets M3 until at least 9-12 months have passed since 15” Air launch.
 
contacos said:
Too many options and weird naming conventions on top of being too expensive in todays economical climate

Unpopular opinion but they should get rid of the silly "Air" name

MacBook 13 Inch (previously Air)
MacBook 15 Inch (previously Air)
MacBook Pro 14 Inch
MacBook Pro 16 Inch

by the way, why do they not have the same screen sizes anyway?
Click to expand...

This is a good idea. Then they can relaunch the Air brand when they make one that is actually thin again.
 
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Jws said:
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.
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Of course they will be upgraded at the same time, and of course it will happen in 2024
 
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I think a large part of this is that the MacBook Air in general has done so well the last few years with the M1 initially, and then the redesign/M2 model last year. I feel like a lot of the potential market for the 15 inch have upgraded in the last few years. Suspect most of the sales now are either people new to the Mac or people with old 15 inch MBPs who decide they want the extra portability/don't need the power of the new Pros
 
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