Anyone wish there was a thin and light macbook with an amazing screen?

[FrozenDarkness]

The macbook is the only form factor where there isn’t a thin and light version with an amazing screen.

iPad => iPad Pro
iPhone => iPhone air
Apple watch => any of them considering they all have similar screens

I think Apple should make the base macbook pro a top end macbook air instead with the 120hz screen. that would probably sell more than the current base macbook pro. What do you all think?

 

[FreakinEurekan]

MacBook Pro is already pretty thin & light ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ so I personally wouldn’t be willing to pay more just to get thinner & lighter.

Maybe it’d sell, but I doubt it.

 

[JaredJenkinsDesign]

The rumored "MacBook Ultra" that is supposed to come out in late 2026 is essentially what you're wishing for as it will be thinner than the current MacBook Pro but with a tandem OLED display.

 

[Saturn1217]

Yes absolutely. I'm seriously considering an 11" iPadPro + Magic Keyboard to supplement my 13" Macbook Air just to get a "laptop" like device that I can use on the go with a good screen. I really just need a brighter screen because when I'm working from a coffee shop or wherever the Macbook Air screen isn't always bright enough. The only thing holding me back from switching to an iPad Pro + Magic Keyboard is iPad OS.

 

[Zapdoc]

Yes absolutely. I'm seriously considering an 11" iPadPro + Magic Keyboard to supplement my 13" Macbook Air just to get a "laptop" like device that I can use on the go with a good screen. I really just need a brighter screen because when I'm working from a coffee shop or wherever the Macbook Air screen isn't always bright enough. The only thing holding me back from switching to an iPad Pro + Magic Keyboard is iPad OS.

Fine in theory but check out how the typing experiences on the Magic Keyboard - I did same and find the keyboard hard to comfortably type on - maybe just me but do check it out before you buy

 

[JPack]

Sounds like you’re just asking for MBA to have a 120Hz display? Because there are obvious reasons why it isn’t thinner.

 

[snipr125]

Yes absolutely. I'm seriously considering an 11" iPadPro + Magic Keyboard to supplement my 13" Macbook Air just to get a "laptop" like device that I can use on the go with a good screen. I really just need a brighter screen because when I'm working from a coffee shop or wherever the Macbook Air screen isn't always bright enough. The only thing holding me back from switching to an iPad Pro + Magic Keyboard is iPad OS.

Yep this is basically what OP is describing, the iPP M4 + MKB. If you want even thinner then get 13” version. Both have the best display on the market. Ipad OS is very close to Mac OS now, it’s honestly great and you get iOS optimised apps etc and of course the whole thing is modular.

 

[maflynn]

he macbook is the only form factor where there isn’t a thin and light version with an amazing screen.

What's wrong with the MBA screen?

 

[Howard2k]

No matter how thing and light it is, someone would wish it was thinner and lighter.

 

[Saturn1217]

Fine in theory but check out how the typing experiences on the Magic Keyboard - I did same and find the keyboard hard to comfortably type on - maybe just me but do check it out before you buy

Thank you for this. The typing experience is very important to me so if it is noticeably worse than the MacBook Air that might not work. 😞

 

[mike.coulter]

Has there been a "bad" Apple screen since the introduction of retina displays?

 

[FrozenDarkness]

What's wrong with the MBA screen?

Sounds like you’re just asking for MBA to have a 120Hz display? Because there are obvious reasons why it isn’t thinner.

So i think a 120hz display will be nice. i also really like how bright the macbook pro gets.

I think my point really is that good screen / thin and light are how you experience and interact with the device. And in every product line, there is an option for the best "experience" except for the laptops where it's split between macbook air and pro.

I'm a very experiential person and i bought an ipad pro because i like thin and light and a great screen. i have no use for the power. I would buy an iphone air once they introduce a wide angle as that is something I can't live without, but i am glad the product exists.

 

[SevenTheGamingKitty]

If a laptop is thin and light, I immediately assume it's a potato instead of a powerhouse.
I like my laptops to have weight.

 

[AbeLincoln1984]

The macbook is the only form factor where there isn’t a thin and light version with an amazing screen.

iPad => iPad Pro
iPhone => iPhone air
Apple watch => any of them considering they all have similar screens

I think Apple should make the base macbook pro a top end macbook air instead with the 120hz screen. that would probably sell more than the current base macbook pro. What do you all think?

They are all. Thin. And light. With amazing screens.

 

[AbeLincoln1984]

Thank you for this. The typing experience is very important to me so if it is noticeably worse than the MacBook Air that might not work. 😞

Go find an alternative keyboard and have fun!

The magic thing does look very sexy but it also looks like possible hell to type on.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

I think you may get your wish in 2028 when the MacBook Air receives an OLED display…

I completely and totally understand what you are referring too OP.
Not sure if you have seen Snazzy Labs’ latest video, but he covers this exact problem.

Now that the Neo exists, the MacBook Air can’t help but feel redundant. At the same time, now that it doesn’t necessarily have to reach that $999 price and act as the entry model to the Mac line, Apple has a lot more room to experiment with it.

They are all. Thin. And light. With amazing screens.

Yes, but unlike the iPhone and iPad models that the original post mentions, not impressively so, and quite stagnant.
The 13 inch MacBook Air from 2010, 16 years ago, was 2.8 Lb.
The MacBook Air, and MacBook Neo for that matter, from 2026, 16 years later, are… 2.7 Lb.
16 years and an entire 0.1 Lb lighter.
Meanwhile, you compare this to the iPad Pro, which is 5.1 MM and on the 11 inch model is less than a pound, compared to the original iPad, which was only 9.7 inches, 13.4 MM thick and 1.6 Lb and you should pretty quickly be able to see the problem.
Or even compared to the 2015 MacBook, which, as snazzy points out in his video, is likely still the thinnest and lightest premium laptop ever to be released even 11 years later.
And given that all of its compromises have been proven to be possible to avoid within those 11 years, the fact that Apple hasn’t even tried a revival of this machine yet is quite disappointing.
The super thin iPad magic keyboard, which uses the exact same scissor switches as all modern MacBooks, proves that the butterfly keyboard isn’t necessary for a computer that thin. And the M5 iPad Pro proves that the heating issues of yesterday‘s Intel chips can be avoided quite easily.
So yes, op has a point, there is a radically thin ultra premium, but not necessarily professional targeted MacBook hole in the line-up.

Thank you for this. The typing experience is very important to me so if it is noticeably worse than the MacBook Air that might not work. 😞

I have both an M4 MacBook Pro and an M4 iPad Pro with magic keyboard, the typing experience between the two feels absolutely identical to me.
They use the exact same keyboard mechanism, so I don’t think you should worry.

The magic thing does look very sexy but it also looks like possible hell to type on.

Magic “thing” owner here, absolutely no problems typing on it, no hell to be found. It is the identical keyboard mechanism to all of the latest MacBooks.

 

[AbeLincoln1984]

Magic “thing” owner here, absolutely no problems typing on it, no hell to be found. It is the identical keyboard mechanism to all of the latest MacBooks.

Thanks for all the details.

What I was trying to say earlier was that there definitely is a point of diminishing returns with size and weight; I wonder how many people would carry a slightly heavier phone if it had a screen that never cracked.

I'm suggesting that off all the strategies that apple could prioritize, making things obviously lighter and thinner is already covered. Devices will continue to get unbelievably thinner and lighter with no foreseeable stopping.

OP's complaint is that they're not getting thinner and lighter as fast as humanly possible, which I find highly amusing.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Thanks for all the details.

What I was trying to say earlier was that there definitely is a point of diminishing returns with size and weight; I wonder how many people would carry a slightly heavier phone if it had a screen that never cracked.

I'm suggesting that off all the strategies that apple could prioritize, making things obviously lighter and thinner is already covered. Devices will continue to get unbelievably thinner and lighter with no foreseeable stopping.

OP's complaint is that they're not getting thinner and lighter as fast as humanly possible, which I find highly amusing.

I guess I don’t really agree, at all.
I think there was absolutely a point in the early to mid 2010s where the pursuit of “thin and light” started to take priority over actual function, and that very much is a problem.
However, in my personal opinion, and clearly in the opinion of several others on this forum, over the last several years, not only has the pendulum swung in the opposite direction, but to an almost unfortunate level.
For example, you say…

I wonder how many people would carry a slightly heavier phone if it had a screen that never cracked.

But this simply seems to be ignoring the fact that the current lineup of iPhones are some of the thickest and heaviest in the products history.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max is 233 G and 8.75 MM thick.
For perspective, 12 years ago, the biggest iPhone was a similar size in terms of form factor (the 6+) but only 171 G and 7.1 MM thick. Not just thinner and lighter, but significantly so. And rumor is this year that the 18 Pro Max is going to get *even thicker* and *heavier*, very likely becoming the heaviest iPhone in the history of the product, beating the title previously held by the 14 Pro Max.
Likewise, this could be seen in several other Apple product blinds as well, despite the fact that with their recent silicon and new display tech, devices can easily be made thinner and lighter without any of the compromises that were around last decade.
2016 MacBook Pro 13: 3.0 Lb.
2025 MacBook Pro 14: 3.5 Lb.
2015 MacBook: 2.0 Lb.
2026 MacBook Air: 2.7 Lb.

It’s just frustrating that we are almost in the 2030s, OLED tech is extremely thin and power efficient (look at the iPad Pro), Apple silicon is so good that it doesn’t need a fan and still can last forever on battery life, the butterfly keyboard isn’t necessary, USB-C ports are widely available and extremely small and powerful… and yet the MacBook Air is almost exactly as thin and light as it was 16 years ago with a Intel Core 2 Duo chip inside and massive aluminum bezels. The iPad Air is heavier than it was in 2013 when it was first introduced. The MacBook Pro, at least the most basic model, is half a pound heavier been significantly thicker than it was nine years ago. The iPhone just continues to get thicker and thicker and heavier and heavier as the years go on, eventually the modern iPhone is going to be thicker than the iPhone 4, it’s already almost there.

Obviously, this all seems temporary and hopefully they will get their product lines in order, but it is quite disappointing when it’s pretty clear they could easily make a MacBook Air that truly lives up to its name, a 2.0-2.5 Lb machine with an edge to edge OLED screen, and an edge to edge, keyboard and an M5 inside with no fans and just a focus on being insanely thin and insanely cool. An iPad Air that is thinner than the iPad Pro because it doesn’t have to worry about having things like Face ID and quad speakers. An iPhone Air that doesn’t sacrifice camera quality and speaker quality over the standard, Samsung has already proven this is possible with the “Galaxy S25 Edge”.

 

[AbeLincoln1984]

It'd be better if everybody's phones got so heavy that they couldn't lift them.

 

[FrozenDarkness]

is it really hard to accept that people might be looking for a thin and light machine that can do everything they want? it's literally apple's ethos for decades.

 

[AbeLincoln1984]

is it really hard to accept that people might be looking for a thin and light machine that can do everything they want? it's literally apple's ethos for decades.

Yeah man I get what you guys want, and thanks for saying it with a little bit of intelligence, but...

They're all thin and light. They will get thinner and lighter. Thinner and lighter is the "death and taxes" of technology. It might as well be a law of the universe.

You want to optimize something that's already optimized. To me it's like saying, "Anyone wish there was an aluminum macbook with an amazing screen?"

Well yes but we already have those.

We don't have a mouse that can be used while charging. We don't have a 24" affordable display. We don't have a mac pro. We don't have the ability to use imacs as external displays.

I'm saying you guys need to eat some damn meat, and apple needs to wipe up some rather embarrassing and unserious offerings.

 

[lewchenko]

I agree with the OP. Other than the ipad line up, Apple's products are getting thicker and heavier. I think the current air design, introduced with the M2 model? gained some weight unworthy of the Air branding. My 16" MBP (whilst a great machine) stays at home mostly as its just not portable.

M5 15" Air is probably the limit weight wise that I'd want to lug around, but I'd pay a bit extra for a promotion screen on it.

Iphone Pro range is becoming unbearable weight and thickness wise. If I were buying today the 17 regular is the limit due to the weight alone.

 

[capamac]

No matter how thing and light it is, someone would wish it was thinner and lighter.

I want my Macbook so thin and light that if I pick it up at the corner and lift a bit faster than normal, the entire MacBook cracks in half.

 

[teh_hunterer]

Yeah the MacBook Air with tandem OLED display would be the best laptop ever.

Every other tradeoff makes sense just because of the form factor:

- speakers are worse because there's no room for them
- performance is worse because there's no space for a fan
- less ports because there's less room for them

But the screen is worse just because Apple.

 

[boswald]

Yeah the MacBook Air with tandem OLED display would be the best laptop ever.

Every other tradeoff makes sense just because of the form factor:

- speakers are worse because there's no room for them
- performance is worse because there's no space for a fan
- less ports because there's less room for them

But the screen is worse just because Apple.

I think engineering could make room for extra ports on the other side. At least another Thunderbolt. Performance... that's a toss up because not everyone does heavy video editing, coding, AI LLMs, or whatever they call it these days. For example, I have an Air (which, ironically, doesn't cool with air) and it's just fine for what I need. Performance is excellent in day-to-day usage.