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it's not the thickness or size that matters, it's the weight

do not make it thinner, make it lighter
 
The 12" current Macbook can take a price cut if you introduce an entry storage SKU with 128Gb SSD. For very little engineering work you can get rid of the MacBook Air by starting the MacBook a little lower and perhaps consider a price cut to the non touch bar pro for the people who need Thunderbolt in some form.

There's also no real reason to have just one USB-C port on the MacBook. It should have 2 by now, or at least make the single USB-C port a full Thunderbolt one. Having one port on an expensive machine is silly in this age, increasing it to two will make it more useful for the people looking for a cheap Mac.

I don't rate this story at all, by the way. As @fokmik says - why have a 13" MacBook when there's a 12" one. It makes the range extremely cluttered.

There's also a consideration mentioned elsewhere in these forums that engineering resources could be diverted to the modular Mac Pro right so why would Apple split their time?

Ultimately, at some point in the next 18 months the logical line-up should be as simple as:

12" Macbook (with 2 USB-C ports)
14" Macbook (2/4 Core with Iris Graphics; 2-4 TB3 ports - choose 28w version with touchbar or 15w version without)
16" Macbook (4/6 Core with AMD Vega; 4 TB3 ports)

Note that the new 14 and 16" versions are Apple's secret fix for the keyboard and battery life problems in the 2016/17 model. Introduce a bigger shinier higher resolution retina screen while fixing both of those criticisms. You can't then compare apples with apples (ahem).

The point you hit on that is probably the most important is the fact that the current range is very cluttered at this point. Your arguments are cogent and the range simplifies down nicely with how you have it arranged above. If I may throw a wrinkle into the mix, I could actually see it happening like this -

- 12" Macbook (2/4-Core with 1 Thunderbolt 3 port, but dual-core Y-Series CPUs containing an integrated TB3 controller...Coffee Lake, Cannon Lake, Ice Lake, who can predict Intel at this point, Function Keys)
- 14" Macbook (2/4-Core with Iris Graphics; 2 TB3 ports - 15w U-Series, Function Keys)
------------------------------------ Price Delta ------------------------------------
- 14" Macbook Pro (4/8-Core with Iris Graphics; 4 TB3 ports - 28w U-Series, Touch Bar)
- 16" Macbook Pro (6/12-Core with AMD Vega; 4 TB3 ports - 45W H-Series, Touch Bar)

The 12" sports 128GB at $999, 14" sports 256GB at $1499, the 14" Pro sports 256GB at $1799, 512GB at $1999, 16" Pro sports 256GB at $2299 and 512GB at $2699.

Apple could then thicken them slightly and re-work the keyboard and battery closer to the 2015 models.

One question for you, would you envision these as 16:9 LCDs or staying 16:10? Part of me likes 16:10, because it allows the overall of the laptop to be thicker while minimizing the bezels...staring at a Dell Latitude here with some THICK bezels.
 
Any replacement for the MacBook Air should be at least as capable. Meaning the same useful ports and a keyboard no less excellent, at minimum.

Apple surely recognizes it has an iconic laptop in the MacBook Air; its discontinuation would leave a gap not just in bottom tier pricing but more importantly in the loss of a product many loved despite its limitations.

Given Apple's track record since 2011, I am not sanguine. Their plan likely entails some reconfigured MacBook. But other than a far better screen what does it offer those who value a MacBook Air in either power or overall usefulness, even if at the same price?

One problem Apple has is any truly upgraded MacBook Air or MacBook properly realized (i.e. decent keyboard, etc.) would cannibalize sales from their far more expensive and questionable line of MacBook "Pros".
 
I've always said Apple just needs to drop the price of the MacBook to $999 and get rid of the Air. The Air is terrible. I'll never understand why people buy it.

Edit: Apple's 'attempt' of positioning the MacBook Pro without Touch Bar as a replacement Was a stupid idea. And MacBook could have don it if they cut the price to $999.
 
Can experts enlighten us as to why in 2018 we're not talking about OLED laptops (Macbooks) yet?

Probably cost. Currently, there are only two OLED laptops that I know of, the Alienware 13 and the ThinkPad X1 Yoga, and this year's X1 Yoga has ditched the OLED display in favor of Dolby Vision HDR display instead, so basically there's only one on the market now. It's cost prohibitive to manufacture them in quantity. Of course if anyone can do it, it'd be Apple but they have to wait until they find a supplier that can yield them that many.
 
I don't post much but I have to say I prefer the MacBook Air form factor..I recently bought a previous gen MacBook Pro 13 inch...complete with all the ports. I would have preferred the Air but could not pass up the deal on the Pro and it's screen and speed.

I say keep the Air....the form of the chassis is far better than any of the current portables, easy to pick up easy to carry, looks good etc...keep the size or close to it but update to either 14inch retina reducing the bezels or keep it a 13 retina and shrink it just a bit....but after the screen update keep all the ports...add some of the newer ones, update the chipset so it can have more memory and higher speed SSD like the newer systems (lowest power i5 Dual is probably fine I7 optional)...keep the big battery...keep the price around $1000

The Air is a really good size and form for the person that just travels with the notebook...It doesn't have to be the fastest thing just respectable...It doesn't need to be the lightest machine (I have held some laptop PCs that feel 1/2 the weight of the lightest apple machines) but just not a burden to carry....It needs to have all the ports with no dongles needed, and I like MagSafe but moving to USB charger is ok....

What is the use case for this...Students, Teachers, IT people, and Programmers. I have been, at times, all four. I move around alot with my machine, I carry it like my phone in just a thin protective shell case...It needs to always have juice so a long battery life is needed...It needs to be able to accept a usb stick or connect to a monitor or projector or HardDrive (TB and HDMI) when I walk into a room where it is required..needs connect to Wifi, and wired network again without me having to carry or run back for the right adapter. Basically it is a "It just works" machine in whatever situation I find myself...like a real Apple Computer should be.

I know people think Air is/was a reference to weight and size and certainly that was true when it came out...but now to me Air means I can carry and use it in the air...I don't need a bag full of adapters and power bricks and cables to make it work..I can pop it open and handle 90% of the situations I am in and when I back at base I can plug it in and let it charge up while I use it as a desktop with a big monitor, full keyboard and mouse to code or do whatever needs doing.
 
I don't post much but I have to say I prefer the MacBook Air form factor..I recently bought a previous gen MacBook Pro 13 inch...complete with all the ports. I would have preferred the Air but could not pass up the deal on the Pro and it's screen and speed.

I say keep the Air....the form of the chassis is far better than any of the current portables, easy to pick up easy to carry, looks good etc...keep the size or close to it but update to either 14inch retina reducing the bezels or keep it a 13 retina and shrink it just a bit....but after the screen update keep all the ports...add some of the newer ones, update the chipset so it can have more memory and higher speed SSD like the newer systems (lowest power i5 Dual is probably fine I7 optional)...keep the big battery...keep the price around $1000

The Air is a really good size and form for the person that just travels with the notebook...It doesn't have to be the fastest thing just respectable...It doesn't need to be the lightest machine (I have held some laptop PCs that feel 1/2 the weight of the lightest apple machines) but just not a burden to carry....It needs to have all the ports with no dongles needed, and I like MagSafe but moving to USB charger is ok....

What is the use case for this...Students, Teachers, IT people, and Programmers. I have been, at times, all four. I move around alot with my machine, I carry it like my phone in just a thin protective shell case...It needs to always have juice so a long battery life is needed...It needs to be able to accept a usb stick or connect to a monitor or projector or HardDrive (TB and HDMI) when I walk into a room where it is required..needs connect to Wifi, and wired network again without me having to carry or run back for the right adapter. Basically it is a "It just works" machine in whatever situation I find myself...like a real Apple Computer should be.

I know people think Air is/was a reference to weight and size and certainly that was true when it came out...but now to me Air means I can carry and use it in the air...I don't need a bag full of adapters and power bricks and cables to make it work..I can pop it open and handle 90% of the situations I am in and when I back at base I can plug it in and let it charge up while I use it as a desktop with a big monitor, full keyboard and mouse to code or do whatever needs doing.

Actually, the 13 inch MacBook Pro Retina without touchbar for all intents and purposes should be the new Macbook Air.
Here's a comparison:

Macbook Air:
-traditional keyboard
-magsafe, 2 USBA, SD, headphone, T2
-1.8Ghz 5th gen Core i5
-900p display
-3 lbs

Macbook Pro Retina 13:
-2nd gen butterfly keyboard
-2 T3, headphone
-2.3Ghz 7th gen Core i5
-1440p Retina display
-3lbs

The Pro Retina 13 is basically an upgrade over the Air at the same size and weight. It only lacks the ports and traditional keyboard that you could possibly want from the Air. I don't even understand what makes the Pro Retina 13 even a Pro notebook. It's a Retina Air basically and thats what it should replace. Apple should just reduce the cost of the Pro Retina 13
 
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Actually, the 13 inch MacBook Pro Retina without touchbar for all intents and purposes should be the new Macbook Air.
Here's a comparison:

Macbook Air:
-traditional keyboard
-magsafe, 2 USBA, SD, headphone, T2
-1.8Ghz 5th gen Core i5
-900p display
-3 lbs

Macbook Pro Retina 13:
-2nd gen butterfly keyboard
-2 T3, headphone
-2.0Ghz 6th gen Core i5
-1440p Retina display
-3lbs

The Pro Retina 13 is basically an upgrade over the Air at the same size and weight. It only lacks the ports and traditional keyboard that you could possibly want from the Air. I don't even understand what makes the Pro Retina 13 even a Pro notebook. It's a Retina Air basically and thats what it should replace. Apple should just reduce the cost of the Pro Retina 13

I largely agree that the MBP nTB was designed to be the MBA replacement, but it has fallen short:

Reliability issues and keyboard failures
Limited ports and no MagSafe
$300 more expensive
Poor battery life by comparison to the MBA

If Apple dropped the price of the MBP nTB to $999, I could live with it....except, the keyboard failure issues are legendary. I just could not buy this computer until this issue is fixed.

When you consider how most people use their Laptops, the MBA has plenty of power. Give it a decent (not necessarily retina) IPS display, replace the TB2 port with TB3, routine spec bumps......don't sacrifice battery life, don't increase entry price ($999).......done deal. Keep the iconic form factor and beloved glowing Apple Logo.
 
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I like the ports on the air as I mentioned and I like the battery life which seems better on the Air (not sure what the apple specs say that is just a feeling from using them) and I can live with the new keyboard. But , and I know this sounds a bit silly, I like the shape of the Air, it looks better it carries better and I think its size and shape allow for more battery space.

I agree, no idea what makes the MacBook Pro Retina 13 a Pro, but I kinda feel that way about all the Current MacBook Pro's....

Maybe it is just the Price or maybe the ability to go to 16GB RAM or if it has faster SSD tech.
 
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Every bloody time when they release a new iPhone?
The old one is being sold at lower price.

Yeah how gracious of them to continue selling old phones which have amortised R&D, available tooling (which doesn’t have to be disposed), set up factory lines and don’t need no more marketing. Tbh, this method probably is the real cash cow for Apple because old generations should be much closer to component, production and supply cost than the new ones. Who at Apple cares for a $100 price cut if you can cut $400 R&D, production overhead and marketing costs (because people will buy it for being a cheap iPhone) off your calculated unit cost? Continuing to sell old units at a slightly lower price isn’t really an example for a price cut, it’s a highly profitable business strategy.
 
Yeah how gracious of them to continue selling old phones which have amortised R&D, available tooling (which doesn’t have to be disposed), set up factory lines and don’t need no more marketing. Tbh, this method probably is the real cash cow for Apple because old generations should be much closer to component, production and supply cost than the new ones. Who at Apple cares for a $100 price cut if you can cut $400 R&D, production overhead and marketing costs (because people will buy it for being a cheap iPhone) off your calculated unit cost? Continuing to sell old units at a slightly lower price isn’t really an example for a price cut, it’s a highly profitable business strategy.
Basically what your saying is Apple should lower prices, because they should be willing to accept a lower profit margin than they currently maintain. You could say the same thing about any profitable business.

Apple currently makes about 20% after taxes. You think that’s too high; what number would be ok with you?
 
I largely agree that the MBP nTB was designed to be the MBA replacement, but it has fallen short:

Reliability issues and keyboard failures
Limited ports and no MagSafe
$300 more expensive
Poor battery life by comparison to the MBA

If Apple dropped the price of the MBP nTB to $999, I could live with it....except, the keyboard failure issues are legendary. I just could not buy this computer until this issue is fixed.

When you consider how most people use their Laptops, the MBA has plenty of power. Give it a decent (not necessarily retina) IPS display, replace the TB2 port with TB3, routine spec bumps......don't sacrifice battery life, don't increase entry price ($999).......done deal. Keep the iconic form factor and beloved glowing Apple Logo.

Unfortunately, I don't think the ports and glowing logo are ever coming back. This is Apple, a company famous for driving its products to the future faster than any other. PC Companies like Dell and Lenovo's ThinkPads tend to be conservative (part of this is because they have to satisfy large groups of enterprise users) but Apple? Once they see the future whether it be axing the headphone jack, optical drive, firewire, USBA, Magsafe or what have you, they are not going back...
 
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Basically what your saying is Apple should lower prices, because they should be willing to accept a lower profit margin than they currently maintain. You could say the same thing about any profitable business.

Apple currently makes about 20% after taxes. You think that’s too high; what number would be ok with you?
No that‘s not my point. Their current pricing scheme works so this is what they should stick to, though overall lower prices would be appreciated. What I’m saying is that offering a previous generation for a slightly lower price doesn’t count as a price reduction because what they reduce in price is only a fraction of what they save in costs. They sell old wares at a still relatively high price level and very successfully so.
 
I largely agree that the MBP nTB was designed to be the MBA replacement, but it has fallen short:

Reliability issues and keyboard failures
Limited ports and no MagSafe
$300 more expensive
Poor battery life by comparison to the MBA

If Apple dropped the price of the MBP nTB to $999, I could live with it....except, the keyboard failure issues are legendary. I just could not buy this computer until this issue is fixed.

When you consider how most people use their Laptops, the MBA has plenty of power. Give it a decent (not necessarily retina) IPS display, replace the TB2 port with TB3, routine spec bumps......don't sacrifice battery life, don't increase entry price ($999).......done deal. Keep the iconic form factor and beloved glowing Apple Logo.
Even if Apple just put a Retina display into the Air the battery life would drop.
 
No that‘s not my point. Their current pricing scheme works so this is what they should stick to, though overall lower prices would be appreciated. What I’m saying is that offering a previous generation for a slightly lower price doesn’t count as a price reduction because what they reduce in price is only a fraction of what they save in costs. They sell old wares at a still relatively high price level and very successfully so.
I understand your point, but I disagree with your rather strict definition of a price reduction :)

The 128GB iPhone 6S came out at $849, and now it’s $549. That’s due to price reductions, regardless of whether Apple’s costs went up, down or stayed the same. As you say, Apple’s costs did actually go down, which is what allowed them to make the price cut without affecting gross margin.

Apple’s pretty good at pricing, and it’s rare to see a price cut on recently released products; I can’t remember one off the top of my head. They do make price reductions, usually temporarily, for customer satisfaction purposes. The $79 to $29 price drop on iPhone battery replacements, and the USB-C adapter price cuts in November 2016 are examples. The $1,000 cuts to the Mac Pro in April 2017 probably fall into this category, since I’m sure their costs didn’t drop enough to maintain their desired gross margin.
 
Even if Apple just put a Retina display into the Air the battery life would drop.
Not necessarily, they said the panel in the MacBook is the most efficient they’ve ever used, and a newer more efficient chipset wouldn’t necessarily use more power working harder to push the pixels...
 
Even if Apple just put a Retina display into the Air the battery life would drop.

Yes, but as I said in my post, I would be happy going from from TN to IPS Display for better viewing angles (doesn’t need to be Retina). Processors are getting more power efficient too.
 
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