Apple's Confusing Mac Lineup: MacBook Air vs. MacBook

[anthonymoody]

This.

The editorial staff here at MacRumors can't seem to grasp that with their definitive pronouncement:



The Mac lineup is indeed confusing - but the problem is the odd positioning of the new MacBook Air.

Some of the staff has become similarly sanctimonious in the forums here, spouting opinion as if they're hard and fast facts, or, worse, universally held.

Absolutely pathetic article. The question is not why to keep the MacBook on sale.. it is why is there a need for the MacBook Air in 2018? The MacBook is the ultra light laptop, and the base pro is perfect for casual useres. So why is there a neeed for the air? The original MacBook has more air the MacBook Air...

I kind of agree. The weight advantage of the Air is very small considering what you give up. Maybe they should've simply released a 13" MB at...2.3 pounds or so?

 

[555gallardo]

Too bad Apple didn't release a new low-cost MacBook (Air).
Lots of educational customers do not prefer iPad, but the new MBA is getting too expensive.

When I bought mine in 2014, the basic 13" MacBook Air was being sold for around 1300€. This one costs 1349€, so it's not too expensive based on my experience.

 

[roncron]

Dan seems to want to get rid of the Mac laptops that didn't get a spec bump for 2018. I've learned a lot from Dan's videos and find great value in his perspective. On this issue, my perspective is different.

I would argue that the 12" MB and the 13" MB Pro w/o Touch Bar should be kept on the menu, but with spec bumps, and a $100 price cut for the 12" MB. The spec bump for the 12" MB should include processor, upgrading from 2nd to 3rd gen keyboard, and replacing the USB-C port with a Thunderbolt 3 port.

It's true, the 2018 MB Air could replace these other two machines. But different users have different preferences and needs; if Apple offered an updated 12" MB, an updated 13" MB Pro w/o Touch Bar, and the new MB Air, then each of us could choose whichever of these options best meets our needs.

Surely, some folks prioritize portability and would opt for the 12", others need more power than the new Air offers and would opt for the Pro. I'd still get the new Air, but I'd rather these other options are available for other people to choose from.

 

[UK-MacAddict]

Why does the no Touch Bar models even exist for the MacBook Pro. Apple are just making extra work and using more resources uneccesarily.

 

[lec0rsaire]

I was fully expecting the MacBook line to overtake the Air line and eventually the Air would be phased out, but what happened is now making the product line confusing for nearly everyone...

Here's hoping they update the MacBook soon and just make it the 12" MacBook Air and simplify the lineup again.

I’m pretty sure Apple was expecting this to happen as well. It really could have if they didn’t keep selling the MBA for $999. That $300 makes a big difference to many people. When they also see that the cheaper MacBook has more ports and a bigger screen it becomes an easy choice for most.

Apple is still making a mistake by keeping the old MBA around at $999. I would’ve killed it off. The sooner customers get used to USB-C the better.

But I guess they offer it to up sell customers to a Retina display, Touch ID and nice and thin chassis for an extra $200.

 

[DTphonehome]

Given the rather impressive power of the new iPad Pro, it's time for Apple to put their ARM processors into a laptop form factor. The Macbook would be the perfect platform. Small, light, low-cost. It would help to put some differentiation into the lineup: Macbook Pro for high-power, Macbook Air for less-powerful Intel chips in a slimmer form factor, Macbook for low-cost ARM-based.
I wonder if they aren't keeping the Macbook around for just this move.

 

[JohnnyQuest]

- 12" MacBook: The most useless Mac since its reveal

From someone who owns a 12" Macbook, I completely disagree.

Though expensive, it's insanely portable, and considerably smaller than the Air. It feels like a more powerful 11" Air honestly, and you can throw it in almost any bag/pouch. It's great for casual users, emails, Safari, Youtube, iTunes, etc. and you can still get serious work done on it.

One of my all-time favorite Apple products actually. I'd argue they should drop the price on it and switch the names. There is definitely a market for the Macbook, I see them all the time.

 

[redheeler]

What does the display have to do with power? Thats outside the argument. Mac Mini wins power per dollar argument.

Display is a big chunk of what you're paying for when buying an iMac. Performance per dollar isn't the only thing that matters when assessing the value of a tech product.

 

[Rogifan]

Absolutely pathetic article. The question is not why to keep the MacBook on sale.. it is why is there a need for the MacBook Air in 2018? The MacBook is the ultra light laptop, and the base pro is perfect for casual useres. So why is there a neeed for the air? The original MacBook has more air the MacBook Air...

I guess because the Air name has so much cachet. I wouldn’t be surprised if some people are buying this new machine just because it’s called a MacBook Air.

 

[ZZ9pluralZalpha]

The Macbook wasn't refreshed because it will be the first laptop shipped with Apple's A-series processors next year. This platform's low-power fanless design makes it an obvious choice as one to be used the first post-Intel macOS machines.

This. This is the dream. (Although I thought the lack of updates to the Mac mini was because it would also go ARM—in a smaller Apple TV-like form factor—at the same time as the MacBook, so maybe it's a distant dream...)

 

[lec0rsaire]

Why does the no Touch Bar models even exist for the MacBook Pro. Apple are just making extra work and using more resources uneccesarily.

To offer a MBP for $1499. The OLED display adds cost. They then decided to offer a 128GB drive to sell a base model for the same $1299 as the early-2015 13”.

Many people want a 13” MBP but not many want to spend $2000 for the cheapest one.

Who knows what they will do. It would’ve been nice for every MacBook to get the Touch Bar so that this thing has more support. It would’ve made a lot of sense on this MBA.

 

[zombierunner]

Yeah really confusing. Just have 2 laptop lines. Also iPad Pro is probably faster than the MBA/MB. So yeah ..

 

[joeswamp]

Just shows what happens when a finance guy is making tech decisions.

This is the real problem. The ship is moving at full speed and Tim is at the wheel but he's not looking out the window.

 

[mkoesel]

The 12" Macbook exists because it's 12" and because it weighs 2lbs. That's a heck of a lot more portable than 13.3" and 2.75lbs. For a lot of people who are after portability and also own an iMac or something like that, the 12" MacBook is the only one that is worth considering.

Absolutely agree with you on this. The entire point of the MacBook is ultra portability. An extra 3/4 pound means the new Air is still 38% heavier than the MacBook. That's significant.

The line up is not too confusing if you adjust for 256GB storage:

12" MacBook 8GB/256GB: $1299
MacBook Air 8GB/256GB: $1399
13" MBP nTB 8GB/256GB: $1499
13" MBP TB 8GB/256GB: $1799

Fair points.

But what I can't help but ponder is why they needed to come up with a completely new form factor - the new MacBook Air - when the nTB MacBook Pro was already there with exactly the same feature set. In this case, the only advantage the air offers is 1/4 pound less weight - a decrease of only 13%. The other features that the Air offers that the Pro does not currently have - Touch ID and the new third generation Keyboard - could easily be added to the nTB MacBook Pro without changing its form factor.

Did they really need the new form factor in order to be able to offer a Mac laptop with a 13" screen, Touch ID, and Gen III keyboard for $100 less than where the nTB MacBook Pro currently starts? It seems like such overkill to me.

 

[karmazynowy]

The MacBook weighs 25% less and is only 65% the volume of the MacBook Air Retina.

Some people pay a premium for an ultraportable.

Exactly.
I am using daily MBP 15 and considering sth ultraportable for travelling. Now I use my old air 11, but it will get absolete soon and I don't like non-retina screen

 

[Digital Skunk]

It's crowded, but not confusing. The Air is going to have more power than the 12" and the 13.3" Pro has better GFX than both the Air and the Retina MB.

Also touch ID in the Air may be better for some than the lack of it in the 12" MB.

Portability = Macbook
Power & Size = Air
GFX = Pro

Now, I do believe the Macbook needs to have its price lowered to $999.

 

[Tunster]

Does anyone not remember the original MacBook? The polycarbonate shells of white/black with a relatively good design, notable Apple light and great entry to the Mac laptop lineup. I was very surprised to see Apple to try to pack in tech into it aggressively. However, I think they wanted to plug the gap of no Macbook Air update with a ultra-portable Mac in the meantime and destroy what the original MacBook. Especially until they had the new MacBook Air right (maybe the recycled aluminium and wait on certain tech pushed it further back).

I get the feeling there's too much going on at Apple and Tim hasn't lined up his ducks to get each product to fit with each other. We an mixture of old/new, USB-C/Lightning, insane variants (Apple Watch/Coloured Macs), lack of tech leaders within the originations to make original tech pitches.

Seems like Tim doesn't like to drop products or keep line-ups trim unlike Jobs did. The seamless experience is fading slowly. Especially for the new customer.

 

[DragoniteD]

They exist to clear the storage cause there are always some consumers made weird choices due to lack of knowledge of the models.

 

[cb3]

The Mac line-up got real confusing right before Steve came back years ago. Think "Preforma" years. Although not nearly on that scale - the Mac line-up is starting to get a little splintered. Keep it simple. Small, Medium, Large. Good, Better, Best. Same with the iPhones.

 

[abhibeckert]

The MacBook is as small/light as possible.

The MacBook Air is great value for money.

The MacBook Pro is the fastest available.

Maybe it would be nice if the names were changed, but other than that I don’t see any difficulties deciding which one to buy.

Lacking TouchID is a shame but meh, an Apple Watch is the best way to unlock a Mac.

 

[code-m]

Some people really value portability and lightness. Why is this so hard to understand?

Old tech at same prices, that is the tragedy here.

Apple should have just discontinued the old MBA and lower the price of the MB with a renaming scheme and some updated internals. Instead we get this transitional mess.

What would have made sense:

11” MBA with 1 USB-C and audio port
13” MBA with 2 USB-C and audio port

Previous 12” rMB and MBA discontinued.

IPad Pro 11” and 12.9” 1 USB-C port

The iPad Pro and MBA sizing overlaps, with the exception for the OS.

 

[dantracht]

I have a 2016 12" rMB and a 13" 2012 non retina MBP. I love the rMB for it's size and portability. Just left a job where I had to give up a 2018 15" MBP. Between the 3, I always turn to my 2012 non retina MBP to get some serious work done. Yes, it's not retina, but it's my all time favorite MBP and a total workhorse, upgraded to a SSD last year and it rocks. The 2018 MBP was nice, but had issues every time a software upgrade came out over the summer (remember those supplemental updates?) and the touchbar was never much use.

I agree with the gist of the article though: the lineup is sure confusing and needs some trimming.

 

[HMFIC03]

If the new MBA was called the new MacBook, then there wouldn’t be any confusion. Kill the Air and just have MB and MBP...no need for 3 tiers when they can each be customized.. also this would save so much showroom floor space too

 

[macduke]

The mistake is obvious: The Air should have got a 14inch display, while the MacBook should be the low-cost option at 12inch. But they are too busy designing strategies for making everybody jump into iOS, so no wonder the MacBook line is nonsense in this moment.

Yeah, it would be great if they could reduce the bezel more and have 16" MBP, 14" MBP, 14" MBA, 13" iPP, 12" MBA, 11" iPP. Now if only iOS 13 would give the iPad Pro a real OS.

 

[theluggage]

Can't the same thing be said about the MacBook Pro being the better MacBook Air considering they're much closer in weight but the former has better performance and more ports?

Ok, lets indulge in some armchair quartebacking here:

• The 12" MacBook needs to be dumped (but see below).
• The Non-touchbar MacBook Pro needs to be refreshed (8th gen processors, the hopefully dust-resistant keyboard, touch ID) and re-named just "MacBook" - becoming the "mainstream" Mac laptop.
• Add a 15" Macbook - for people who just want a bigger screen
• The MacBook Pro with TouchBar becomes just the MacBook Pro.
• Release an iPad Pro with MacOS and a detachable keyboard/trackpad and get that ball rolling. Sure, it will be a "hobby" until developers produce ARM versions of their software, and won't have great connectivity (or Thunderbolt for docking), but calling it an iPad with MacOS rather than the new Mac will help get over that hump. It'll still probably be better than the 12" MacBook...

Its pretty obvious that part of Apple's problem is Intel's delays and nasty habit of starting the hype for the N+1th generation chips before they've released the full promised range of Nth gen ones.