Can the 13" still be called a MacBook Pro at this point?

[PieTunes]

Apple has revamped the MacBook Pro line. The new 14" and 16" machines have more truly upgraded features and components in terms of... Well pretty much everything. New design, Mini LED panel, XDR Liquid Retina, ProMotion, more RAM, more storage options, next generation M1 Pro and M1 Max processors, MagSafe, additional ports, the list goes on.

And then there's the 13". Can they continue to market it as a MacBook Pro from this point on? It just seems like it would be confusing for them to keep the name at this point going forward. For all intents and purposes, as it stands now it's a MacBook Air Pro, or MacBook Air Plus, or something. I can't imagine they would discontinue it, as that would leave nothing in that mid-range area between the $999 Air and $1999 Pro. But they surely can't continue calling it a Pro when they completely set their own bar as high as they did.

Thoughts?

 

[MrGunny94]

Well of course, you know all "Pros" have different kind of workloads right? Someone who is just starting out in coding or does cloud engineering is more than fine with a MBA or MBP with 16GB of RAM.

Usually the GPU intensive Macs are for video editors, 3D guys, animators, music production, game devs and so on.

If it should be called Pro? Sure I don't see why not.

 

[petvas]

Of course it's a pro laptop. It has amazing performance for most people, unbelievable battery life and a very nice display without a notch. I am an IT Pro and the 13" is perfect for my needs.

 

[gpat]

It's going to disappear, of course.
New Air will supersede it

 

[Saturnine]

In my opinion, no. The current M1 MBP should never have had the “Pro” moniker. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a great laptop suited to an awful lot of uses but it only has two Thunderbolt ports and natively supports just one external monitor.

I found it interesting that Apple stated, during Mondays event, that the new processors are “the first processors we’ve designed specifically for Pros.” I immediate thought “so why is the current MacBook Pro called a MacBook Pro?!”

Now, none of this actually prevents a Pro user from actually buying and using an M1 MBP if it fits their needs. As I said, it’s still a fantastic machine for a wide variety of purposes, but surely there has to be a like drawn somewhere. Given that it’s virtually identical, in terms of specs and capability, to the M1 MBA (if you go for the 8-core version) the cynic in me does wonder if the M1 MBP was only released in order to take advantage of the “Pro” label and shift machines six months before the actual Pro laptops were ready.

 

[petvas]

In my opinion, no. The current M1 MBP should never have had the “Pro” moniker. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a great laptop suited to an awful lot of uses but it only has two Thunderbolt ports and natively supports just one external monitor.

I found it interesting that Apple stated, during Mondays event, that the new processors are “the first processors we’ve designed specifically for Pros.” I immediate thought “so why is the current MacBook Pro called a MacBook Pro?!”

Now, none of this actually prevents a Pro user from actually buying and using an M1 MBP if it fits their needs. As I said, it’s still a fantastic machine for a wide variety of purposes, but surely there has to be a like drawn somewhere. Given that it’s virtually identical, in terms of specs and capability, to the M1 MBA (if you go for the 8-core version) the cynic in me does wonder if the M1 MBP was only released in order to take advantage of the “Pro” label and shift machines six months before the actual Pro laptops were ready.

The 13" Map has fantastic battery life and this is very important for many people. Apple designed the M1 pro and Max for Pro workloads but this doesn't mean that the M1 cannot be used for Pro tasks..It all depends on the usage scenario..

 

[Saturnine]

The 13" Map has fantastic battery life and this is very important for many people. Apple designed the M1 pro and Max for Pro workloads but this doesn't mean that the M1 cannot be used for Pro tasks..It all depends on the usage scenario..

I think I said the same, twice.

By the same token, why wasn’t the 12” MacBook called a Pro? Any device can be used by anybody and each of them has their advantages.

But when you have two virtually identical products (the M1 MBP and MBA) with the only real difference being the shape of the casing, I start to get the feeling that one of those products exists because the sales and marketing people wanted it to… And yes, I’m aware that the MBA thermal-throttles sooner.

Anyway, it’s only a name. It doesn’t really matter either way!