Do we think the 13-inch MacBook Pro will be replaced by a 15-inch MacBook Air?

[Yebubbleman]

The title pretty much says it. The rumors seem to be pointed in this direction. Although, the M2 version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro is one of the few times in Apple's history where they've released updated hardware with an outgoing design generation alongside the existence of the design generation that replaced it. What do you think will happen?

(Personally, I think that Apple will eventually replace the 13-inch MacBook Pro with a 15-inch MacBook Air to clean up the lineup and to appease the tons of folks that have wanted a larger MacBook without needing a full-fledged 16-inch MacBook Pro. I'm only speculating here, but I suspect that, for the M2 release this past June, they had enough supply of 13-inch MacBook Pro components left over and didn't want to chance a supply shortage for the 15-inch MacBook Air and that the replacement of the former with the latter is inevitable.)

 

[Curry119]

I just checked out the 13in Pro in the store and wow does it look dated alongside the other notebooks. I like the hardware and was seriously considering a purchase, but I couldn't bring myself to purchase that old design. I would be sad to see the 13in get replaced by a 15in Air since it's the most affordable Mac laptop with active cooling. I hope it simply gets a design refresh next year.

 

[sam_dean]

Philomena Cunk?

 

[Scarrus]

I don't think one thing has anything to do with another.

I would love to see it replaced with a 13" MacBook though.

 

[turbineseaplane]

No chance.
The MBA is always one of the most popular laptops for Apple and 15" is simply too big for a lot of folks.

It will be great to have a small and large MBA though, for sure!

Day 1 buyer of 15" MBA here

 

[StoneJack]

I just checked out the 13in Pro in the store and wow does it look dated alongside the other notebooks. I like the hardware and was seriously considering a purchase, but I couldn't bring myself to purchase that old design. I would be sad to see the 13in get replaced by a 15in Air since it's the most affordable Mac laptop with active cooling. I hope it simply gets a design refresh next year.

I had M1 Air but changed it with M2 Air partially due to design and partially because of keyboard already showing signs of usage.

 

[IJBrekke]

13” MBP is the corporate purchasing option. Apple likely kept it around specifically for this, kind of like how certain cars are still made to serve the rental fleets.

 

[Tagbert]

I could see Apple keeping the 13” MBP around in the short term for corporate buyers, but I expect that they would soon switch over to the 15” MBA once they get a chance to evaluate them. Once those purchasers change horse, I would expect Apple to drop the older MBP.

 

[whitby]

I suppose it is a matter of taste, but I find the “old” design looks more up to date than the so called new design language which looks generic and old fashioned to me. We still have a 2019 i9 MBPro with Touch Bar (as well as a 16” M1 Max MBPro and M2 MBA) and to be frank, to both my wife and and the few friends from whom I have solicited input, it looks like a much more up to date and modern machine compared to the generic slab we have now in the new ones.

We only bought the new machines because we needed the performance of the new Apple Silicon but from an appearance point of view the new machines are very much a step backwards to us. I know this may not be the general opinion in these forums but it is only our opinion and I doubt very much that Apple cares a fig. They will go their own sweet way but at least we have a choice whether to follow.

So would be very happy to see the 13” MBPro with the “older design language” continue on with updated internals. Just update the display and I would have purchased it in preference to the M2 MBA.

 

[Curry119]

I suppose it is a matter of taste, but I find the “old” design looks more up to date than the so called new design language which looks generic and old fashioned to me. We still have a 2019 i9 MBPro with Touch Bar (as well as a 16” M1 Max MBPro and M2 MBA) and to be frank, to both my wife and and the few friends from whom I have solicited input, it looks like a much more up to date and modern machine compared to the generic slab we have now in the new ones.

We only bought the new machines because we needed the performance of the new Apple Silicon but from an appearance point of view the new machines are very much a step backwards to us. I know this may not be the general opinion in these forums but it is only our opinion and I doubt very much that Apple cares a fig. They will go their own sweet way but at least we have a choice whether to follow.

So would be very happy to see the 13” MBPro with the “older design language” continue on with updated internals. Just update the display and I would have purchased it in preference to the M2 MBA.

Like you say it's a matter of taste. I do like the thinner tapered look of the older notebooks instead of the new chonky look, but the two items I didn't like on the M2 13 is that the lcd display is notably smaller, and I could be wrong but I think it's also less bright than on the new Air models. I also think the Touch Bar is ugly because the buttons are not bright or sharp enough for my eyes. It will be interesting to see what they do with the 13 next time..

 

[Tagbert]

Like you say it's a matter of taste. I do like the thinner tapered look of the older notebooks instead of the new chonky look, but the two items I didn't like on the M2 13 is that the lcd display is notably smaller, and I could be wrong but I think it's also less bright than on the new Air models. I also think the Touch Bar is ugly because the buttons are not bright or sharp enough for my eyes. It will be interesting to see what they do with the 13 next time..

The 13” MBP has a 13.3” display. the M2 MBA has a 13.6” display so, yes, the Air is a little larger. Both have 500 nits of brightness so they are equal on that. Not as bright as the mini-LED MBPs but brighter than older Mac screens like the 400 nit 13” MBA.

I just don’t see a future for the 13” MBP. There seems little room in the lineup for it now and if a 15” MBA comes out, I expect it to attract a lot more sales than the smaller pro. Apple could upgrade the 13 MBP but all that would do would be to push it up against the 14” MBP and what would be the point to that?

 

[whitby]

I agree about the screen, it is definitely not as good as the new MBA. The size difference between the new MBA and the 13” Pro is not significant (0.3”). I don’t have the same problem with the Touch Bar, I know my wife loves it. However as has been pointed out I think this style of machine is not destined to live and we will have a set of generic graceless slabs to choose from, with not even some exciting colors to choose from. Such is life.

 

[michaelscarn]

Just looking at the number of reviews on Best Buy and Costco, it seems like a decent amount of non-enterprise users are purchasing the 13" MBP.

I think this model attracts people who are new to Mac and want a "middle of the road" laptop based on price alone. These people probably don't read detailed reviews or care about the specifics, only that Pro makes it sound more powerful and special.

I can also see parents buying this for their bratty kids who want to brag about having a "better" computer than their friends. We all know this happens with iPhones (as ridiculous as it is)

 

[DHagan4755]

A shower thought that came to mind the other day was that perhaps this rumored 15" MacBook Air will not be an air at all. It will be part of the middle-tier of MacBooks. Think of it this way:

13.6" MacBook Air — with entry-level M-series SoC

13.6" MacBook Pro (a future model to replace the 13" MacBook Pro M2) — with entry-level M-series & M-series Pro SoCs
15.5" MacBook Pro (coming springtime-ish) — with entry-level M-series & M-series Pro SoCs

14.2" MacBook Pro — with M-series Pro/Max SoCs
16.2" MacBook Pro — with M-series Pro/Max SoCs

If you think about it, the rumored 15" MacBook is supposedly going to have the option of a M2 Pro SoC. And if this is the case, it will likely be thicker than the 13" MacBook Air M2 to accommodate active cooling.

Hopefully the 15" MacBook Air will be an air & will just be a larger version of the M2 model release last June. However, with the rumors of it being an M2 model...that doesn't make sense to release it in the spring. It makes more sense to release it in tandem with the M3 series whenever that's ready (likely late fall timeframe). Sooooo like the M2 Mac mini, which waited until the M2 Pro was ready, this seems more likelier than not to be something other than an air. Hopefully that's not the case, but something's not adding up!

 

[bradman83]

A shower thought that came to mind the other day was that perhaps this rumored 15" MacBook Air will not be an air at all. It will be part of the middle-tier of MacBooks. Think of it this way:

13.6" MacBook Air — with entry-level M-series SoC

13.6" MacBook Pro (a future model to replace the 13" MacBook Pro M2) — with entry-level M-series & M-series Pro SoCs
15.5" MacBook Pro (coming springtime-ish) — with entry-level M-series & M-series Pro SoCs

14.2" MacBook Pro — with M-series Pro/Max SoCs
16.2" MacBook Pro — with M-series Pro/Max SoCs

If you think about it, the rumored 15" MacBook is supposedly going to have the option of a M2 Pro SoC. And if this is the case, it will likely be thicker than the 13" MacBook Air M2 to accommodate active cooling.

Hopefully the 15" MacBook Air will be an air & will just be a larger version of the M2 model release last June. However, with the rumors of it being an M2 model...that doesn't make sense to release it in the spring. It makes more sense to release it in tandem with the M3 series whenever that's ready (likely late fall timeframe). Sooooo like the M2 Mac mini, which waited until the M2 Pro was ready, this seems more likelier than not to be something other than an air. Hopefully that's not the case, but something's not adding up!

If that's the case they should really change the middle tier to plain old MacBook similar to the 2008-2010 lineup.

MacBook Air - Thin, light, fanless.
MacBook - Consumer focused machine, active cooling, less thin/sexy than the Air.
MacBook Pro - Thicker, Pro/Max chips, focus on speed and functionality.

Of course this would be the opposite of the iPad lineup where the plain iPad is the base model and the Air is the midrange.

 

[DHagan4755]

Clearly there's a market for these midrange MacBooks. Knowing Apple's M.O. they will call it a MacBook Pro. It's part of their upsell technique. That avoids your iPad lineup comparison.

Apple could have a pro-oriented spring event:

15" MacBook Pro with M2 & M2 Pro will be the hors d'oeuvre
Mac Pro with M2 Max/Ultra will be main course

Edit: Dessert: 27-inch display with Mini-LED (to replace studio display)

 

[macsound1]

If that's the case they should really change the middle tier to plain old MacBook similar to the 2008-2010 lineup.

MacBook Air - Thin, light, fanless.
MacBook - Consumer focused machine, active cooling, less thin/sexy than the Air.
MacBook Pro - Thicker, Pro/Max chips, focus on speed and functionality.

Of course this would be the opposite of the iPad lineup where the plain iPad is the base model and the Air is the midrange.

I agree with bringing back the MacBook like we had with the white polybook. But unfortunately they’ve backed themselves into the MBA being not airlike enough.

Logically, the Air should be the size of the 12” MacBook, but if there’s going to be a 15” MBA, they’re obviously using the Air moniker for sales, not size.

 

[Mega ST]

A 13 size is with pro power is a different requirement from everything 15. This is why the 13 Pro will stay.

Some people need the small form factor combined with higher performance. 14 or 15 might be perfect from a screen real estate and usability perspective but not anymore if you schlepp things around all the time need to meet lightweight carry on airline baggage limits and such.

 

[DHagan4755]

Logically, the Air should be the size of the 12” MacBook, but if there’s going to be a 15” MBA, they’re obviously using the Air moniker for sales, not size.

And for those same reasons, the 15" MacBook might not be an air. Then again for me personally a 15" version of the 13" MacBook Air would be my hope!

Looking back at the 15" MacBook Pro, its size was ideal, but the $2,399 starting price tag was a no-go. This has been a huge problem & a real lost opportunity for Apple — for years.

We're all looking for symmetry: 13"/15" MacBook Air, 14"/16" MacBook Pro. Having followed Apple all of these years they don't always do what we think they should do. The symmetry could be 13"/15" MacBook Pro low-end, 14"/16" MacBook Pro high-end. With the 13" MacBook Air in a class all to itself.

 

[MBAir2010]

Instead of  including a display lint-free cloth with MacBooks, they should include a cloth-like tape measure instead.

 

[257Loner]

That sounds like a likely scenario. As soon as the 15-inch MBA arrives, the old 13-inch MBP will depart. Although, the iPod lineup vanished unexpectedly, so the 13-inch MBP might have a later departure at an unexpected time. What is certain is that they've not developed the 13-inch MBP for 2 years.