Should Apple consider rebranding its notebook lineup?

[EwanMcTeagle]

I too think Apple won't go back to the simple "Macbook" name. The "Air" and "Pro" extensions make more sense from marketing point of view. At least for now.
Instead of getting a regular Macbook the customer is getting:
- Air - which underlines its slimness and ligthness ergo its most sexy charakterystyki
or
- Pro - which has a "premium" appeal.

Although I admit that after the whole Macbook Pro line up gets Retina displays then it would make sense to cut the Air from Macbook Air since the whole notebook lineup would ba basically "air" in terms of design. Then such a move would've made sense since they would probably want to position the Retina macbooks as more premium and push more units of pricier "Pro Retinas" than cheaper "Airs".

 

[PatriotInvasion]

Personally I think a "pro" machine should have workstation class parts. Mobile xeons, quadros and/or firegl GPUs. Granted such a machine would be expensive... but other manufacturers are able to offer them. And the non-retina models should be IPS. Or IPS displays should at least be available as a paid option. I know a lot of graphics professionals use these machines, so having decent color accuracy would be valuable to those folk.

Heck, even non-computer savvy professionals could use high quality screens. Great contrast and high resolution would be very useful to doctors for viewing radiological studies.

Even the non-retina MBPro's have IPS displays and have for a long time.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

Personally I think a "pro" machine should have workstation class parts. Mobile xeons, quadros and/or firegl GPUs. Granted such a machine would be expensive... but other manufacturers are able to offer them. And the non-retina models should be IPS. Or IPS displays should at least be available as a paid option. I know a lot of graphics professionals use these machines, so having decent color accuracy would be valuable to those folk.

Heck, even non-computer savvy professionals could use high quality screens. Great contrast and high resolution would be very useful to doctors for viewing radiological studies.

I don't agree. All I expect a "pro" machine to do is give me a good balance of best-in-class performance combined with a thin and light form factor. I think Apple has achieved that.

 

[brentsg]

How do the "sacrifices" of the Air make it unsuitable for "the vast majority of people who just surf the web and check email"?

You just combined half of his sentence about the air with part of his sentence about the quad core Pro and made it into a quote that didn't exist.

I guess that's one way to win an argument.

 

[Blue Sun]

I think they should drop the 13" MBP and rename the MBA line to MacBook. The Pro Line will only include the 15" models. So two lines, MacBook and Pro. No clue about this rumored 13" Retina though.

I've been thinking this for a while now, it makes even more sense with the introduction of the MBP with retina display and a lighter, thinner chassis (with the eventual phase out of the old cMBP).

There is absolutely no need for the "Air" moniker when all Apple notebooks are exceptionally thin.

 

[haruhiko]

Even the non-retina MBPro's have IPS displays and have for a long time.

The answer should be no. Non-retina MBPs do not have IPS screens.

 

[rockyroad55]

I've been thinking this for a while now, it makes even more sense with the introduction of the MBP with retina display and a lighter, thinner chassis (with the eventual phase out of the old cMBP).

There is absolutely no need for the "Air" moniker when all Apple notebooks are exceptionally thin.

Yeah it's weird because 6 of their laptops have no optical drives. And 4 still are classic versions. I'm basing these numbers off of the base models individually.

 

[Stetrain]

You just combined half of his sentence about the air with part of his sentence about the quad core Pro and made it into a quote that didn't exist.

I guess that's one way to win an argument.

He was talking about people who mostly check email and browse the web. He said the the Pro was overkill but that the Air made sacrifices, implying that the Air was not suitable for those people. I was asking him to explain why the Air wasn't a good choice for those people.

 

[PatriotInvasion]

The answer should be no. Non-retina MBPs do not have IPS screens.

My bad. I assumed the non-retina MacBook Pros had IPS because the iMacs have had it for awhile. My mid-2010 27" iMac is 2560x1440 IPS LED so thought the MBPros would be too.

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He was talking about people who mostly check email and browse the web. He said the the Pro was overkill but that the Air made sacrifices, implying that the Air was not suitable for those people. I was asking him to explain why the Air wasn't a good choice for those people.

I understand the Air is now fine for most people. And I get that DVD drives and ethernet ports will be a thing of the past regardless of the notebook being labeled as ultra-portable. I've kind of gone back and forth in this thread, but I did suggest just dropping "Air" from the name and just calling them the MacBook. As other have mentioned, this makes even more sense once there is a 13" retina-MBP. The "Air" moniker is so 2008.

 

[sweetbrat]

I understand the Air is now fine for most people. And I get that DVD drives and ethernet ports will be a thing of the past regardless of the notebook being labeled as ultra-portable. I've kind of gone back and forth in this thread, but I did suggest just dropping "Air" from the name and just calling them the MacBook. As other have mentioned, this makes even more sense once there is a 13" retina-MBP. The "Air" moniker is so 2008.

So, is it the components that you want to be changed, or just the names? You've mentioned both at various points in this thread. If you're unhappy with the names...that's just marketing. Those names were chosen because they're effective and conjure certain thoughts for potential buyers. If it's the components you're not happy with, then are you suggesting Apple go back to having three different lines (Air, MacBook, MacBook Pro)? What components do you think each would need to have to justify it's name?

 

[terraphantm]

I don't agree. All I expect a "pro" machine to do is give me a good balance of best-in-class performance combined with a thin and light form factor. I think Apple has achieved that.

I expect any machine that commands a premium should have "best in class" performance with a "good" design - it doesn't have to be labeled as a "pro" to have those qualities.

A pro machine should be aimed at those who need to stress the machines beyond the typical requirements. Actual professionals may very well find the features of Xeon CPUs or workstation graphics to be useful. I know that as RAM capacities get larger, ECC memory will be more useful, and that's a Xeon only feature right now. And people who work with 3d modeling programs almost require quadros and firegls over their GeForce and radeon counterparts.

You or I may not need them, but that doesnt mean others don't. And the pro moniker would make sense for such a system (just like apple seems to realize in the desktop space)

 

[PatriotInvasion]

So, is it the components that you want to be changed, or just the names? You've mentioned both at various points in this thread. If you're unhappy with the names...that's just marketing. Those names were chosen because they're effective and conjure certain thoughts for potential buyers. If it's the components you're not happy with, then are you suggesting Apple go back to having three different lines (Air, MacBook, MacBook Pro)? What components do you think each would need to have to justify it's name?

I think my biggest gripe is in the name...not the components. While I do think the Air is a little underpowered as a baseline 2012 notebook even for the average consumer, I just think the "Air" name suggests it is for business travelers and those needing ultra-portability. If it were marketed as simply the Apple MacBook again, it would feel like the entry level computer for all....with the MacBook Pro being the higher end powerhouse with retina displays. I just think that is a cleaner product line.

 

[chibiterasu]

I said this in a different post but I think is suits this thread more: The current 13 mba is the same price as the 13 pro at £999 or $1199 as most people have said on this site there really isn't much difference in performance its mainly the form factor. Obvisouly the new rmbp wont have a dics drive either so this one of the major differences gone. Now looking behind for a sec they stopped the white macbook at $999 because they felt the 11 inch air was the new entry level laptop at $999 so looking ahead into 2013 the 13 inch air now takes the entry level mbp which means the 13 inch rmbp can go up in price because they still offer a $1199 laptop.

The air will still remain non retina because it is seen as a consumer computer that replaces a non retina pro model until the day that integrated graphics can run a retina display. Basically for 2012 the product line is a bit of a mess with 3 13inch laptops but all the names of there current line up will stay but may mean different things. Its going to be a real shame to lose a affordable pro model but thats the way it goes.
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