So it’s going to be called the MacBook mini, right?

[maruyama]

What Apple calls it may seem like a meaningless, totally superficial aspect of a product launch… but it actually says a lot about how they are seeing it fit into the overall portfolio.

I think Apple is going to position the low-cost MacBook as the missing tentpole in the current Mac lineup. Two decades ago (feeling old right now), Steve Jobs had this four quadrant strategy for the Mac:

Today, it’s five quadrants, with a conspicuous gap:

Mac mini	iMac	Mac Studio
???	MacBook Air	MacBook Pro

(Sorry Mac Pro, but you are the new Xserve)

The low-cost MacBook is the sixth quadrant in Tim Cook’s version. I think they’ll call it the MacBook mini.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I don’t agree. If the rumor is true, I wouldn’t call a 12.9” MB “mini.” I believe Apple will stick with MB for the name. I think you are spending way too much time overthinking the obvious.

 

[Moonjumper]

I think it might just be called MacBook, but that will be confusing. “Which type of MacBook did you get?” “MacBook”

MacBook SE is another possibility.

 

[ClaraStahlbaum]

Macbook E or SE is a good name. I have no idea why the phrase "mini" is so popular, it's kind of silly if you think about it.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I think it might just be called MacBook, but that will be confusing. “Which type of MacBook did you get?” “MacBook”

MacBook SE is another possibility.

How about “MR Reject” for the name, seeing how so many here feel this forum represents mainstream people who aren’t Apple nerds?

 

[conmee]

@Apple_Robert I thought for some folks this forum represented a bunch of broke/underemployed serfs who yearn for Ultra performance and options for $499 (>$599 is a deal breaker evidently).

P.S. Just kidding to all my fellow broke serfs! 😉

 

[UltimateSyn]

Just "MacBook". See "iPad" in the iPad lineup.

 

[Starfia]

I'll come back and tip my hat if it's called the MacBook mini, but I'd be very surprised. I'm getting the impression this is another try at the "MacBook." Entry-level, affordable, simple name that newcomers can understand. (Yes, like "iPad.")

And amid the iPads, "Air" has long since ceased to mean "the thinnest and lightest," and has long weirdly meant "the better-quality one that still isn't "Pro." That's where the MacBook Air would then sit too.

 

[Madonepro]

I think this is the matrix now, although we could well see the Studio fill the void of the Mac Pro, but I still believe Apple wish to continue innovating at the Mac Pro level, just it's a bigger kettle of fish.

 

[tomtad]

Just "MacBook". See "iPad" in the iPad lineup.

I would go with this. But still, I've always found the naming odd making it seem you're getting the standard model when in reality it is a budget model, and I'm sure Apple loses quite a few sales of it's iPad Air due to that. I guess the names are pretty established so Apple just sticks with it.

Calling it just the MacBook could lead to a significant number of people no longer buying the MacBook Air I would have thought, so calling it something like MacBook mini could help highlight you're getting something less rather than it being the new standard model which the name MacBook would imply.

 

[vanishing]

The name could imply Apples intentions to the update cycle;

Mini - gets regular updates

SE - gets infrequent updates

 

[theluggage]

Steve Jobs had this four quadrant strategy for the Mac:

…which (as people seem to forget) was designed for a company on the verge of bankruptcy, to replace a sprawling dumpster-fire range of Performa models, in a time when desktop PCs were still the main market. It’s far less relevant today.

It’s perfectly reasonable for the 4th largest maker of personal computers to offer economy laptop, ultrabook, powerful general-purpose laptop and mobile workstation ranges.

Especially as half of that diversification in personal computers is down to Jobs ignoring his own rules and popularising new categories like the all-in-one (iMac), the mini-pc (Mac Mini) and the Ultrabook (MacBook Air) - all much-copied by the industry.

 

[tomtad]

I think this is the matrix now, although we could well see the Studio fill the void of the Mac Pro, but I still believe Apple wish to continue innovating at the Mac Pro level, just it's a bigger kettle of fish.

View attachment 2609036

I'd mostly go with this, just with a few tweaks

	iPhone	iPad	Mac Laptop	Mac Desktop
Premium	iPhone Pro/iPhone Air	iPad Pro	MacBook Pro	Mac Studio/Mac Pro
Regular	iPhone	iPad Air/iPad mini	MacBook Air	Mac mini
Budget	iPhone E	iPad	MacBook	-

 

[Plutonius]

I'm not too sure what it will finally be called but I can see most people complaining about the price vs what you get.

Apple marketing might as well call it the MacBook Ultra 🙂 .

 

[Arctic Moose]

Just "MacBook". See "iPad" in the iPad lineup.

This.

Just "MacBook".

It sounds like what the 12" MacBook should have been.

(Personally, I really, really want a MacBook Pro mini, i.e. the smallest and thinnest practically usable macOS device Apple could possibly make, with best hardware specs the form factor could possibly support. They are 90% of the way there with the 11" iPad Pro.)

Especially as half of that diversification in personal computers is down to Jobs ignoring his own rules and popularising new categories like the all-in-one (iMac), the mini-pc (Mac Mini) and the Ultrabook (MacBook Air) - all much-copied by the industry.

And the G4 Cube.

 

[theluggage]

It sounds like what the 12" MacBook should have been.

...don't forget the 11" MacBook Air which was the "entry level" MacBook for a while.

But, yeah, just "MacBook" would be the obvious name for this.

And the G4 Cube.

Yup, I think the Shuttle PCs came after the Cube and were possibly influenced. The Shuttle-like mini PC I had for a while was definitely a Mac-influenced clear plastic and brushed metal design.

The fun thing about Apple is that even their failures can be influential (e.g. Lisa, the Cube and maybe the Newton).

 

[Arctic Moose]

...don't forget the 11" MacBook Air which was the "entry level" MacBook for a while.

Another one of my all-time favorite Macs.

Although it felt super small at the time, obviously the iPad shows what they could accomplish now. (And now with decent performance.)

Machine	Width (cm)	Depth (cm)	Thickness (cm)	Weight (kg)
PowerBook G4 12″	27.7	21.9	3.0	2.1
MacBook 12″	28.05	19.65	1.31	0.92
MacBook Air 11″	30.0	19.2	0.30–1.70	1.08
iPad Pro 11″	24.76	17.85	0.59	0.47

 

[theluggage]

I'd mostly go with this, just with a few tweaks

As I posted previously, I don't think the matrix idea is that helpful for a company the size of Apple today, and there's a danger of focussing on the matrix rather than the products. E.g. a few years ago Apple nearly dropped the ball by not having a large-screen iPhone - then swerved to the other extreme by neglecting the smaller iPhones...

With the Macs, we had years of "Desktop Mac == iMac" with only poor, infrequently updated "headless" desktops, until that came to a head with that crisis press conference in 2017.

...then there was the related idea of "good/better/best" in each "cell" which was OK as long as there were lots of possible CPU/GPU permutations but ended up with 3 versions of Mac Mini that only differed by RAM and storage, that just served to rub in how much Apple overcharged for those things (Ok, so "Hold my beer" says the RAM/Storage industry in 2026).

So, if I go looking for a laptop, I might want:
* Bargain bucket - the rumoured A18 MB.
* A 2-in-1 convertible (not something Apple does yet)
* Something as small as possible (the old 12" MacBook and 11" MBA).
* An ultrabook - i.e. small & light but "premium" and relatively powerful with decent display and KB (the MBA is the definitive ultrabook)
* Jack-of-all-trades (like the M5 MBP)
* Medium power, Large screen for spreadsheets/WP/DTP/coding (15" MBA - maybe the M4 Pro 16" MBP)
* Portable workstation (MBP Max)

...all of that choice is a good thing when the company isn't circling the drain. Feel free to tweak those off-the-cuff categories, but there are certainly 4-5 general types of laptop that people may be looking for (and the PC market provides more weird and wonderful variations than that...)

 

[unkl bob]

(Personally, I really, really want a MacBook Pro mini, i.e. the smallest and thinnest practically usable macOS device Apple could possibly make, with best hardware specs the form factor could possibly support. They are 90% of the way there with the 11" iPad Pro.)

Me too ! Tried the 13" MBA, not quite. I'd get an 11" MBP on day 1. THX Moose !

 

[Euroamerican]

"Macbook" sounds about right, but I can see the marketing and sales departments wanting a new name of some sort that can be pimped to the potential buyers:

Something catchy, something fresh!

 

[ClaraStahlbaum]

I prefer the name Macbook SE or Macbook E.

 

[maruyama]

(Personally, I really, really want a MacBook Pro mini, i.e. the smallest and thinnest practically usable macOS device Apple could possibly make, with best hardware specs the form factor could possibly support. They are 90% of the way there with the 11" iPad Pro.)

This is close to what I really want, which is an iPad duo. Runs macOS when you have a mouse and keyboard connected; switches into iPadOS when you disconnect.

 

[AppleTO]

I'd mostly go with this, just with a few tweaks

	iPhone	iPad	Mac Laptop	Mac Desktop
Premium	iPhone Pro/iPhone Air	iPad Pro	MacBook Pro	Mac Studio/Mac Pro
Regular	iPhone	iPad Air/iPad mini	MacBook Air	Mac mini
Budget	iPhone E	iPad	MacBook	-

I would say the Desktop budget is the Mac mini, and the regular is the iMac.

 

[Arctic Moose]

Me too ! Tried the 13" MBA, not quite.

Same here. Replaced it with a MacBook Pro. I figured if it needs to have a huge footprint I may as well get a slightly thicker one for the performance.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

No way it will be called Mini unless it is smaller than 12" size, and Apple would have leaked such dramatic size info. Macbook E would make sense as aimed at the edu market, or SE as another cheapie device like the iPhone SE. But I will guess at just plain Macbook.