Steve Jobs would have killed the MBA?

[Rogifan]

http://www.t-gaap.com/2015/3/11/where-does-the-macbook-air-go-now

This lineup seems a bit schizophrenic, as the Air model is no longer the lightest in Apple's laptop line. There are two types of 13" models, Air and Pro. Steve Jobs would never have done this, rather, he would have eliminated the Air models continuing to keep the line-up simplified.

Hmm...let's see...the MBA was introduced in January 2008. The MacBook wasn't discontinued until July 2011 (and February 2012 for educational sales). The fact is with the introduction of the MBA Apple created a 3rd category in their product grid: consumer, pro and ultraportable. Apple introduces an ultraportable which eventually becomes the consumer product. The same thing will happen here. Eventually the rMBP will become thinner and lighter and replace the MBA for those who need lots of ports and more processing power. The rMB will come down in price and replace the Air as Apple's entry level consumer device. The lineup may seem confusing now but there are obvious reasons the Air is sticking around. My guess is within 2 years it will be slowly phased out. And the 'Air' designation would no longer be necessary once the rMBP gets thinner and lighter because it most likely won't be that much heavier than the rMB. So you end up with Macbook for consumers and MacBook Pro for professionals.

 

[newellj]

That's pretty much my guess (emphasis on guess) and I think it's the consensus view in the three Notebook forums here (also for what that's worth - none of us has an inside track on Apple's thinking).

There is an interesting post at BGR with quotes from a 2010 Walt Mossberg interview of Steve Jobs. [YouTube link] One relevant snip:

“Number one, things are packages of emphasis. Some things are emphasized in a product, some things are not done as well in product. Some things are chosen not to be done at all in a product.

And so different people make different choices, and if the market tells us we’re making the wrong choices we listen to the market. We’re just people running this company. We’re trying to make great products for people, and so what we have, at least, is the courage of our convictions to say, “We don’t think this is part of what makes a great product, we’re gonna leave it out.”

 

[nutmac]

We don't know what Steve Jobs would've done, but he is known to kill older and successful products to emphasize new products.

If I were to speculate, I think he would've killed 11" MBA and keep just the entry-level 13" MBA ($999 4GB 128GB) with built-to-order option much like 13" non-retina MBP that is still around today.

 

[DanGoh]

He you have yelled:

There's no need for an 11", 12", 13" lineup of notebooks. That's Ridiculous!

 

[Rogifan]

We don't know what Steve Jobs would've done, but he is known to kill older and successful products to emphasize new products.

If I were to speculate, I think he would've killed 11" MBA and keep just the entry-level 13" MBA ($999 4GB 128GB) with built-to-order option much like 13" non-retina MBP that is still around today.

Seems like current Apple leadership (most likely driven by Phil Schiller) keep certain products in the line up just so the "starting at" price meets a certain price point. 1st gen iPad mini is a good example.

 

[JuryDuty]

I'm not sure if he'd have killed it, but I think he'd have ended the "Air" line and just called them all MacBooks and had a few iterations of it instead.

 

[maclook]

I believe the MBAs are sticking around as the budget option much like the old iPad Airs and Minis and old iPhones are still available.

Although the MBAs are a bit different because they have some benefits over the rMB but those benefits should even out within a few iterations.

 

[tmarks11]

There's no need for an 11", 12", 13" lineup of notebooks. That's Ridiculous!

And since the MBA11 has a 11.6" screen, and the MB has a 12.0" screen...

 

[Robstevo]

My guess is they will kill off the air line, make a 15" macbook, and when the redesign of the pro comes out it will be far thinner that the ones out right now.

They will probably achieve this by making the screen thinner like the macbook, use the same battery packing method as the macbook, do the same motherboard process to make it smaller, get rid of the dedicated graphics etc

macbook 12"
macbook 15"
macbook pro 13"
macbook pro 15"

And they will leave the 13" air for a few years as a budget option, like the ipad 2 lol

It's a shame because apart from the screen, the air is currently an awesome device. The thinness is amazing, performance for the size is amazing, but the screen is just dog turd.

 

[Rogifan]

My guess is they will kill off the air line, make a 15" macbook, and when the redesign of the pro comes out it will be far thinner that the ones out right now.

They will probably achieve this by making the screen thinner like the macbook, use the same battery packing method as the macbook, do the same motherboard process to make it smaller, get rid of the dedicated graphics etc

macbook 12"
macbook 15"
macbook pro 13"
macbook pro 15"

And they will leave the 13" air for a few years as a budget option, like the ipad 2 lol

It's a shame because apart from the screen, the air is currently an awesome device. The thinness is amazing, performance for the size is amazing, but the screen is just dog turd.

Why is it a shame if the Pros eventually get thinner and lighter? No sense in updating the Airs with retina display if they're not long for this world.

 

[maflynn]

http://www.t-gaap.com/2015/3/11/where-does-the-macbook-air-go-now

Agreed, he actually did do that when he came back to apple. They had so many overlapping computer models he quickly simplified the line up. I think it was a mistake for apple to call this a MacBook. Either call it an MBA or kill off the MBA and start using the old MacBook moniker again.

For intents purposes, this Retina MacBook is a MacBook Air. The same wedge design, ULV processors, portability over processing power. The simplicity of the apple line up is losing out for questionable reasons.

 

[Rogifan]

Agreed, he actually did do that when he came back to apple. They had so many overlapping computer models he quickly simplified the line up. I think it was a mistake for apple to call this a MacBook. Either call it an MBA or kill off the MBA and start using the old MacBook moniker again.

For intents purposes, this Retina MacBook is a MacBook Air. The same wedge design, ULV processors, portability over processing power. The simplicity of the apple line up is losing out for questionable reasons.

Yeah and if Apple had killed the MBA when they announced the rMB people her would have been livid. It's obvious the Airs are hanging around as Apple's budget option and until the rMBP can get lighter. The only laptop I think should be gone by now is the cMBP.

 

[z31fanatic]

Hmm, I don't think they will kil the Air as long as it sells well. Air is very popular among high school and college students.

 

[MrNick95]

Because they didn't upgrade the trackpad, I'm pretty sure their dropping it next year...just my guess