Why do you think the MacBook failed? Poll

[theluggage]

I'd also guess most people will end up with some kind of laptop and some kind of tablet, so no need to choose just one.

...and if I were going for a "laptop + tablet" strategy I'd go for something more substantial than a 12" MacBook as the laptop component. I wouldn't regard an iPad as a laptop replacement but - with a keyboard if necessary - is perfectly adequate for jotting notes at meeting, keeping up with email, even running a "powerpoint" for those times when a MacBook Pro was just too big (...and they're not exactly huge... darned Millennials never tried travelling with a PowerBook G3 grumble grumble..).

Then you have to look at Apple's 2019 aspirations - they're aggressively pushing the iPad Pro as a content creation device, they've got Photoshop for iOS in the works, schemes to help developers simultaneously target iOS and Mac OS, drawing a line between i(Phone)OS and iPadOS, improving keyboard shortcuts, even limited mouse support... That's quite a courageous path when other manufacturers are pretty much dumping the traditional tablet market in favour of 2-in-ones or Chromebooks. So, I'm pretty sure Apple would like potential MacBook buyers to consider an iPad Pro instead (I'm guessing that iPad customers spend more on services...)

 

[EugW]

Price! Also, the fact that it only had one USB-C port was a real downer for lots of people, especially considering that one port was used for charging.

Interesting that they didn't have the COURAGE to remove the headphone jack and add in a second USB-C port.

 

[0989382]

The issue with the MB is that it was too expensive for what you got, and that if you did consider it, the 2017 MBP 13" was your other choice which offered a lot more for the money.

Now, it would have needed updated costing time and money for Apple. But even if they did that, where would it fit in the current lineup? The Air is the new consumer machine, with a great new price to match. The Pro is the powerhouse machine.

I suspect the MB, with one port being a real disadvantage in my experience as a user, with the throttling at times and noticeable performance limitations (though more of the time I'm impressed by it than not) definitely doesn't fit into the lineup with it's siblings.

I think that's why it's no longer an option, not even a premium option as it pretty much always has been.

The MBA 11" was the successful example of how a smaller machine could fit into an Apple lineup. The MB succeeded it, but not spiritually. Just in being the smallest option really. It wasn't affordable, or expandable or practical - fair enough, in the pursuit of being premium, forward thinking and portable.

 

[maflynn]

It didn't fail. You need to add that choice to your poll.....

In one sense it did fail, because if it was a successful product earning Apple lots of profits they would not have killed it off. The product wasn't a failure in design, but it certainly didn't make the amount of money that would have kept it alive

I don't know why apple chose to kill the macbook off, though I suspect overlapping product lines was a major reason. I always questioned why Apple had a 11" MBA, 12" MacBook, 13" MBA, 13" MBP (I know they've since killed off the 11" MBA) but at one point that was the product line

 

[macgeek18]

I read a lot of these early super thin laptops were designed with the 10nm Intel processors in mind. But because of delays they had to settle for the Core M lineup. In 2015 if the 10nm Intel lineup had materialized these machines would have been super fast small form factor machines with amazing price to performance.

 

[Falhófnir]

Sub 13" computers have always seemed a bit of a niche to me - yes there's people who swear by theirs, but generally people seem to want 13 or 15 inch class screens, especially now you can get such tiny 13" form factors. Yes there was a noticeable difference in size and weight between the 12" MB and 13" MBA, but my guess would be not enough people were willing to make the extra sacrifices (single port, no fan, less screen space to work with) over the newly svelte Air. Conversely, it seems 17" models are currently having a bit of a renaissance now they can fit them in machines not much larger than older 15" models.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

My current computer is the legendary 11" MBA, which I love.

I seriously debated purchasing the 12" MB, - as I do like the form factor, enormously, and the light weight - but two factors deterred me; the single port, and the reports about the poor quality of the keyboard.

 

[Suttree]

In 2008, MacBook Air for $1,800 with one USB-A port. 2015, MacBook for $1300. The MacBook was more expensive than the MacBook Air. Simple math. Apple is Greed incarnate. Instead of lowering prices, Apple increased prices with pretty much the same specs.

Also, the MacBook was designed to operate without a fan. Probably no appropriate chip available for this year and the next.

 

[McScooby]

Price, it was too expensive to justify. At $899 it would've been a good value and suitable replacement for the old 11" MacBook Air.

What I don't get about 's pricing strategy these days it that all products carry 'high' margins. Products like the iPad / iPhone & MB should be priced & advertised as a double/triple solution to make attractive to have both, not either.

An analogy in a pub is you set Pint prices at £3.33, not £3, £3.50 or £4, why? If a customer walks in for a few with £10 in his pocket, Pints at £3 gets them 3 and £1 change, £3.50 gets them 2 and £3 change, £4 gets 2 and £2 change but at £3.33 as the retailer you get it all, £5 would get you less for more, but customers may be dissuaded from shopping there in the first place.

The MB/MB Air should be aimed & set at a price point where the combined price of both is slightly less than what you'd normally charge, but you gain more when customers buy the 2/3 products. As an iPad can now work as a 2nd screen, lets hope catch on with this mentality, although I'm not holding my breath!

 

[KPOM]

What I don't get about 's pricing strategy these days it that all products carry 'high' margins. Products like the iPad / iPhone & MB should be priced & advertised as a double/triple solution to make attractive to have both, not either.

An analogy in a pub is you set Pint prices at £3.33, not £3, £3.50 or £4, why? If a customer walks in for a few with £10 in his pocket, Pints at £3 gets them 3 and £1 change, £3.50 gets them 2 and £3 change, £4 gets 2 and £2 change but at £3.33 as the retailer you get it all, £5 would get you less for more, but customers may be dissuaded from shopping there in the first place.

The MB/MB Air should be aimed & set at a price point where the combined price of both is slightly less than what you'd normally charge, but you gain more when customers buy the 2/3 products. As an iPad can now work as a 2nd screen, lets hope catch on with this mentality, although I'm not holding my breath!

Tips mess up the pub math.

What’s odd is that the 12” MacBook and iPad mini combined have almost the exact weight of the 13” MacBook Air. They would seemingly be the perfect travel pair for many now that the iPad is gaining Sidecar capability.

 

[sledgehammer89]

Something else: it was not going to be a MacPad.

I'd like to have full flexibility of macOS (developing), but wanted to continue with all stored files and opened browser tabs on the couch and bed, where a tablet formfactor does have advantages, with full macOS, where tasks run (optionally in the background) whenever I wanted.

 

[pacmania1982]

One port, butterfly keyboard, and price.

I had the 2015 model until 2018. I loved it. The one port was a total none issue for me, and I still can't believe people go on about it. I bought the HDMI, USB A to USB C adapter for occasions when I needed to use a 'normal' sized USB connector but for my uses it was few and far between. I also never plugged more than one device in at any time. The keyboard was fine until I sold it. I carefully kept it clean and often turned the machine upside down and gently tapped it to remove any debris, until I put some cardboard underneath the space bar while cleaning and it pinged off. And the price - I looked at the price of other ultrabooks, and it actually wasn't too bad.

For me it was perfect and fit all of my requirements.

 

[psychedelia]

I had the 2015 model until 2018. I loved it. The one port was a total none issue for me, and I still can't believe people go on about it. I bought the HDMI, USB A to USB C adapter for occasions when I needed to use a 'normal' sized USB connector but for my uses it was few and far between. I also never plugged more than one device in at any time. The keyboard was fine until I sold it. I carefully kept it clean and often turned the machine upside down and gently tapped it to remove any debris, until I put some cardboard underneath the space bar while cleaning and it pinged off. And the price - I looked at the price of other ultrabooks, and it actually wasn't too bad.

For me it was perfect and fit all of my requirements.

You sold it, but what did you exchange it for?

 

[bambooshots]

I wouldn't say it failed.

It was discontinued as it appeared to not have a place in the current lineup. The tech was aging and the current tech doesn't meet Apple's vision. Selling a computing product that's over two years old probably wasn't good optics, too.

In a year or so Apple could reintroduce it as having the same form factor but with upgraded internals, similar to how the iPhone 5s was axed and then brought back as the SE.

 

[ThugFreak]

I wouldn't say it failed.

It was discontinued as it appeared to not have a place in the current lineup. The tech was aging and the current tech doesn't meet Apple's vision. Selling a computing product that's over two years old probably wasn't good optics, too.

In a year or so Apple could reintroduce it as having the same form factor but with upgraded internals, similar to how the iPhone 5s was axed and then brought back as the SE.

Deleted

 

[ApplesandOranges]

Lack of support (keeping it up to date) first and foremost, followed by lack of ports, and then price.

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

It did not fail. It was groundbreaking at the time in 2015. Apple had been through a bad few years - boring iPhone 6 stale design, old MacBook Airs etc and suddenly this little MacBook put Apple back on track. Tech sites even branded it as 'a little glimpse into the future.'

Of course, the butterfly keyboard was a mistake along with one port etc but this design paved the way for the design of the MacBook Pro and now the Air.

The only mistake was the GIGANTIC price in the UK - gen 2 saw a 20% price hike which made it unaffordable for most in the market for a laptop. Pricing was the main reason why it failed. The 512GB was £1550 - simply crazy money for a rather fragile device. I'm not truly convinced that it'll last for more than 4 years. To me, it's very light and fragile.

I loved the MacBook and it's design was incredible. I've loved mine. But the pricing was insane and really could not be justified in 2019. I'm excited to see the future MacBook Pro 13" and that will be my next Mac.

 

[pacmania1982]

I had the 2015 model until 2018. I loved it. The one port was a total none issue for me, and I still can't believe people go on about it. I bought the HDMI, USB A to USB C adapter for occasions when I needed to use a 'normal' sized USB connector but for my uses it was few and far between. I also never plugged more than one device in at any time. The keyboard was fine until I sold it. I carefully kept it clean and often turned the machine upside down and gently tapped it to remove any debris, until I put some cardboard underneath the space bar while cleaning and it pinged off. And the price - I looked at the price of other ultrabooks, and it actually wasn't too bad.

For me it was perfect and fit all of my requirements.

I sold it when the space bar pinged off. I replaced it with a refurbished 13” MacBook Pro without touchbar which was super cheap.

 

[spiderpumpkin]

I've bought my 2017 MacBook i5/16/512 back in August 2017, and I take it with me everyday. I love the small, light and fanless design. It's still like new and the keyboard hasn't given me any problems. I hope to continue using it for another 3-5 years.

The MacBook was discontinued. I'm pretty sure we'll see something similar in the next year or two when the ARM processor Apple Macs hit the market.

 

[abercrombie]

I love my Macbook and dont think it failed.

My theory is that it canabalized and stole sales from the heavier Macbook Air line so they removed this offering. It never made sense to me to offer something lighter than the Macbook Air with a better display.

 

[pika2000]

It didn’t fail. It’s just redundant when Apple decided to redesign the MacBook Air. So more like the MacBook Air was supposed to be the actual MacBook.
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Overpriced, underpowered, with a small screen and limited connectivity.

It was essentially the netbook all over again. Something that Steve Jobs had made fun of when the MacBook Air was brought to market years prior. Launching the MacBook as the Air replacement was doomed to fail.

LOL. Underpowered? Can netbooks edit 4K videos?

 

[Chidorin]

Tiger Lake is slated to include quad-core 9 W TDP and 25 W TDP models. So no macbook 12 in 2020 only if arm based released with up to 5 W TDP

 

[EugW]

Tiger Lake is slated to include quad-core 9 W TDP and 25 W TDP models. So no macbook 12 in 2020 only if arm based released with up to 5 W TDP

IIRC, the 9 W power spec of Ice Lake Y etc is not directly comparable to previous 5 W specs such as in Kaby Lake.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Price, no doubt.

 

[Chidorin]

isn

IIRC, the 9 W power spec of Ice Lake Y etc is not directly comparable to previous 5 W specs such as in Kaby Lake.

isn't it about heat dissipation? so mb 12 form factor can only be fanless with cpu tdp ~5 W