I think this is ok as I couldn't find another thread addressing this issue as a whole, rather than speculating in general about a 14 inch option for the existing MacBook design.
One thing that I find frustrating about Apple's lineup is the linking of screen size to performance, with bigger = higher performance, and of course more expensive. With iOS devices it's more of a non issue, because of the relatively smaller penalty for going large, but with a Mac, you're only choice for a laptop larger than 13" is the 15 inch pro, which is exorbitantly expensive for people like me who can make good use of the screen space, and want a portable machine (as in not a desktop) but who don't need H series chips and cutting edge, expensive SSD speeds for what we're doing.
Obviously there's the larger bill of materials to factor in, but I have to wonder why Apple reserves the single most popular size of laptop for its highest end model with its highest end price tag, it's not like 15" is some ultra niche size, as I said it's the most popular choice of size for laptop computers as a whole, and Apple doesn't have an offering in the category that would appeal to most prospective buyers, outside of the heavy-duty pro users.
So am I alone or would anyone else like to see a 14-15 inch non-pro MacBook using less powerful cpus like the i5 7300u in the surface pro (which, while a regular 15w ultra book cpu, could likely be made fanless as with the surface pro in a larger machine) at a price more in line with the current 13 inch options to give you the choice? I'm not asking for a bottom-dollar machine with compromise upon compromise to meet a price point, just a solid 15" option for those who don't need to spend 2k+ on a configuration to suit our needs.
The two options I could see would be re-purposing the 2012-15 15" pro design using lower wattage cpus, and more components in common with the cheaper MBP 13", or designing a scaled up 12" MacBook from scratch. I'd imagine the former would be cheaper if Apple just wanted to dip its toe in the water to test the market.
One thing that I find frustrating about Apple's lineup is the linking of screen size to performance, with bigger = higher performance, and of course more expensive. With iOS devices it's more of a non issue, because of the relatively smaller penalty for going large, but with a Mac, you're only choice for a laptop larger than 13" is the 15 inch pro, which is exorbitantly expensive for people like me who can make good use of the screen space, and want a portable machine (as in not a desktop) but who don't need H series chips and cutting edge, expensive SSD speeds for what we're doing.
Obviously there's the larger bill of materials to factor in, but I have to wonder why Apple reserves the single most popular size of laptop for its highest end model with its highest end price tag, it's not like 15" is some ultra niche size, as I said it's the most popular choice of size for laptop computers as a whole, and Apple doesn't have an offering in the category that would appeal to most prospective buyers, outside of the heavy-duty pro users.
So am I alone or would anyone else like to see a 14-15 inch non-pro MacBook using less powerful cpus like the i5 7300u in the surface pro (which, while a regular 15w ultra book cpu, could likely be made fanless as with the surface pro in a larger machine) at a price more in line with the current 13 inch options to give you the choice? I'm not asking for a bottom-dollar machine with compromise upon compromise to meet a price point, just a solid 15" option for those who don't need to spend 2k+ on a configuration to suit our needs.
The two options I could see would be re-purposing the 2012-15 15" pro design using lower wattage cpus, and more components in common with the cheaper MBP 13", or designing a scaled up 12" MacBook from scratch. I'd imagine the former would be cheaper if Apple just wanted to dip its toe in the water to test the market.
