Powerbook was too closely identified with the PowerPC chips that Apple was using at that time. When they switched to Intel chips they unveiled their own brand "MacBook" in 2006.
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Why retain the MacBook Air name?
- Thread starter mectojic
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this is from macworld: "Steve Jobs eventually got tired of putting the word “power” on every professional Mac, and Apple’s abandonment of the PowerPC processor was the perfect time to move away from the name PowerBook."
i don't care as much about the names ("air", "macbook") as about what these macs are, do... how they perform. apple can do what they want, ie make the next macbook air in the shape of a rabbit, or call the imac the youmac. whatever. i just want good performance in (because this is what i do expect from apple) an aesthetically-exceptional device.
for me, the M2 air looks great...
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For my sanity, I've reasoned it this way.
"I'd like a Coke."
"Diet, Vanilla, Cherry, Cherry Vanilla, Orange Vanilla...."
"OH GOD, please just a Coke Classic!"
Binomial nomenclature helps to always ensure two separate, yet related, "species" are well-defined.
As I'm looking for support for 10.5 Leopard online, I run into the battle of filtering out the added "Snow" that inevitably appears in the results. Same if, for instance, you want support for an original PlayStation...but you can't filter out PS2 or PS3 etc. easily.
If, in a parallel world, Apple called 10.5 "Panthera Pardus" and 10.6 "Pantherea Uncia", there would be NO confusion, NO difficulty with filtering and far fewer bad leads.
If you called one a MacBook and the other a MacBook Pro, you'd have a hard time defining what makes one not like the other. Remember the 2008 13" MacBook? What made it not a pro? Nothing, so they changed the name.
So if you walk into an Apple store and ask for notebook options, they will present the "air" or the "pro". When you ask for clarification, it's simple: air means light, portable, great to use on the go. Pro means the most power and features for professionals and dedicated applications.
I was pretty sick when they called the 12" a "MacBook" even though it was smaller, lighter, and less powerful/feature packed as the MBA. That is when they should have swapped tags. But, since modern notebooks have whittled out the need for three "tiers", I like the current naming...so long as MacBook doesn't show up beneath the Air again!
"I'd like a Coke."
"Diet, Vanilla, Cherry, Cherry Vanilla, Orange Vanilla...."
"OH GOD, please just a Coke Classic!"
Binomial nomenclature helps to always ensure two separate, yet related, "species" are well-defined.
As I'm looking for support for 10.5 Leopard online, I run into the battle of filtering out the added "Snow" that inevitably appears in the results. Same if, for instance, you want support for an original PlayStation...but you can't filter out PS2 or PS3 etc. easily.
If, in a parallel world, Apple called 10.5 "Panthera Pardus" and 10.6 "Pantherea Uncia", there would be NO confusion, NO difficulty with filtering and far fewer bad leads.
If you called one a MacBook and the other a MacBook Pro, you'd have a hard time defining what makes one not like the other. Remember the 2008 13" MacBook? What made it not a pro? Nothing, so they changed the name.
So if you walk into an Apple store and ask for notebook options, they will present the "air" or the "pro". When you ask for clarification, it's simple: air means light, portable, great to use on the go. Pro means the most power and features for professionals and dedicated applications.
I was pretty sick when they called the 12" a "MacBook" even though it was smaller, lighter, and less powerful/feature packed as the MBA. That is when they should have swapped tags. But, since modern notebooks have whittled out the need for three "tiers", I like the current naming...so long as MacBook doesn't show up beneath the Air again!
Probably. A Camry doesn't sound as good as a Camry SE or Camry XLE. Even calling the base Camry an LE makes it sound not so base.
Espresso?
Espresso with a little lemon twist?
That's probably the strongest argument I've seen in this thread. I think that makes perfect sense.
So the MacBook has less brand recognition than the Air, and is probably an unnecessary category. You've got the MacBook Air (light, iconic, cheaper) and MacBook Pro (meaning inherent, buyer expects higher price and performance).
The major issue now is where the new 13" MacBook Pro fits in the line-up. That could honestly be called a MacBook at this point.
All it takes to dispel that is to try one
It is a pro machine.IMO, the only reason the M1 Air is not a professional-product is the thermal management and feature-blocks by Apple to force users to upgrade (multiple display support).
If there were a MacBook today, I could only imagine it would be a watered down notebook running a more keyboard/mouse-centric iOS. Oops, I've said too much!