Would You Have Rather Had A 15-inch MacBook Air with M2 Instead Of The 2022 13-inch MacBook Pro?

[Yebubbleman]

The title more or less says it. Would you have rather had Apple discontinue the 13-inch MacBook Pro and replace that segment of the Mac notebook lineup with a 15-inch MacBook Air model with M2? Or are you glad that the 13-inch MacBook Pro not only remained in the lineup with no design changes, but got a spec-bump to the higher-end of the Air's M2 offerings? Or are you, like me, unsure as to which way you'd go on this one? Personally, I think a 15-inch MacBook Air would've been much more what the doctor ordered and have made much more marketing sense for the MacBook range. But, I do like the body style of the 2-port 13-inch MacBook Pro; second generation Touch Bar and all. Which would you rather?

 

[DavidChoux]

I would love the M2 Air slightly thicker with a fan so the M2 can be fully utilised. Call it the 13" Pro and do away with the M2 Pro that was just released. Then make a much smaller, thinner, tapered laptop and call that the Air.

 

[Isamilis]

It’s very unlikely there is 15” MBA. It won’t be “Air” anymore.

 

[Falhófnir]

the 13" M1 Pro should have been a repurposed TouchBar 15" from the start IMO. Having two near identical machines with the only difference being 'fan' is too much overlap. A 13" M1 Air and 15" M1 Pro would have had a much broader appeal.

 

[TechRunner]

I can't imagine saying no to your question. Having two sizes of MBA and two of MBP seems like it would be the ideal lineup. Of course, that's probably just wishful thinking on my part, as I'd buy a 15" MBA on release day.

 

[Velin]

I would love the M2 Air slightly thicker with a fan so the M2 can be fully utilised. Call it the 13" Pro and do away with the M2 Pro that was just released. Then make a much smaller, thinner, tapered laptop and call that the Air.

What you described is the new 13" M2 Pro. Same is true for a thinner laptop called the MBAir. That is precisely what Apple designed, and released the other day.

 

[ascender]

I would love the M2 Air slightly thicker with a fan so the M2 can be fully utilised. Call it the 13" Pro and do away with the M2 Pro that was just released. Then make a much smaller, thinner, tapered laptop and call that the Air.

The current M1 is hardly hobbled by the lack of a fan so I don't expect the M2 will be either although we'll need to wait and see what the benchmarks say. I expect it will perform the same - so only a minimal drop-off if you're doing intensive stuff like encoding.

 

[skaertus]

It’s very unlikely there is 15” MBA. It won’t be “Air” anymore.

Not necessarily. A 15-inch model can be thinner and lighter than the Pro models.

the 13" M1 Pro should have been a repurposed TouchBar 15" from the start IMO. Having two near identical machines with the only difference being 'fan' is too much overlap. A 13" M1 Air and 15" M1 Pro would have had a much broader appeal.

I suppose the 13-inch M1 was just a carryover and Apple kept it just to justify the price points. Now, keeping the 13-inch M2 Pro model makes little sense as it is $100 more expensive than the redesigned Air and I can see any advantage in buying it instead.

The new 13-inch M2 model can only mean that a new MacBook model is around the corner and it was not ready for launch this time. This is because:

• If Apple intended to simply discontinue the 13-inch Pro model and replace it with the new M2 13.6-inch Air, it would have already done so. In this case, the 13-inch Air and Pro would have both been replaced by the new Air. This did not happen.
• If Apple intended to replace the 13-inch Pro with a lower-end 14.2-inch Pro, with the same chassis of the M1 Pro/Max 14.2-inch model, but with an M2 processor instead, it would probably have done so as well.
• If Apple intended to replace the 13-inch Pro with a new 13.6-inch Pro, with a chassis shared with the new Air, but with an M1 Pro/Max processor instead, it would probably have already done so.

Then, my conclusion here is that the 13-inch Pro will be replaced by something else. It may be a 13.6-inch Pro with a slightly thicker chassis, but it might not make sense as it would be too close in size and weight to the 14.2-inch model.

The more feasible option, it seems to me, is a forthcoming larger Air model. A 15-inch model that could weigh some 3.3 lbs and cost from $1399 to $1699.

So Apple's line-up could be as follows:

Previous gen low-end Air, $999
Low-end 13.6-inch Air, $1199
Low-end 15.2-inch Air, $1399/$1499
High-end 13.6-inch Air, $1499
High-end 15.2-inch Air, $1699/$1799

Low-end 14.2-inch Pro, $1999
High-end 14.2-inch Pro, $2499
Low-end 16.2-inch Pro, $2499
Mid-range 16.2-inch Pro, $2699
High-end 16-inch Pro, $3499

Makes sense?

 

[DavidChoux]

The current M1 is hardly hobbled by the lack of a fan so I don't expect the M2 will be either although we'll need to wait and see what the benchmarks say. I expect it will perform the same - so only a minimal drop-off if you're doing intensive stuff like encoding.

But from the graphs shown the M2 can use more wattage than the M1. I guess yeah only time can tell.

 

[Falhófnir]

Not necessarily. A 15-inch model can be thinner and lighter than the Pro models.

I suppose the 13-inch M1 was just a carryover and Apple kept it just to justify the price points. Now, keeping the 13-inch M2 Pro model makes little sense as it is $100 more expensive than the redesigned Air and I can see any advantage in buying it instead.

The new 13-inch M2 model can only mean that a new MacBook model is around the corner and it was not ready for launch this time. This is because:

• If Apple intended to simply discontinue the 13-inch Pro model and replace it with the new M2 13.6-inch Air, it would have already done so. In this case, the 13-inch Air and Pro would have both been replaced by the new Air. This did not happen.
• If Apple intended to replace the 13-inch Pro with a lower-end 14.2-inch Pro, with the same chassis of the M1 Pro/Max 14.2-inch model, but with an M2 processor instead, it would probably have done so as well.
• If Apple intended to replace the 13-inch Pro with a new 13.6-inch Pro, with a chassis shared with the new Air, but with an M1 Pro/Max processor instead, it would probably have already done so.

Then, my conclusion here is that the 13-inch Pro will be replaced by something else. It may be a 13.6-inch Pro with a slightly thicker chassis, but it might not make sense as it would be too close in size and weight to the 14.2-inch model.

The more feasible option, it seems to me, is a forthcoming larger Air model. A 15-inch model that could weigh some 3.3 lbs and cost from $1399 to $1699.

So Apple's line-up could be as follows:

Previous gen low-end Air, $999
Low-end 13.6-inch Air, $1199
Low-end 15.2-inch Air, $1399/$1499
High-end 13.6-inch Air, $1499
High-end 15.2-inch Air, $1699/$1799

Low-end 14.2-inch Pro, $1999
High-end 14.2-inch Pro, $2499
Low-end 16.2-inch Pro, $2499
Mid-range 16.2-inch Pro, $2699
High-end 16-inch Pro, $3499

Makes sense?

I agree it seems likely the 15" Air will slot in at $1,199 or $1,299 (or maybe a bit more, depending on whether they drop the new 13.6" to $999 or keep it at $1,199 at the next refresh), I just think it would have made more sense to the lineup in the meantime to have had an M1 15" from the start:

Nov 2020:
M1 MacBook Air 13.3" - $999
M1 MacBook Pro 15" - $1,299

June 2022:
M1 MBA 13.3" - $999
M2 MBA 13.6" - $1,199
M2 MBP 15" - $1,299

November 2023:
M3 MBA 13.6" - $1,099
M3 MBA 15.2" - $1,299

The M1/M2 MacBook Pro just seems so redundant when they could have offered something to appeal to a slightly different market segment than the nearly identical MacBook Air.

 

[jav6454]

It’s very unlikely there is 15” MBA. It won’t be “Air” anymore.

This is the most under-rated comment ever. People need to understand that the Air is synonym for Ultra portability. Anything above the current specs and it becomes tedious as that function.

 

[Student of Life]

Just get the 16 inch Mac book pro. Instead of waiting and waiting just get it. Thats what is being implied here. It doesn't seem logical that Apple will come out with a 15 inch laptop anytime soon. And lets say for arguments sake it did, it won't be cheap, think starting price around 1800+ starting with 8gb of ram and 256 ssd. Which at that point the Pro make more sense and you end up getting a pro which was Apple goal in the first place.

 

[jav6454]

Just get the 16 inch Mac book pro. Instead of waiting and waiting just get it. Thats what is being implied here. It doesn't seem logical that Apple will come out with a 15 inch laptop anytime soon. And lets say for arguments sake it did, it won't be cheap, think starting price around 1800+ starting with 8gb of ram and 256 ssd. Which at that point the Pro make more sense and you end up getting a pro which was Apple goal in the first place.

Another reason as to why a 15" MBA won't happen. Cost and market segmentation. Good points.

 

[ascender]

I see there's another rumour about both a 15" Air and a 12" MacBook, so what do I know!

I think we've always said its strange that Apple don't offer a 15" non-Pro machine, so maybe they are finally listening to what their customers want.

 

[kschendel]

A 15" MBA, whatever they call it, will likely be the machine that finally gets me to replace this late 2013 15" rMBP. (Which runs perfectly well, particularly after a battery replacement.) The only thing I need from a laptop is a screen large enough to satisfy, a way to supply a pair of USB-A ports, and a way to conveniently run wired Ethernet while at home. I don't need a "Pro" machine for that.

 

[Tagbert]

It’s very unlikely there is 15” MBA. It won’t be “Air” anymore.

The Air line has always had two main characteristic, light and cheap. (At least within Apple’s pricing windows). Within the wider laptop market there is a lot of demand for 15” displays. A lot of Mac buyers would like a larger screen but don’t need the power or price of a MBP.

The price difference between a 14” MBP and a 16” MBP is $200 both configured the same. That basically buys you the larger screen.

A 15” MBA would weight less than a 14” MBP and should be about $200 more than a 13” Air. Sounds like an appealing computer.

 

[jav6454]

I see there's another rumour about both a 15" Air and a 12" MacBook, so what do I know!

I think we've always said its strange that Apple don't offer a 15" non-Pro machine, so maybe they are finally listening to what their customers want.

Or perhaps they are testing something that will never come out. It has happened before.