If you watched Apple’s event last week, you’ll know Tom Boger as the person who introduced the new Mac mini.
This is a subset of a longer interview (here’s a link to the longer version, a podcast) that focuses on Apple’s Mac product grid (Steve Jobs famously introduced the Desktop/Portable vs Consumer/Pro grid back in the day) and the MacBook Air’s place in the product line, as well as how Apple decides which parts to make user serviceable.
This is absolutely worth a watch/listen. I found Tom’s explanation of where the MacBook Air fits to be interesting, but it still doesn’t click for me. Listen for yourself. Nice work, Rene.
The MBA is the model for almost everyone.
The MB looks like another Cook-era zombie product – it wasn’t updated with the latest chips, or touch id, or the improved keyboard, but they’re keeping it on the price list because it is “a product in our lineup” or whatever.
The design is nearly 4 years old, and now provides a very small size/weight advantage over the mainstream MBA (in exchange for a _lot_ of other compromises). Perhaps a redesign is in the works (ARM-based, in 2020?).
He doesn’t follow up and challenge the Air/MB rationales and Boger’s explanation is that the Air is between the MB and the MBP. We get that’s the intention, but Ritchie doesn’t ask the obvious question of how the MB and MBA are so significantly distinct that it justifies having two models.
And why the thinner/lighter one isn’t called the MacBook Air.
The MacBook has no sense in the Mac portables line. It is priced the same as the non-TouchBar MacBook Pro. On the other hand, it is basically a smaller [new] MacBook Air but with 256 GB of storage in its base configuration. It’s a mess.
Apple should have launched TWO new MacBook Airs: 13″ and 11″, with the same specs. Obviously the 11″ model would offer less autonomy, but, hey, miracles do not exist.
And the new 11″ MBA should have replaced the nonsense MacBook.
It does seem like ARM Macs are coming, but not sooner than 2020 and not without advance warning to developers.
IIRC, Apple announced the Intel switch at least 8 months before they shipped Intel Macs. The PPC gap was even longer.
I think that the MacBook was an attempt to make an “iPadized” Mac with a similar size and weight and no fans. Probably the idea was heartedly embraced by Cook, who loves the iPad over the Mac. But it does not fit in the Mac portable lineup; never did.
I was really expecting a new line of portable Macs, Air-styled, 11″ and 13″, based on the ARM chips (and the MacBook being killed with extreme prejudice). Probably these ARM Macs could not offer Thunderbolt, a feature which would be reserved for the MacBook Pros (still Intel-based).
I remembered incorrectly, It was about 6 months between the Intel announcement and the first Intel Macs.
I wonder if the 11″ Air was popular (I had one).
I just think they should have 2 tiers, not 3. Macbook/MBP or MBA/MBP. Have the tiers not overlap except at the high end of the consumer line with the low end of the pro line.
My issue here is that Ritchie starts off with the quadrant as a framing device brings up the MB/MBA stuff…. and never connects the two thing, namely “Hey these both seem to fit in the laptop/consumer quadrant but they overlap to a large degree. Why have both? What is Apple’s thinking here?” Boger’s response was free of any of this and Ritchie seemed not to understand that.
Exactly. Two tiers: MBA 11”/13”, both with the same features of the new MBA. And MBP 13”/15”. I think that even the non-touchbar MBP should be killed because of the overlap with the MBA 13” (maybe the TouchBar should be removed from all the MBP line, except TouchID of course, and their prices adjusted accordingly).
The MBA 11” was a delight for mobility. I have one (mid 2011, unfortunately not compatible with Mojave) and its only drawback is the low quality of its non-retina, TN LCD panel.
I agree that the smallest MacBook (whatever its called) is the most likely model to be switched first, but there’s just no way Apple is going to all of a sudden start selling ARM Macs into a market without _any_ third party software support. It doesn’t make sense for Apple, developers, or customers.
Expect it to follow the same pattern as the Intel transition: announcement at WWDC, with developer-only test machines, followed by actual hardware the following year.
Yes, but in this case the transition would be eased if it started by ARM-izing 🙂 only the MacBook Air (11” and 13”, remember). MacBook Pros could wait one or even two years, depending on the speed of the third party software transition. And I don’t now if Thunderbolt support could be a problem for ARM-based Macs (it basically comes out for free from many Intel CPUs).