At WWDC 2023, Apple introduced another new laptop to its lineup: the 15-inch MacBook Air. It joins the 13-inch MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro as new laptops with the latest chips. There’s just one problem: Apple seems to have forgotten that the 13-inch MacBook Pro exists.
In a slide during the WWDC keynote, Apple showed an image of the Mac lineup after the completion of the transition to Apple silicon: the Mac Pro, iMac, Mac Studio, and Mac mini, alongside the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros. , and 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air. The 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air M1 are conspicuously absent from the render.
It makes sense to exclude Air from the picture since he is two and a half years old. But the 13-inch Pro? Which give? The only explanation is that Apple doesn’t think anyone will buy it, which is basically true. With the price of the 13-inch MacBook Air reduced to $1,099, it’s now $200 less than the 13-inch MacBook Pro with a similar processor, better screen, and newer design. And for the same $1,299, you can get a bigger, better screen with the 15-inch MacBook Air.
I didn’t understand why Apple updated the 13-inch MacBook Pro last year when it launched the redesigned MacBook Air with an M2 processor, and I understand it even less now. It has a slower processor than other MacBook Pros, a smaller screen than either MacBook Air, and a six-year-old design. Even if you really like the Touch Bar, there are plenty of other reasons to buy another MacBook M2. And Apple seems to think the same thing we do: there’s no reason the 13-inch MacBook Pro exists.
There are reports that Apple is still planning to update the 13-inch MacBook Pro with an M3 processor in 2024. Maybe it will. But Apple must first remember that it exists.
