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 the newest laptops sporting the newest chips. There’s just one problem: Apple appears to have forgotten the 13-inch MacBook Pro exists.
In a slide during the WWDC keynote, Apple showed a picture of the Mac lineup following 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 Pro, and 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air. Conspicuously absent from the rendering are the 13-inch MacBook Pro and M1 MacBook Air.
The Mac slide during the WWDC keynote was missing something.
Apple
It makes sense to exclude the Air from the image since it’s two and a half years old. But the 13-inch Pro? What gives? The only explanation is that Apple doesn’t actually think anyone will buy it, which is basically true. With the 13-inch MacBook Air’s price cut 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 and 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 the other MacBook Pros, a smaller screen than either of the MacBook Airs and a six-year-old design. Even if you really love the Touch Bar, there are many more reasons to buy a different M2 MacBook. And Apple appears to think the same as us: There’s no reason for the 13-inch MacBook Pro to exist.
There are reports that Apple still plans on updating the 13-inch MacBook Pro with an M3 processor in 2024. Maybe it will. But Apple needs to remember it exists first.
