Apple debuts affordable 13" MacBook Pro model, axes 11" MacBook Air

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited October 2016
Though Apple's two new flagship MacBook Pro models with multitouch Touch Bar stole the show on Thursday, the company also launched a third, more affordable 13-inch model aimed at the MacBook Air faithful.




Introduced by Apple SVP of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller near the end of today's festivities, the entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro shares an aesthetic with its more expensive siblings, as well as features like a thin unibody design, all-metal hinge and wider trackpad, but foregoes the new Touch Bar and a few ports.

By removing the cutting edge Touch Bar in favor of traditional function keys, and incorporating less costly internal components, Apple was able to achieve a more competitive price point closer in cost to the MacBook Air line of products.

Compared to the 13-inch MacBook Air, the entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro is identical in heft, but boasts a smaller overall footprint and 13 percent less internal volume. More importantly, the Pro model comes with a Retina Display, a feature for which many Air users have been waiting. It seems Apple has no intention of updating the ultra-slim model to a high-resolution display, as the 13-inch MacBook Air is still non-Retina only.

Specs for the new low end Pro model start with a 2.0 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of memory, Intel Iris Graphics 540 and 256GB of flash storage. The laptop also features two Thunderbolt 3 ports with USB-C capabilities, offering greater I/O flexibility than Air.

The entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro ships today from $1,499.

In conjunction with the new 13-inch MacBook Pro debut, Apple quietly discontinued the 11-inch MacBook Air, previously the company's cheapest thin-and-light offering. The 13-inch MacBook Air received a minor upgrade as well, with RAM doubling from 4GB to 8GB.

Stay tuned to AppleInsider's Mac Price Guide over the next few weeks, where we'll be offering exclusive discounts on Apple's new MacBook Pros.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 83
    MBP is nice. But I am sooo disappointed they wasted time on Apple TV and NOTHING came on iMacs, Mac Pros or even Mac Minis. I am tried of all this wagawuga.
  • Reply 2 of 83
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Doesn't have 12 hours battery life and has no magnetic power cord. My two favourite features of the MBA. My third favourite feature? Its price.

    I'm not saving it's easy to add a Retina display and keep the computer going for 12 hours. I only say what's most important to me. Ideally we'd have both. As for MagSafe: the safety aspect of MagSafe isn't why I love it. It's the simplicity of magnets. It's a feature that causes me delight every time I go to plug in—I lazily catch the wire and let the magnet connect itself to power.

    Also, no Lightning port on the new MBP? Your saying I need to use a dongle to connect the headphones that shipped with iPhone 7? Why? Apple make both products. Either add a Lightning port and a headphone port to MBP or kill the blooming' headphone port they called archaic and give us Lightning. Might seem like a small detail, but I know for certain this would cause me annoyance that would not retreat. Frankly kind of puts me off the computer. I'm not joking.
    edited October 2016 randominternetpersonjbishop1039doozydozen
  • Reply 3 of 83
    $1499 is affordable? For an i5 with 8gb of ram. Hahahaha. 

    Well, my 17" MBP is almost dead. Will I replace it? Hell no. For the money I'd want more than this. At the very least the charger should contain all the ports they removed. Not compelling at all. Unlike Steve Jobs, there's no logic for what they are doing. Steve would have constructed an argument. This just came across as weak. Less for more rather than less is more is the new design philosophy. 
    aylk
  • Reply 4 of 83
    They should have done two old connectors and two new connectors like they used to. 

    I don't own a single thing with USB-C connector. And I have tons of gear. 

    Hell, the iPhone can't even connect to the computer anymore. 

    This is a thinner more powerful macbook air.

    It's not a macbook pro. 

    Bummed...

    baconstangdoozydozen
  • Reply 5 of 83
    dacloodacloo Posts: 890member
    I think it's a great machine, but I'm disappointed the SD card has been axed, which is so useful to have integrated in a professional notebook. All these fucking dongles.
    baconstangaylk
  • Reply 6 of 83
    Wow! That is affordable? The prices are just incredible. I don't think most people can justify this kind of expense for a laptop. I certainly can't.  They've completely price themselves out of the range of 99% of the population. The MacBooks are a joke and the Pros are computers for the 1%. Just like the iPad pros, they have gotten way too expensive. iPads used to be affordable for everyone. There used to be at least a couple of Macs I could afford. I guess I'm gonna have to learn to live with Windows 10. I use it at work. It isn't so bad I guess. Apple has completely done away with their entry and mid level computers and gone super ultra high premium. For the first time in 35 years I will have to be a Windows user. Too bad. I'm a little sad to say goodbye to the community. It's been nice being one of you.

    One of the faithful now apparently too poor for Apple to bother with.  
    edited October 2016 entropyskernapster80s_Apple_Guy
  • Reply 7 of 83
    Scottomatic Scottomatic Posts: 1unconfirmed, member
    Removing the SD card slot is worse than removing the analog headset jack. Does anyone even sell a USB C SD card adapter? All the new dongles you'll need probably weigh a half pound.
    baconstangentropyspulseimagesaylkdoozydozen
  • Reply 8 of 83
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    nicklusk said:
    They should have done two old connectors and two new connectors like they used to. 

    I don't own a single thing with USB-C connector. And I have tons of gear.
    Sounds good in theory, but the problem with that is the old connector always wants to stay around in that scenario as people would have no need to move up and also I don't think an old USB port would fit in this machine.
    edited October 2016
  • Reply 9 of 83
    Magsafe, for those that use macbook pros on anything other than a desk (why not buy a desktop?), is a life saver. My laptop would have hit the floor at least 6 times without it. My wife's Dell doesn't have this feature, clearly; she wishes she had it. Having switched to Mac in mid-2012 for the MBP retina, I thought it was one of the neatest features beyond what PCs offer (besides not having to have Windows 8). Looks like I might hang on to my retina for another 3-4 years and switch back to PC. I love OS X (MacOS) but these laptops are sacrificing too many features in one area to incorporate others...... Maybe keep a USB 3.0? Nothing in my house uses USB-C.... Not even my iPhone or its cable...... Another damn adapter to carry around. 


    randominternetpersonbaconstang
  • Reply 10 of 83
    dodjadodja Posts: 2unconfirmed, member
    Interesting new tech and a speed bump that is consistent with such a delay but not really excited to go and but one of these. I am disappointed to see the MBA go. I hope that we get to hear why we must forego magsafe for USB unsafe. Pricing for base model with i7 upgrade is a massive NZD $700 more than the i7 MBA model. Without a third gen MacBook to compare against feeling that one whole section of the Apple user base is being left behind.
    baconstangentropys
  • Reply 11 of 83
    Seven years after the first touch screen laptop came out, and Apple finally has.......a touch bar???
    singularity
  • Reply 12 of 83
    joshajosha Posts: 901member
    Sure glad I got my lovely 11" MacB Air several months ago.
    Seems like it will have a very long life!
    irelandbaconstangentropysdoozydozen
  • Reply 13 of 83
    A lot of naysayers here who don't really seem to understand what Apple are aiming for.

    So the new model doesn't suit your needs. Guess what? The new model isn't aimed at you.

    It's aimed at the same people who want more power than an MBA but don't need the full power of the MBP.

    It also means Apple have a clear and consise model line up.

    Don't need ports or Retina but do need portability? MacBook. Needs some ports, Retina, and portability? 13" MacBook Pro. For everything else there's the rest of the MacBook Pro range. This means Apple only has to deal with two ranges for marketing.

    It's actually a brilliant move. The Air always seemed out of place and frankly it was inevitable that it would disappear.
    doozydozenanome
  • Reply 14 of 83
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    jwestveer said:
    Seven years after the first touch screen laptop came out, and Apple finally has.......a touch bar???
    You are on the wrong thread. 
    baconstangnolamacguydoozydozen
  • Reply 15 of 83
    Meh.
  • Reply 16 of 83
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    jwestveer said:
    Seven years after the first touch screen laptop came out, and Apple finally has.......a touch bar???
    Touch screen laptops are a solution to a problem no one had. It's like a TV that is 25% thinner than another one: it's meaningless.
    edited October 2016 baconstangdoozydozenlinkman
  • Reply 17 of 83
    Id say the only thing wrong with all the new models are the prices. It is just too steep, especially when topping up configurations in terms of memory and SSD. And no 2 TB option for the 13 inches.
  • Reply 18 of 83
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member

    A lot of naysayers here who don't really seem to understand what Apple are aiming for.

    So the new model doesn't suit your needs. Guess what? The new model isn't aimed at you.
    Stop, will you. And when they kill the MBA and have no computer with MagSafe priced like the Air with 12 hours of battery life is your argument going to be that Apple makes no laptops aimed at me?
    edited October 2016 baconstangwaverboy
  • Reply 19 of 83
    dodjadodja Posts: 2unconfirmed, member
    I have been studying at Uni for the last 3 years and the increased adoption rate Apple laptops specifically MBA has been impressive.  But with this new higher priced models I expect that adoption rate to reverse. around NZD $1600 for MBA was a good student option NZD $2499 is not.  When the MBA arrived you could experience all the features the OS had to offer.   Now, the base unit can not deliver on this.  The user has to stump up $2999NZD to experience the touch bar.

    I understand that exports etc with currency variance can make a difference for overseas buyers but prior to the price increase by apple in New Zealand I purchased the base 15" model for less (and direct from Apple) than the new 13" model launched today.

    It would appear Apple no longer wants to appeal to all sections of its user base.
    entropys
  • Reply 20 of 83
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member


    Don't need ports or Retina but do need portability? MacBook.
    You're new are you?
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