Apple hasn’t killed the MacBook Air yet, but the ax may still be coming down, as popularity of the new entry-level MacBook Pro is rising.
The MacBook Air is a topic on which Apple has been treading lightly, considering that budget consumers, like students and single professionals, like the idea of having a Mac, if they so wish.
At $999.00 it’s not hard to see why. The MacBook Air is the single most affordable Apple laptop available today, even as its specs are becoming very long in the tooth.
The lack of the Retina display, as well as a considerably slower processor and limited storage capacity, may be a drawback for those with higher expectations, for whom the latest MacBook Pro is surely more palatable. With that said, the 1.6GHz i5, and Intel HD Graphics 6000 with which the MacBook Air starts, at its base configuration, are still rather attractive, when the budget is tight.
There is no denying, the new MacBook Pro is a completely different beast, powered by a a 2.0GHz i5, with an Intel Graphic Iris 540, and a 256GB SSD, as its start configuration.
The truth of the matter, however, is that while the MacBook Air indeed starts at $999, it’s very difficult that a base configuration would be enough for just anyone, even on a tighter budget, which will often result in a few hundred dollars on top of that very attractive, but unrealistic MSRP.
By that token, with only $300 distancing the two machines, the entry level 13 inch MacBook Pro suddenly becomes perhaps even more attractive to the budget consumer, as the MacBook Air, for which the incomparable array of specs and features make a great case.
Along these lines, Apple was very smart not to include the Touich Bar to the entry-level 13 inch MacBook Pro, making it an even more likable alternative to the MacBook Air, a machine that Tim Cook himself, used on stage to compare it to the new MacBook Pro, with the latter portrayed as being slimmer, faster, and with a batter almost as good as the Air.
The hidden message, however, did not originate with the launch of the MAcBook Pro, but rather with the iPad Pro, when Tim Cook presented the tablet as a laptop-killer. While his jab at Windows 10 laptops everywhere was rather obvious, not many thought about the fact that the MacBook Air would also be in the iPad Pro’s sights.
Most certainly, in terms of performance and battery life, the MacBook Air is a much more worthy opponent to the iPad Pro, than the 13 inch MacBook Pro, which begs the question on how long before the MacBook Air bites the dust.
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