Should Apple drop the AIR name?

[TechnoMonk]

I don’t think they should drop AIR, I just think they should use it appropriately.
The current iPad Air and MacBook Air aren’t the most “airlike”.
MacBook airs became popular solely for their size. They were popular when they were on slow intel chips with non retina displays, way past when they should’ve been.
Apple truly need to reevaluate using the Air moniker to embrace small and light. There’s obviously a market. All those people who bought the 2013-2017 MacBook air haven’t vanished and I’m sure are quite annoyed at the profile shape of the M2 air and how easily it doesn’t slide into their bag.

I also annoyed that there’s no “low power” option for people truly wanting a kids laptop. The white polycarbonate MacBook was a perfect computer and would shine with Apple silicon and the engineering advances they’ve made since 2006.

Ultimately if they came out with a MacBook that was less powerful, cheaper and slightly bulkier, they could absolutely charge more for the MacBook air

Macbook air is very competitively priced at the entry level. Apple isn’t going to go cheaper than MacBook Air.
They should drop the 13 inch MacBook Pro and relaunch it as MacBook.

 

[macbetta]

Yes I would like it if they removed the name for simplicity sake but I'm not sure if they will for two reasons. One being they don't seem to have an interest in pairing down the line up and I can see arguments for both sides on that topic. The second being that the marketing of the name 'Macbook Air' seems to be important for their target audience for the machine. The Air has been the go to for Apples largest segment, the casual user, that its come to define what they expect out of the entry level mac laptop. I think just calling it the Macbook would potentially confuse casual users, or make them think the laptop has received some kind of downgrade. (especially looking into the recent past and seeing the last machine they called a 'macbook') I think at this point the 13" MBP and Air are pointless to have as separate devices and the current Air design should just be the MacBook and the 13" should go away.

 

[HiVolt]

What they should drop is the 13" MacBook "Pro".

There's nothing Pro about it. Never has been. It never had a real GPU in the Intel days. Now the only difference from the air is a heatsink & fan? There are no Pro features about it, because it doesn't have the better silicon in it.

I honestly thought they would have let it die after the initial M1 version, where it was needed as a stepping stone to the 14 & 16 with proper new designs that are proud to wear the MacBook Pro name.

Not to mention they gimped the storage speeds in the 13" MacBook "Pro" in base form. There's nothing Pro about it. Kill it. Or rename it to just the MacBook like some have said, drop the touchbar and drop the price.

 

[JPSaltzman]

But the current MBA doesn't resemble the original slanted slope of the MBA. There's no finesse or style to the latest version. Now it looks just like every other Apple laptop -- minus the ports, of course. ;-(

And speaking of "Branding That's Worn Out Its Usefulness", can we stop putting an "i" before every internet/cellular communication device? It's really being old....

 

[MacProFCP]

When there is no MacBook is feels weir dot have an Air and Pro. It feels more logical to either drop the AIR name or re-introduce a "MacBook" Personally for the latter I'd like to see a device that's a hybrid of the Air and Pro. More ports than Air, but not as powerful or the battery life of a Pro. Perhaps made of a cheaper material. Reminiscent of the old MacBooks.

1. Please edit your post. It’s a bit hard to read with the typos.

2. I doubt Apple will do either as i. The MBA has become a staple of their product line with years of brand recognition and ii. If Apple were to make hybrid, or an Air more like the Pro, it would cannibalize Pro sales.

This is more of Apple not doing what the consumer wants and, in this case, I agree as simplifying the product line makes choice easier. I bought a new M2 Air when it came out, and it took me some time to find out which unit is best for the price. I spec’d the two with the same chip, ram and storage and the MBA was less money. Having to run the numbers for three products would be even more difficult and confusing.

 

[ian87w]

Although I agree that the Air name has been misnomered, losing its original purpose (thinner and lighter than the regular version), it has become a brand on its own.

Apple shouldn’t have called the retina MacBook Air as MacBook Air. They should’ve just called it a 13” MacBook. It was bigger and heavier than the 12” MacBook, so the Air branding makes no sense. But now it’s stuck. Air has become the normal version, while Pro is the more expensive version.

 

[progx]

Yeah, I’ve been wondering why Apple hasn’t reviewed their MacBook line in a while. The best candidate for MacBook would be the 13-inch Pro… it looks to be the odd product out in the line-up, plus the only one with a touchbar.

 

[Asbow]

The entire product range needs a rebrand. Seems Apple marketing either have no idea, worked at Gillette or pick random names out of a bag. The only two decent names are Studio and Air.

Can’t wait to get my new Mac Pro Karen.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

And speaking of "Branding That's Worn Out Its Usefulness", can we stop putting an "i" before every internet/cellular communication device? It's really being old....

you do know that Apple has not introduced a brand new “i” product in the last 12 years, right?
The last time they did such a thing was iCloud in 2011.
So I’m not sure what you’re asking for here, unless you’re asking them to rename things that have existed for decades at this point.
Since 2011, we’ve gotten the EarPods, the Apple Watch, Apple Music, AirPods, HomePod, Apple TV+, Apple News, Apple Pay, Apple wallet, Apple card, Apple Arcade, Apple silicon, Mac Studio, AirTags…

 

[Sami13496]

It should be like this:

MacBook Air: Ultra portable super thin similar like MacBook 12” was, but with the updated design

MacBook: Current MacBook Air

MacBook Pro: Current Macbook Pro’s

I feel like most of user who use their laptop on the go for truly basic stuff appreciate portability and don’t even need the power of current MacBook Air.

 

[Warped9]

The only confusion at present exists because there are currently two MacBook Air models (M1 and M2) and a 13in. MacBook Pro that is largely redundant.

Ditch the 13in. MacBook Pro and eventually the M1 Air and it’s then a tidy and easy to understand lineup: 13 and 15 inch MacBook along with 14 and 16 inch Pro.

 

[SYCAMOREGRAD]

No. The Air is iconic. MacRumors users should drop the expectation that there's anything wrong with not having a standard "MacBook." It existed at one point and it was a colossal flop. Move on.

The original MacBook was a phenomenal success in the late 2000s. J/S

 

[dandyryan]

The original MacBook was a phenomenal success in the late 2000s. J/S

and the Air outsold. try again!

 

[dandyryan]

I want a Surface
I want a thinkPad
I want a XPS
I want a MacBook
I want a Pavillion

They ALL currently have the question of "which one". So I'm not sure what your point is. What do ask people that say the want an iPhone or iPad? There are even MORE of those.

4 out of 5 of these are irrelevant, sorry!

 

[Lioness~]

Old and new 'special' editions…
MacBook Air, iPad Air
Mac Studio Earth
Mac Mini Fire
iPhone Water

Might be fun, or not.
Would love the MacBook 12" back though.

They could drop the Air name when they release that new MacBook otherwise.

 

[Ethanmenzel]

Apple only needs the air if they bring it to the iPhone lineup. So if they bring it to the iPhone lineup, it should be:

SE to iPhone since the old MacBookPro gets new internals but the same design as the SE; it should be named MacBook.

iPhone to iPhone Air since the iPhone and iPhone Pro/max are updated yearly, like the MacBook Air and Pro, the MacBook Air is more like the current iPhone.