I'd also guess most people will end up with some kind of laptop and some kind of tablet, so no need to choose just one.
...and if I were going for a "laptop + tablet" strategy I'd go for something more substantial than a 12" MacBook as the laptop component. I wouldn't regard an iPad as a laptop replacement but - with a keyboard if necessary - is perfectly adequate for jotting notes at meeting, keeping up with email, even running a "powerpoint" for those times when a MacBook Pro was just too big (...and they're not exactly huge... darned Millennials never tried travelling with a PowerBook G3 grumble grumble..).
Then you have to look at Apple's 2019 aspirations - they're aggressively pushing the iPad Pro as a content creation device, they've got Photoshop for iOS in the works, schemes to help developers simultaneously target iOS and Mac OS, drawing a line between i(Phone)OS and iPadOS, improving keyboard shortcuts, even limited mouse support... That's quite a courageous path when other manufacturers are pretty much dumping the traditional tablet market in favour of 2-in-ones or Chromebooks. So, I'm pretty sure Apple would like potential MacBook buyers to consider an iPad Pro instead (I'm guessing that iPad customers spend more on services...)