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.
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.
