
Apple Has Probably Killed the ‘Air’ Brand - shawndumas
http://jackgmarch.com/2016/04/11/the-end-of-apple-macbook-ipad-air-brand/
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delinka
The author does say the article is about _branding_ rather than hardware. That
said, I'd fully expect the current Air devices (even if renamed) to remain in
the lineup for quite some time yet.

Although the iPad Air and the 10" iPad Pro are now equivalent size and weight,
the Pro gets the fancy new touchscreen that works with Apple's Pencil (how 53
is handling this product name, I don't know; but I digress) while Air just
sits there all non-friendly to the Wonderful New Stylus, but at a lower price
point.

As for the laptops, I don't personally know anyone who's actually bought the
new Macbook. It's certainly attractive looking, but its specs aren't as
attractive as a Macbook Air. I've preferred the Air over the Pro for years
now, mainly because the Pro is so bulky and heavy. Air compiles apps Just
Fine, Thanks.

If the thesis is "they're not going to make anything newly designed and call
it 'Air'" then OK. That kind of pontification isn't my thing. If the thesis is
"they're dropping the 'Air' brand and giving it a new name" then fine.
However, if Apple would really consider dropping the Air product lines in the
near future, it'll just add to the already-irritated masses (you know, those
of us who've been detesting 'change for the sake of change' and regression in
various software products ...)

~~~
notatoad
>I don't personally know anyone who's actually bought the new Macbook

I'm not sure which of us is living in a bubble, but it's probably the most
common computer i see in coffee shops and shared workspaces. Granted, i live
in a fairly wealthy resort town, but they're definitely selling.

~~~
spike021
Odd, I haven't seen more than a couple and I live and work in SF/SF Bay Area
as well as still go to college, where most students who have Macs have Macbook
Airs. I don't think I've ever seen the Macbook (12 inch with retina) at school
actually.

~~~
nostrademons
The Pro has gotten a _lot_ thinner lately. I've got a 2015 MBP (Retina 13")
and it's only about 2/3 the thickness of my wife's 2013 MBP, and about half of
my old 2009 MBP. I can comfortably hold it in one hand, which is one of the
main reasons folks would buy the Macbook Air.

I've got an old laptop backpack that I used to use for a ThinkPad, and then
for a System76 Pangolin. One of my first-world problems is that the MBP is too
thin to fit snuggly in the laptop pocket; I usually throw a book or a folder
in with it so it doesn't flop around. Compared to either the Pangolin or
ThinkPad, the MBP is less than half the thickness.

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aetherson
There's clearly a pretty severely diminished return in chasing further
thinness for laptops. At this point, the controlling factor for their
portability is neither weight nor thickness, it's the other two dimensions
(which, obviously, carry much harsher tradeoffs to minimizing than do weight
and thickness).

That wasn't true five years ago, but it absolutely is today.

~~~
mchahn
> There's clearly a pretty severely diminished return in chasing further
> thinness for laptops.

Also, weight is approaching the totally diminished return. As long as I can
hold an extended laptop between thumb and forefinger, weight no longer
matters. I reached that point several years ago.

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nsxwolf
I still don't get what we're supposed to call the new 9.7" iPad Pro. That's a
mouthful. The little one? Or is that the Mini? The mid-sized iPad? The smaller
iPad Pro?

~~~
lstamour
Why not round up and call it the 10" iPad Pro vs the 13" iPad Pro, just as we
call them 12", 13" and 15" notebooks, even if we're off by a bit?

~~~
mmanfrin
[http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2013/01/subway-sued-
ove...](http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2013/01/subway-sued-over-
footlongs-that-came-up-short/)

~~~
delinka
Well, that's if Apple does the rounding. It'd be us, the plebeians, doing the
rounding. No lawsuits over that.

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intopieces
Why does the Air brand still exist? The author notes that he fully expects
Apple to give the MacBook Air a processor upgrade, but not a re-design. Who is
still buying the Air over the MacBook?

~~~
grecy
I have a 2012 Air and it's the best computer I've ever owned.

Coding, testing, Lightroom, Photoshop and some FCP, with >10 hours battery
light and extremely light for carrying around every day.

~~~
cloudjacker
Ditto

I had hoped they would have released a 16gb RAM version sometime over the last
4 years, but alas no, here we are debating if it has been abandoned or not.

There are no compromises with this machine. Even the integrated graphics chip
has seen improvements in both drivers and how newer frameworks use it. Its a
beast. More RAM would future proof it for another four years.

~~~
superuser2
>There are no compromises with this machine.

Once you get used to Retina, that is unfortunately not true anymore.

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pan69
Is "Air" a brand? I would think of "Air" in the context of Apple as a "product
line" and product lines come and go.

When the Air was first launched it made sense to differentiate it from the
other Apple products by giving it a specific name and maybe today that's no
longer required.

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molecule
_> I think it’s pretty obvious at this point that Apple will never release a
new [1] product with the ‘Air’ branding again..._

 _> [1] “New” meaning redesigned, I expect Apple to continue selling the
MacBook Air and wouldn’t bet against a CPU upgrades._

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Animats
Ah, branding.

Passe: "Turbo", "Mega", "Fire", "Cool", "Air", "Sky".

So 15 minutes ago: "Artisanal", "Free range", "Organic".

~~~
pcurve
don't forget "handcrafted code". :shudders:

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johnchristopher
I never understood what was(is) the point of going so thin for our laptops and
phones. There are so many compromises to make in order to get there. I am
almost sure it's done to satisfy tech reviewers that set trends for consumers
rather than a consumer's need (need/choice/wish/desire/etc.).

~~~
rconti
I've got a 2011 Air and it's the best machine I've ever owned. I'm not saying
making it thinner would make it better, but I DEFINITELY get a huge amount of
enjoyment from having a machine that thin vs, say, a 13" or 15" MBP.

I often travel with both the Air and the 15" MBP Retina, and despite the 15"
being much faster in every way, and having a vastly better screen, I never use
the MBP unless I have to for work. The Air is just so much more convenient to
deal with. The size and weight make a HUGE difference.

~~~
vinhboy
The fact that I can easily move my MBA around with one hand is the most life
changing part of it for me.

I can easily put it on my nightstand, corner table, etc...

