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Yeah, discontinuing the Air is crazy. The "entry level" laptop from Apple now (excluding their late-year models they kept around) is now $1299 and features a Co

by jclardy 10y ago

Yeah, discontinuing the Air is crazy. The "entry level" laptop from Apple now (excluding their late-year models they kept around) is now $1299 and features a Core M3 processor. For people with a 2014+ Air that is a downgrade in performance for more money than they paid initially.

runjake 10y ago
The MacBook Air (Early 2015) isn't discontinued. They're still being manufactured and it's still a marquee item with its own header on Apple's website. The date nomenclature of Apple's products is the product release date and not its manufacturing date.
TazeTSchnitzel 10y ago
Huh? No, Apple's entry-level laptop is the $999 MacBook Air 13″, which has an i5. The 11″ MacBook Air was discontinued, but the 13″ is still around.
- CoolGuySteve 10y ago
  You're correct, I didn't notice that the 11" was discontinued. They've effectively raised the price of their entry-level computer by $200 which would explain a slowdown in sales. I guess we saw with the different Apple Watch versions, Apple is exploring just how much utility they can capture as margin.
- jclardy 10y ago
  It is, but should we really count a laptop with a horrible looking TN panel, 1440x900 resolution, and a processor two generations behind that costs $1k to be a viable option for people? That laptop should cost $700 max in 2017. The only reason they have it is likely for education sales, since they have no other reasonable laptop right now.
  - rigden33 10y ago
    Yes, why wouldn't we count it? It's an entry level laptop for a reason; it's going to have entry-level specs.
    - jclardy 10y ago
      I guess what I'm really asking (given the original subject of the post being declining Mac sales) is who is going to buy it? You can buy a Chromebook with a 13" IPS touchscreen that looks better than the Air for $250. The air is a decent machine for doing dev work, but compared to what its competitors it is a complete rip-off. Its only selling point is running OS X.
      - rigden33 10y ago
        Well what do most people (not just devs) like about macbooks? I would say build quality, "it just works" (macOS), and status as an apple product. The entry level macbook air still has those things. As for the chromebook comparison, macbooks have always been more expensive than its competitors at the same spec level, so this is nothing new. I feel like saying it isn't a viable machine because of old specs isn't necessarily true since people will still buy it.
      - dgfgfdagasdfgfa 10y ago
        > Its only selling point is running OS X. I mean, that's the strongest decision when evaluating a new machine for me. If someone wants to replace my machine, they also need to replace the software on the machine, and I don't think the Chromebook is even aimed in the same direction as Mac OS X. It doesn't have the breadth of software, hardware, or even file interaction necessary to get through the classes I took in college, let alone my self education. If you know exactly what you need from your machine, the chromebook may very well be sufficient. I don't think you can depend on it as a general purpose computer quite yet.
  - kajecounterhack 10y ago
    Anecdote: Most of my non-technical friends are happy to use iPhones and purchase Macs that they can afford (the lowest price point, as bad as the specs are) because to them it's all the same. "It's an iPhone. / It's a Mac." They don't care what the exact specs are as long as they can use their browser, word processing, watch netflix, and do minor photo editing. They don't know what IPS or TN are, and don't seem to care. Hell I have a 15" mbp all spec'ed out and most of what I do is browser, terminal, netflix.
  - CoolGuySteve 10y ago
    Yes we should because it is most likely the best selling Apple laptop at this time based on my experience at the company. That's what I'm trying to tell you.

by jclardy 10y ago

runjake 10y ago

The MacBook Air (Early 2015) isn't discontinued. They're still being manufactured and it's still a marquee item with its own header on Apple's website. The date nomenclature of Apple's products is the product release date and not its manufacturing date.

TazeTSchnitzel 10y ago

Huh? No, Apple's entry-level laptop is the $999 MacBook Air 13″, which has an i5. The 11″ MacBook Air was discontinued, but the 13″ is still around.

CoolGuySteve 10y ago
You're correct, I didn't notice that the 11" was discontinued. They've effectively raised the price of their entry-level computer by $200 which would explain a slowdown in sales. I guess we saw with the different Apple Watch versions, Apple is exploring just how much utility they can capture as margin.
jclardy 10y ago
It is, but should we really count a laptop with a horrible looking TN panel, 1440x900 resolution, and a processor two generations behind that costs $1k to be a viable option for people? That laptop should cost $700 max in 2017. The only reason they have it is likely for education sales, since they have no other reasonable laptop right now.
- rigden33 10y ago
  Yes, why wouldn't we count it? It's an entry level laptop for a reason; it's going to have entry-level specs.
  - jclardy 10y ago
    I guess what I'm really asking (given the original subject of the post being declining Mac sales) is who is going to buy it? You can buy a Chromebook with a 13" IPS touchscreen that looks better than the Air for $250. The air is a decent machine for doing dev work, but compared to what its competitors it is a complete rip-off. Its only selling point is running OS X.
    - rigden33 10y ago
      Well what do most people (not just devs) like about macbooks? I would say build quality, "it just works" (macOS), and status as an apple product. The entry level macbook air still has those things. As for the chromebook comparison, macbooks have always been more expensive than its competitors at the same spec level, so this is nothing new. I feel like saying it isn't a viable machine because of old specs isn't necessarily true since people will still buy it.
    - dgfgfdagasdfgfa 10y ago
      > Its only selling point is running OS X. I mean, that's the strongest decision when evaluating a new machine for me. If someone wants to replace my machine, they also need to replace the software on the machine, and I don't think the Chromebook is even aimed in the same direction as Mac OS X. It doesn't have the breadth of software, hardware, or even file interaction necessary to get through the classes I took in college, let alone my self education. If you know exactly what you need from your machine, the chromebook may very well be sufficient. I don't think you can depend on it as a general purpose computer quite yet.
- kajecounterhack 10y ago
  Anecdote: Most of my non-technical friends are happy to use iPhones and purchase Macs that they can afford (the lowest price point, as bad as the specs are) because to them it's all the same. "It's an iPhone. / It's a Mac." They don't care what the exact specs are as long as they can use their browser, word processing, watch netflix, and do minor photo editing. They don't know what IPS or TN are, and don't seem to care. Hell I have a 15" mbp all spec'ed out and most of what I do is browser, terminal, netflix.
- CoolGuySteve 10y ago
  Yes we should because it is most likely the best selling Apple laptop at this time based on my experience at the company. That's what I'm trying to tell you.