iPad Apple Should Drop the Air Name

[pauloregan]

The Air name has become confusing and should be dropped.

Apple have missed a trick and should have renamed the just launched iPad Air.

The range should now be.....

MacBook
MacBook Pro

iPad SE (the current iPad)
iPad Mini
iPad (the current iPad Air)
iPad Pro

iPhone SE
iPhone .. Min / Max (alternating years) and standard size
iPhone Pro (standard size and Max)

No need for the Air in the above and to me it makes sense.

 

[fwmireault]

I agree, the actual naming scheme is confusing and the one you propose is way better in my opinion

 

[Reggaenald]

Agreed.
Although it is to mention that Apple might be working on a MacBook, considering they were reportedly asking owners of the last model about their thoughts.
Also, Air as in MacBook Air is part of Mac culture, so I don’t see Apple giving that up,
maybe they’ll call the new MacBook MacBook Air when it comes out, as it might be a 12” ultra thin. Calling the Air “Air” while it was considerably heavier and thicker than the MacBook was interesting anyway.

 

[Systra72]

The Air name has become confusing and should be dropped.

Apple have missed a trick and should have renamed the just launched iPad Air.

The range should now be.....

MacBook
MacBook Pro

iPad SE (the current iPad)
iPad Mini
iPad (the current iPad Air)
iPad Pro

iPhone SE
iPhone .. Min / Max (alternating years) and standard size
iPhone Pro (standard size and Max)

No need for the Air in the above and to me it makes sense.

Yes it is many products at the moment. First thing Steve did when he come back to Apple was reduce the number of products to a minimum. For example does not iPad Air and iPad Pro 11 need two names.

 

[ericwn]

Yes it is many products at the moment. First thing Steve did when he come back to Apple was reduce the number of products to a minimum. For example does not iPad Air and iPad Pro 11 need two names.

While that’s true let’s not forget that Steve was also the one who then broke that minimalist 2x2 product matrix and offered additional products.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

While I agree with your sentiment, I do also feel that the SE moniker should refer to actual special editions, and not just discount models. I'd rather they come up with something else.

 

[skaertus]

The line-up is feeling too convoluted. Every product now is a line of products.

iPad, iPad Mini, iPad Air, iPad Pro.
iPhone SE, iPhone Mini, iPhone, iPhone Pro, iPhone Pro Max.
MacBook Air, MacBook Pro.
Mac Mini, iMac, Mac Studio, Mac Pro.
AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max.
Watch SE, Watch Series 3, Watch Series 7, Watch Nike, Watch Hermès, Watch Studio.
TV HD, TV 4K, HomePod Mini.
Studio Display, Pro Display XDR.

 

[ian87w]

The Air name has become confusing and should be dropped.

Apple have missed a trick and should have renamed the just launched iPad Air.

The range should now be.....

MacBook
MacBook Pro

iPad SE (the current iPad)
iPad Mini
iPad (the current iPad Air)
iPad Pro

iPhone SE
iPhone .. Min / Max (alternating years) and standard size
iPhone Pro (standard size and Max)

No need for the Air in the above and to me it makes sense.

Yup. The Air has lost its original meaning.

Originally, the Macbook Air was the lightest Macbooks. But then it becomes the "cheap" Macbook instead, being heavier than the 12" retina Macbook.

iPad Air, also was coined being the lightest and thinnest. But now it's not any different than the 11" Pro. The Air no longer has any meaning, and it is confusing.

On the Macbook, it refers to the cheapest model. On the iPad, it refers to the premium consumer version. Contradicting each other.

Your lineup makes more sense.

 

[orbital~debris]

Interestingly, it appears Apple are 'doubling down' on the Air naming.

The back of the new iPad Air has "iPad Air" branding, rather than just "iPad".

This seems to be part of the shift for recent products (new MacBook Pro, Mac Studio) to have their product name stamped on the underside.

 

[JPack]

Why is it confusing for you?

iPad Air continues to be the lightest iPad for the mass market consumer. The $329 iPad using last decade’s chassis is obviously a low-cost product not to mention heavier. Same thing with MacBook Air, it’s the lightest 13” mainstream portable computer. Most mainstream consumers aren’t looking for 11” or 12” displays.

SE is not updated regularly. It’s intended for very price sensitive customers like those stuck on iPhone 6 or 7. Same thing with the Watch.

 

[Richard8655]

Agree, "Air" is confusing and seems outdated and no longer applicable. But it still needs some oomph to distinguish it as a higher end model. I think "SE" as special edition would be better suited for it, while the standard iPad have no designation as the basic version.

 

[spiderman0616]

I agree. Not sure if dropping "Air" from the lineup completely is the answer, but it seems only fitting that if they're aligning all devices, mobile or desktop, under the same Apple Silicon umbrella, they should really shore up the naming conventions. I don't like SE either. It used to mean "special edition" but now it just kind of means "still has a home button and is affordable."

If it were up to me, all product lines at Apple would follow the same naming convention. Something like mini, base (no suffix), Air, Pro. I realize that gets trickier with iPhone because they keep so many models available for so long, but maybe this new SE will help change that a bit.

 

[BeefCake 15]

The $329 iPad using last decade’s chassis is obviously a low-cost product not to mention heavier.

Really, 26g or .05lbs is heavier....my sneeze is probably heavier than that.

 

[Jonathan.T.Harpur]

I do think apple will make a bigger size iMac for consumers and not just keep that size screens for just pros and I would like to see the air dropped from MacBook Air and jus call in MacBook and offer it in the same size as the pro laptops and let this how need a pro machine get and let us consumer have the same size laptops offers to us consumers as the pros are getting

 

[boak]

How is it confusing lol

 

[hagjohn]

Apple needs to rename and simplify a lot of their lines of products.

 

[boak]

iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air, iPad Pro
MacBook Air, MacBook Pro
Mac mini, Mac Studio, Mac Pro
iPhone SE, iPhone, iPhone Pro
Watch SE, Watch Series (assuming Series 3 is discontinued)
AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max

Is it really confusing?
Largely follows SE, base, mini, Air/Studio, Pro, Max

 

[ericwn]

Apple needs to rename and simplify a lot of their lines of products.

If there were a need, they’d do it in a heartbeat. As things stand they are extremely successful at their game.

You might wish for less product offerings but that’s certainly not an idea that Apple shares.

 

[macsound1]

I’d love to see the M2 MacBook be the low cost colorful portable, the MacBook Air return to the 2nd machine that’s more executive and lower power.
I’d also love to see an iPhone air, maybe that’s the mini, but truly embrace small as air.
iPad Air doesn’t make much sense to me. It should be iPad studio or some other moniker since it’s not air in any significant way.

 

[AlexESP]

Unifying nomenclature across different product lines only makes sense from an Apple follower point of view. But a customer will buy products separately. And I'd say the marketing upsides clearly exceed the "family factor" (i.e. giving iPhone 13 Pro Max a catchy name is more important than providing hints inside the name for a potential buyer who has a MacBook Air). Apple's names correctly share the message they want to give with each product, and it doesn't matter if the iPhone is "Pro Max" while AirPods are only "Max", coherence is only important inside each product line.

One thing I agree with is that the iPad Air is no longer very Air, since it's basically as thick as an iPad Pro. And maybe the cheap iPad is thicker, but with a tapered design it feels thinner. However, in the MBA it totally makes sense.

Also, a lot of people complain that the iPhone has a number, while everything else doesn't. The phone market is very different to computers or tablets, in terms of target audience, cadence of renewal, naming history... and I bet numbers are much more successful on iPhones, but wouldn't work on Macs.

 

[snipr125]

Its very simple:

Air = Premium Midrange Apple products

The iphone 8, XR, 11, 12 and 13 are iPhone Airs in all but name.

Thankfully Apple will not be dropping the Air name, but going all in on it as it sells well, and provides great value proposition in terms of performance and features for the vast majority of Apple consumers.

 

[IllinoisCorn]

While that’s true let’s not forget that Steve was also the one who then broke that minimalist 2x2 product matrix and offered additional products.

Fair point, for sure.

 

[quietstormSD]

I like your thought. But I kinda understand why Apple calls the current iPad Air the "iPad Air.

The"Air" moniker used by Apple has represented "thinner". Even though the iPad Air is not thinner than the iPad Pro, it is thinner than the iPad.

See how they named the original MacBook Air.

At the time, the MacBook Air was thinner than the MacBook (and MacBook Pro). It was more expensive and had better hardware from the MacBook, but not the MacBook Pro from my recollection. I think they are just going with that type of thinking.

I think the only sticking point right now is that it's not thinner than the Pro which makes it a bit confusing.

 

[adamlbiscuit]

I like your thought. But I kinda understand why Apple calls the current iPad Air the "iPad Air.

The"Air" moniker used by Apple has represented "thinner". Even though the iPad Air is not thinner than the iPad Pro, it is thinner than the iPad.

See how they named the original MacBook Air.

At the time, the MacBook Air was thinner than the MacBook (and MacBook Pro). It was more expensive and had better hardware from the MacBook, but not the MacBook Pro from my recollection. I think they are just going with that type of thinking.

I think the only sticking point right now is that it's not thinner than the Pro which makes it a bit confusing.

Also the iPad Air is currently the lightest full-size iPad (the mini isn’t full sized so doesn’t count in that respect), being 5 grams lighter than the iPad Pro 11-inch. Therefore I suppose it does still warrant the ‘air’ name somewhat.

 

[slippery-pete]

Maybe change name to something like iPad Superior?