Will there ever be 16inch mb airs?

[Falhófnir]

Thing is, if you actually need a laptop with a bigger screen right now, you're gonna have to pay the "Apple Tax" and get a MacBook Pro. Those rumors about the larger MacBook Air are interesting, hadn't seen them before. But they suggest it won't come for awhile. And really, it's hard to believe that Apple is too concerned about losing customers because they don't have a budget laptop with a big screen.

It’s not even really about the ‘Apple tax’, the 16” is reasonably well priced for what it is. It’s just a wildly inappropriate machine for office productivity use, with no large screen alternative lower in the lineup. The 13.3" machines are starting to feel archaic, as the 5s did in 2013. 14" machines have become more popular, and 15.6" has always been the dominant size in the industry, so I'm a bit baffled by Apple's antipathy if not outright resistance to making something like a 15" MacBook Air.

 

[FNH15]

There is some historical precedent for Apple having two sizes of their entry level notebook. Back in the PowerPC days, there were two sizes of the iBook - a 12 inch and a 14 inch. This was at the same time there were PowerBook G4s in the 12 inch and 15 inch sizes.

So maybe not a 16 inch MBA, but rather a 15 inch?

 

[avalon68]

It’s not even really about the ‘Apple tax’, the 16” is reasonably well priced for what it is. It’s just a wildly inappropriate machine for office productivity use, with no large screen alternative lower in the lineup. The 13.3" machines are starting to feel archaic, as the 5s did in 2013. 14" machines have become more popular, and 15.6" has always been the dominant size in the industry, so I'm a bit baffled by Apple's antipathy if not outright resistance to making something like a 15" MacBook Air.

I think this sums it up very well. I don’t mind paying the apple tax. I find their products well made and long lasting - good value as far as I’m concerned. The real issue is I don’t need a Ferrari to drive to the corner shop.

 

[Marty_Macfly]

I think this sums it up very well. I don’t mind paying the apple tax. I find their products well made and long lasting - good value as far as I’m concerned. The real issue is I don’t need a Ferrari to drive to the corner shop.

Hi Mr A,

A very good query onto this forum, many thanks for voicing it!



My take is:


1. Ferrari

- You hit the nail on the head here. Imagine if Ferrari tried to sell cars on the cheap. Same outside body, but god awful engine and suspension etc. It would kill their image, and also be a kick in teeth for people forking out full $$ for the real thing.

- Same thing with Apple selling identical looking, larger, cheap spec'ed out laptops. It will only take a few YouTube videos of people complaining about the gaming quality, video quality, and processing ability etc. on their apple laptops to dent the apple image.




2. Macbook SE

- If it happens. A complete differentiator from the top spec, space age feeling, apple laptops on offer.

- I imagine lots of people would be happy with previous generation design and performance, but M1 chip. (Minus butterfly keyboard and Touch Bar etc.)

- Retro chunky look, retro connections (Still lots of old style peripherals out there with lots of life left)

- A lot cheaper - to go with the proper cheap rugged workhorse type specification, for basic word processing and accounts, internet browsing and video viewing etc.

- Quality of gaming etc.? Well if influencers do youtube videos, with the retro SE laptop in view, they would be laughed out of town for saying they didn't realise it would be pretty basic!



My take at least


Best wishes
Martin

 

[Erehy Dobon]

Look, people, there is no technical reason that Apple couldn't produce a large MBA.

This is a marketing decision.

Remember that Apple prototypes many different configurations. They've have access to every single commercially viable display planet on the market since the Nineties. And out of dozens (maybe hundreds) of prototype designs only a couple make it to market every year.

Could they make a 10" netbook-style MBA? Yes. Could they make a 17" iPad Pro? Yes. Their labs probably had prototypes of these configurations in the past. Maybe there are a few still bopping around.

We know that philosophically Apple likes to keep Mac configurations pretty simple compared to other PC manufacturers.

If Apple wanted a 16" MBA, they probably would have released one ten years ago.

 

[ej88]

Look, people, there is no technical reason that Apple couldn't produce a large MBA.

This is a marketing decision.

If Apple wanted a 16" MBA, they probably would have released one ten years ago.

Perhaps what Apple wants should better reflect what their customers want.

I'm in the market for a new computer. Currently using a 15" 10+ year old MacBook Pro, but it has numerous issues. The ONLY hesitation I have for buying the new M1 Air is the downgrade in screen size. If the Air was 15" I'd have upgraded years ago. I don't need the power of a Pro for my uses (Internet, iTunes, Word, Excel) since I don't do much photo editing and am not a gamer.

Apple needs to get on board with this. I'm perfectly willing to give Apple more of my money for a larger screen. Why wouldn't they want $1600 of my money for a 15" 8GB RAM/512GB storage machine instead of $1200 for the same in a 13.3"?

Not catering to a market that exists seems tone deaf and pound foolish, but it's not as if Apple hasn't been that way in the recent past. I would prefer to stick with a Mac, yet...I hesitate. And I consider other options that might adequately suit my needs.

Apple seems to prefer to tell us what we want instead of listening to what we want.