The 13-inch MacBook Air lives to see another day, but the 11-inch model doesn’t

By Brad Jones Updated October 27, 2016

The star of Thursday’s Apple event was the brand new MacBook Pro with its Touch Bar — but the company also detailed a couple of systems intended to satiate users who aren’t ready for such big changes to their laptop keyboard. Specifically, it was confirmed that the 13-inch MacBook Air isn’t going to be discontinued, and there will be a tertiary variant of the new MacBook Pro intended for users looking for a smaller, slimmer system.

The new MacBook Pro is just 14.9 millimeters thick, compared to the 17-millimeter thickness of the MacBook Air. Even taking the wedged design of the Air into account, the new Pro is 13 percent smaller overall. With this in mind, Apple is offering a version of the new MacBook Pro that ditches its new Touch Bar, Touch ID support, and a couple of ports, and that uses some more cost-effective components under the hood.

Recommended Videos

The 13-inch MacBook Pro without a Touch Bar features a 2.0 GHz Intel Core i5 processor, an Intel Iris Graphics 540 GPU, and two Thunderbolt 3 ports. Like the standard 13-inch MacBook Pro revealed Thursday, it packs 8GB of memory and a 256GB solid-state drive. This compares to the 2.9 GHz Intel Core i5 processor, Intel Iris Graphics 550 GPU, and four Thunderbolt 3 ports on the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar.

While the lower-end system misses out on the Touch Bar, it’s not completely exempt from some of the other improvements being made to the MacBook Pro line. It does feature its multifunctional ports, the larger Force Touch trackpad, and a keyboard constructed with second-generation butterfly mechanism keys.

However, while the MacBook Air is still available as of now, it seems likely that its days are numbered. Given that its unique selling point was being ultraportable, the fact that the standard MacBook Pro is now slimmer and just as light doesn’t bode well for its future — unless Apple has plans to make a truly minuscule MacBook Air, a niche currently carved out by the MacBook. Note that although the MacBook Air 13 is sticking around, the MacBook Air 11 has been discontinued.

The MacBook Pro without the Touch Bar is priced starting at $1,500, and is shipping as of today from the Apple website. Apple is also finally letting go of the previous version of the MacBook Pro without a retina display and with spinning HDDs. The 2015 versions of the MacBook Pro are still around, with the 13-inch model starting at a more modest $1,300.

Updated on 10-27-2016 by Mark Coppock: Clarify that the MacBook Air 11 and legacy MacBook Pro 13 have been discontinued.

Topics

Contributor

Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…

Computing

Report: Apple’s 2024 MacBooks may face some serious shortages

Apple's John Ternus stands next to an image of the 15-inch MacBook Air at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June 2023.

Looking forward to getting a new MacBook in the next year or so? You might have to wait longer than expected, as Apple chip supplier TSMC is reportedly struggling to get enough skilled workers for its forthcoming Arizona factory. That could mean we see serious shortages of Apple laptops and a struggle to get hold of stock.

The bad news comes from The Wall Street Journal. According to the outlet, TSMC has said that “people with expertise erecting semiconductor facilities were in short supply in the U.S.” As a result, the Arizona factory “would miss its target of starting mass production next year.”

Computing

The M3 MacBook Pro may launch sooner than anyone expected

Fortnite running on a Macbook M1.

Earlier this week, we learned that Apple’s next batch of Macs loaded with M3 chips could be set to launch in the fall. Today, a fresh report claims they could arrive ahead of schedule -- but there are reasons to be doubtful.

The idea comes from a paywalled DigiTimes report (via MacRumors), which cites “industry sources” to claim that Apple will introduce a new MacBook Pro -- complete with a 3-nanometer Apple silicon chip that will boast improved performance and efficiency -- as soon as the third quarter of 2023. That quarter runs from July 1 until September 30.

Computing

MacBook Air 15-inch vs. MacBook Air 13-inch: which to buy

The lid of Apple's 15-inch MacBook Air seem from above.

For the first time in a long time, there are now two size options for the MacBook Air. The difference in size between the 15-inch MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Air is dramatic, though you'll find that these are otherwise very similar laptops.

So, which is better -- or more importantly, which is right for you? We've reviewed both devices in-depth, so here's everything you need to know about deciding between these two laptops.
Specs