In defense of the “new” 13-inch MacBook Pro
Last month at WWDC, Apple unveiled an update to the 13-inch MacBook Pro, and it’s been controversial, at least amongst the Apple pundit class. I think that’s somewhat unfortunate. First, some context:
This is the Mac that a lot of people forget is even in the lineup. While the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models got a major redesign last Fall, the 13-inch MacBook Pro is still utilizing a several-years-old design, complete with the Intel-era tapered edges, a thick display bezel, and the controversial Touch Bar. “All” Apple did with the 13-inch MacBook Pro last month was slap in the new M2 chip. It even went so far as to re-use its stock of boxes for the old M1-powered 13-inch MacBook Pro, merely slapping a sticker over the product description.
This has led a lot of Apple pundits to ask why this Mac even exists. On Twitter, YouTuber Quinn Nelson posted the following:
If Apple had just called the M2 MacBook Pro the “MacBook SE,” people would be a lot less mad.
I mean, it’d still be a stupid computer, but at least people wouldn’t be as mad.
This idea does make some sense. In a way the 13-inch MacBook Pro is similar to the iPhone SE in that it takes the latest Apple chip and shoves it into an older product design. But I think that line of thinking fails to understand why many people buy the 13-inch MacBook Pro. Calling it a “stupid computer” is just recklessly flippant.
In the WWDC keynote, Apple referred to this Mac as the world’s second best-selling laptop. This goes to show that close Apple watchers don’t always understand Apple’s customer base. So many bloggers and YouTubers are asking, “why does this product exist?” Yet people are snapping them up by the thousands.
A good chunk of those buyers are undoubtedly enterprise customers. But I think they’re buying them for the same reason regular consumers are: it’s in their price range and it’s called “MacBook Pro.” The 13-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1299. The 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1999. That’s a big gulf in price, and the existence of the 13-inch MacBook Pro means that many customers who can’t or won’t spend $2000 can still get a product that looks like a MacBook Pro and is actually called a MacBook Pro. For a lot of people a MacBook Pro, even this one, comes off as more professional than a MacBook Air.
Tech pundits can scoff that it’s “not a real MacBook Pro” all they want, but they’re only showing how out-of-touch they are with a large chunk of Apple’s customers. That’s not to say that criticisms of the 13-inch MacBook Pro are unwarranted. Were I advising almost anyone on what the best buy in that price range is, I’d recommend the MacBook Air unreservedly. It’s thinner, it’s lighter, and it has a better display. Just about the only customer type that I’d recommend the 13-inch MacBook Pro to on its merits would be a customer who actually needs to squeeze the most raw performance possible out of the M2 processor. With its active cooling system (fans), the MacBook Pro can allow the M2 to reach sustained levels of power output that isn’t possible within the thermal constraints of the MacBook Air.
If you don’t like the 13-inch MacBook Pro, you’re probably not wrong in your reasons why, but a lot of customers are finding it the solution that best meets their priorities. And that’s ok too.