Why does choosing an Apple product always require a degree in Apple marketing and design? I generally like their products but you need to do so much research about everything from the weird ass product names (does Air even mean anything anymore?), to where exactly in the product cycle each product is. Am I about to buy something that will be upgraded in a week?
I think you are exaggerating how confusing the apple product stack is. I'm no apple fan and I know roughly what to expect from each model.
the air is the low end model (for apple at least); you get this if you want the cheapest possible apple laptop. if you want to spend more money, you pick between the ultraportable macbook or a more powerful macbook pro.
I couldn't tell you the difference between all the iphones and ipads off the top of my head, but if you're having a hard time deciding what you want, it's probably because you're not thinking about it the way apple wants you to. it's actually a pretty simple process. 1) look at and touch the different models and pick the form factor you want. 2) increase the specs until it costs as much as you're willing to pay. if the base model of your chosen form factor is too expensive, go back to 1) and pick a different one.
if you care about the fact that macs tend to lag the latest processor skus by one or two generations, "you're holding it wrong."
> the air is the low end model (for apple at least); you get this if you want the cheapest possible apple laptop. if you want to spend more money, you pick between the ultraportable macbook or a more powerful macbook pro.
That's how it was before this announcement. Now the MacBook is gone, leaving the updated MacBook Air as the most portable option. This makes a lot more sense, since the "Air" name was meant to denote portability, and the original Air was the most portable option when it was introduced.
The Air is only slightly thinner and 0.25 lb lighter than the 13” Pro. I’ve had an Air since 2012 and just compared the two, and got the Pro. There’s essentially no difference in portability. But there are significant differences in capability and price.
I think Apple killed the 12” MacBook because for most people, an iPad is a better ultraportable than a laptop. The folks who are really adamant about laptops with Mac OS are developers, and the MacBook had a bad ratio of cost to power for most devs.
oddly enough, the 12" macbook is the only apple device I was ever interested in. it seemed like a great alternative to an xps 13 if I ever wanted to get into the mac world. lots of devs these days only need a computer capable of running an ssh client. if that's you and you also have a workstation, why not get the thinnest, lightest laptop out there that runs your favorite OS?
That is because it is a company for business/professional users. Other than you skipping over most of their product line, gen 5 is just generation 5, gen 6 is generation 6 and the extreme is the more powerful version.
You might as well mention the t series the p series and the x series (if they still make them) all of which comes with a bunch of numbers after them.
Anyway apple is a porche and thinkpads were russian tanks, lately some have gotten a cosmetic update. When you look at it like that it makes a lot more sense.
Why do names of tools need to make sense? I don't go around calling my screwdriver with cute names. It has a job to do. It needs a unique identifier to distinguish from other screw drivers.
> I don't go around calling my screwdriver with cute names. It has a job to do. It needs a unique identifier to distinguish from other screw drivers.
Screw drivers also aren't regularly re-designed to hop on current design trends and bump specs (or, rather, if manufacturers try it then people ignore it). Car models are probably a more apt comparison.
Seriously. I wonder which consumer electronics/computing product sectors are supposedly easier to shop for. Other than smartphones, which generally just have a couple of size and storage capacity options, and much simpler/cheaper electronics like USB batteries, I can't think of any brand offering a simpler product line.
Check out Dell's home computer landing page. It's a horizontal carousel with literally 29 different laptops with different model names/numbers/screen sizes. And that's just the laptops. Before any actual customization of RAM, storage capacity, etc.
Even a pretty well-known sub-brand of laptops, ThinkPad, now presents you with four top-level choices (Laptops, Yoga, Tablets, Desktops), each of which has between 2 and 5 (apparently) completely different model lines. How do I buy the high-end "ultrabook" ThinkPad that I've heard is nice? I remembered it having "Carbon" in the name, so I searched the page for that and deduced that it's under the "X Series" of laptops. Then I click "Compare X Series Laptops." Then the fun begins. There are literally 14 different models of ThinkPad X1 Carbon, including "Yogas" (I guess it never remembered that I started the process by selecting Laptops).
>where exactly in the product cycle each product is. Am I about to buy something that will be upgraded in a week?
You've answered your own question. That is precisely why everything is fuzzy. So that people don't get caught up worrying about specs or versions. PC market doesn't iterate that fast any more.
