Apple has updated its MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models today, but has discontinued the smallest of the bunch, the 12in MacBook. It has also stopped selling the older non-Retina MacBook Air and the non-Touch Bar MacBook Pro (sometimes referred to by Apple fans as the MacBook Escape).
The MacBook Air has got a small upgrade that adds True Tone to the display for better ambient colour adjustments, a feature most common on Apple’s iPads. It is also now cheaper, starting at £1,099 / $1,099 – £100 / $100 less than before.
In place of the MacBook Escape is a £1,299 / $1,299 Touch Bar MacBook Pro with 8th-gen Intel processors. It means it’s the cheapest Touch Bar model yet, and one of the most powerful. But it means if you don’t want the Touch Bar on a MacBook Pro then you’re out of luck. Hi, eBay.
It might be the cheapest Touch Bar model yet, but Apple has used the change to the range as an excuse to put up UK prices. The eagle eyed will notice that the models are now £50 more than each was previously, with the top-of-the-range model now costing £100 more than before.
A surprise to some will be the discontinuation of the small 12in MacBook, which will now be remembered as a product that only lasted four years since its 2015 launch. That said, it was a confusing product line that Apple was presenting after it updated the MacBook Air. The 12in MacBook was actually more expensive than the Air, which made no sense.
Today, Apple has rectified that and simplified its range. This also means it has finally killed the older MacBook Air, the last remaining MacBook it sold that didn’t have a Retina display and boasted practically the same design as the one Steve Jobs famously pulled out of a manila envelope on stage at Macworld Expo in 2008.
Small internal upgrades and price drops to the MacBook line up are always a good thing, but if you want to buy a 12in MacBook, non-Touch Bar MacBook or MacBook Air, you should hot step it over to Apple’s official refurbished store. Stock won’t last long.
Author: Henry Burrell, Phones Editor
Henry is Tech Advisor’s Phones Editor, ensuring he and the team covers and reviews every smartphone worth knowing about for readers and viewers all over the world. He spends a lot of time moving between different handsets and shouting at WhatsApp to support multiple devices at once.