Apple kills the non-Touch Bar MacBook Pro, discounts the Air
They've both received hardware upgrades in the process.
Apple isn't waiting until the fall and macOS Catalina to trot out Mac updates. The company has updated the MacBook Air and the entry 13-inch MacBook Pro with newer hardware and, in one case, a price cut. The Air now starts at an easier-to-swallow $1,099 (conveniently $999 for students) and introduces a True Tone display to the lineup. You won't find a newer processor or other spec updates, unfortunately, but there's now a clearer reason to buy the Air versus a 13-inch MacBook Pro. Oh, and there's no longer a 12-inch MacBook to buy, so your choice for an 'entry' Mac laptop just became that much clearer.
The 13-inch base MacBook Pro, meanwhile, is now a much more compelling buy, at least if you like Apple's current input methods. There's finally a quad-core, 8th-generation Intel chip inside (either a 1.4GHz Core i5 or an optional 1.7GHz Core i7), and all models now have both the Touch Bar and Touch ID -- there's no longer a legacy keyboard for those who insist on dedicated function keys. That also means you're getting the T2 chip and "immersive" speakers. A True Tone display upgrade comes along for the ride.
Don't expect other overhauls, though. The Pro still starts at $1,299 ($1,199 for students) with 8GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD and two Thunderbolt 3 ports ($1,499 with a 256GB SSD), so you'll still have to pony up if you need more memory and storage. Look at it this way, though: you won't have to spend nearly as much to get a quad-core Mac laptop as you did in the past.
