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‘Pro users find the 13-inch model less appealing over time.’
Apple’s Scary Fast event was an unexpected but welcome treat for Mac fans this season. And in true Halloween slasher movie fashion, Apple has officially discontinued one of its most controversial laptops: the 13-inch MacBook Pro. For years, this model was highly regarded for its Pro-level specs and impressive build quality. However, as Apple introduced newer laptops with its own chips, the 13-inch MacBook Pro lost its appeal. Thus, Apple’s decision to discontinue the 13-inch MacBook Pro comes as no surprise.
The laptop faced challenges in 2016 when Apple introduced the Touch Bar as part of a major redesign. The new look featured a thinner chassis, changes to the keyboard, a larger trackpad, Touch ID, and the removal of all ports except the Thunderbolt ports and a headphone jack. The Touch Bar received mixed reviews, with some praising its innovation while others found it cumbersome and unhelpful. Apple eventually removed the Touch Bar from its latest 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, but it remained on the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
In 2023, the 13-inch MacBook Pro is still a decent laptop, but it no longer justifies the investment. The base model comes with Apple’s M2 chip, offering a slight performance boost. It features an 8-core CPU, a 10-core GPU, and comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which can be upgraded at an additional cost. However, for professional users, the 13-inch MacBook Pro falls short compared to the new MacBook Air and the 14-inch MacBook Pro, which offer better features and more ports. Despite this, Apple claimed that the 13-inch MacBook Pro remained one of its best-selling models, likely due to its lower price point.
Apple likely kept the model as a budget-friendly Pro option, starting at $1,299, while the cheapest 14-inch model was priced at $1,999. However, with the introduction of the M3 14-inch MacBook Pro priced at $1,599, the 13-inch MacBook Pro no longer makes sense. This explains Apple’s decision to discontinue it.