Apple Announces Cheaper MacBook Air, Adds Touch Bar to Entry-level MacBook Pro

Apple is announcing some new upgrades to its MacBook Air and MacBook Pro devices ahead of back-to-school season. The company is introducing incremental upgrades for both the devices, with a focus on students.

The new MacBook Air is now cheaper coming in at $1,099, with students being able to purchase it for $999. The new MacBook Air also comes with True Tone on the 13-inch Retina display that can automatically adjust the color temperature of the display for different lighting conditions. It still features the same 8th-generation dual-core processor, T2 security chip, immersive wide stereo sound and all-day battery life, according to Apple.

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On the MacBook Pro, Apple is making some more significant changes. The entry-level $1,299 13-inch MacBook Pro now comes with quad-core 8th gen processors for the first time, as well as the Touch Bar, Touch ID, and the t2 security chips. This new model is available for $1,199 to students.

None of the devices feature the recently rumored scissor switch keyboard.

The upgraded models of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro should be a welcome addition to many, especially on the MacBook Pro as the Touch Bar is now available even on the entry-level device. Apple is also launching its back-to-school promotion for students today, which gives them a pair of Beats  Studio 3 wireless headphones with the purchase of a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, or other qualifying Mac devices.

The launch of Apple’s refreshed MacBook Pro and MacBook Air also marks the end of the company’s iconic 12-inch MacBook device that came with a single port and was launched back in 2015 with the new MacBook design.

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Conversation 14 comments

  • Jeff.Bane

    09 July, 2019 - 9:30 am

    <p>Adds touch bar. Thank you?</p>

  • jchampeau

    Premium Member
    09 July, 2019 - 9:41 am

    <p>Nothing about new models with the terrible butterfly keyboards is a "welcome addition."</p>

  • Tony Barrett

    09 July, 2019 - 10:14 am

    <p>Duff keyboard. DUAL CORE cpu. Small screen. $1000. Bargain!</p>

    • mshuk

      Premium Member
      09 July, 2019 - 10:30 am

      <blockquote>Well said!</blockquote><p><br></p>

    • Stooks

      09 July, 2019 - 3:25 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#440648">In reply to ghostrider:</a></em></blockquote><p>+1000</p>

    • 2ilent8cho

      10 July, 2019 - 4:22 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#440648">In reply to ghostrider:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>It is a cheap price to pay to not suffer Windows 10. Also the Keyboard is the new material. </p>

  • tpiselli

    Premium Member
    09 July, 2019 - 11:14 am

    <p>One can easily argue that the addition of the touch bar on the entry-level model is unwelcome. I'd even venture to say that, if given the choice, most users would drop the touch bar from the other models as well.</p>

  • wbtmid

    Premium Member
    09 July, 2019 - 11:17 am

    <p>This is more in the line of Apple's over-priced and under-powered computers. (I do have some apple products, but none of recent vintage). I don't get it. Other laptop and desktop manufactures can offer several models EVERY YEAR! And, with updated specs and parts, more than two ports, and reliable keyboards!? Some of the models by other manufacturers, in my opinion, are more modern and better looking than Apple's tired designs whose main selling point is being thin and and lacking ports. I won't even get into Apple's outrageous selling prices for SSD's and memory! I guess Apple doesn't think their customers are smart enough to know what the retail price ought to be for components. The older Apple products i still use had reasonable specs at purchase, and were were able to be upgraded by me to extend their life. Today that is, sadly, not possible.</p>

  • falonyn

    09 July, 2019 - 12:13 pm

    <p>While the MB Air is still higher prices than I think it should be, it is good to see them moving in the right direction in price. Competition seems to be forcing their hand a little. </p>

  • dontbe evil

    09 July, 2019 - 2:20 pm

    <p>Trying to sell something desperately </p>

  • solomonrex

    09 July, 2019 - 3:21 pm

    <p>I'm willing to be wrong, but I thought that the entry level MBP, while ridiculous in overlapping the MBA, was still desirable because it lacked the touchbar. The touchbar is nifty, no doubt, but clearly not for certain professionals, such as those who were attracted to Macs for their command line and programming abilities.</p><p><br></p><p>But the MBA certainly exists now, and there are only a few differences between the two.</p><p><br></p><p>I'm very curious about the macbook prime, why isn't that the student discount? On paper it's a better fit, even all 3 lines are little differentiated now.</p>

  • MikeGalos

    09 July, 2019 - 6:40 pm

    <p>Wow, what a deal for the students. "We'll give you 7% off of a product that costs twice as much as a generic competitor but we'll also throw in a horribly bass-heavy set of headphones".</p><p>Oh, and yes, we are dumping our known-defective keyboard on you as part of the deal.</p><p><br></p>

  • bob_shutts

    10 July, 2019 - 10:45 am

    <p>I wonder if Paul is going to bother with swapping his 2018 MBA for the 2019 model.</p>

  • bob_shutts

    11 July, 2019 - 4:18 pm

    <p>I've got to post this even though it's an old thread. After all the shade the MS fans threw on the "too expensive" 13" MacBook Pro, Jonathon Morrison proved again that benchmarks don't tell the whole story. The base model blew through large media files with ease and faster than real time. No fan run up and the activity monitor showed the 4 cores operationing at only 50-60% most of the time. Part of the reason is the MB delegates a lot of the compression work to the T2 chip. Looks like the base model is about twice as fast as the prior model because of the 4 core current gen intel I5. So you can spend $1,300 on a MacBook Pro and do a hell of a lot of heavy lifting on it. </p>

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