Apple is at the top of its MacBook game-and the best may be yet to come

We live in a wonderful era for Apple laptops. Let's keep the momentum going.

- JASON SNELL

We desktop power and stunning HDR displays. The new M2 MacBook Air has now joined the family, with a similar live in a wonderful era for Apple laptops. The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros provide striking design and the Air's trademark smaller size and weight.

After a dark period where Apple struggled with flawed laptop keyboards, a painful transition to USB-C, and an increasingly frustrating relationship with Intel, things haven't looked this bright in quite some time. That's why, as Apple looks on proudly at the new line of laptops it has fashioned over the past couple of years, I have only one request: More, please.

LAPTOPS ARE THE BEST

Let's start with the facts. For decades, the overall percentage of new Macs sold that are laptops kept going up. The last time Apple specifically broke out desktop and laptop Mac sales figures, laptops were well over two-thirds of Mac sales and headed upward toward three-quarters. For the majority of the Mac's existence, the most common Mac has been a laptop.

As Apple pointed out in its WWDC 2022 keynote, the MacBook Air is Apple's bestselling laptop. And its second-best is the similarly specced 13-inch MacBook Pro (fave.co/31f20PD). Is it any surprise the two most affordable MacBooks are the most popular?

But consider the lack of choice in Apple's laptop line. If you don't want to buy a $1,999-plus MacBook Pro, you can choose from the M2 Air, 2020's M1 Air, or the 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro. That's three 13-inch laptops that are really not very different, right down to their similar weights and sizes. They are three iterations of the same concept.

This is the Mac's most important category. Where's the choice?