Here’s why Apple never had a 15-inch MacBook Air earlier – Times of India

Apple’s recently launched 15-inch MacBook Air is one device that people have wanted for a long time. The MacBook is finally here and is also available for users to purchase. However, it has taken Apple a long time to come up with the 15-inch version of MacBook Air.
The question is why it took Apple so long to come up with the 15-inch version.
Apple executives — Laura Metz from Mac product marketing and Thomas Tan from enterprise product marketing — have revealed some important details behind what went into the development of the 15-inch MacBook Air in an interview with Inc.
Apple Silicon is the key
Apple wanted to make the 15-inch MacBook Air before the Apple Siliconera. However, there were certain limitations and it wasn’t feasible to build one. “When you think of what the designs looked like previously, it just didn’t work. It just did not say ‘Air’ to us,” said Metz. She emphasised how Apple Silicon made the entire 15-inch MacBook Air possible and made it possible to come with a 15-inch MacBook Air with all the right components along with a bigger display and battery life that users want from their device.
Metz also mentioned that Apple is aware that PC has a huge market of 15-inch laptops and they also penetrate the business. She also mentioned that we knew that users wanted bigger MacBook Air without the need for the extra performance of more GPU cores and certainly the additional cost of the MacBook Pro.
Tan added to this that the enterprise market is one area where people want that extra screen estate.
“Apple Silicon suddenly made the MacBook Air that much more capable for business use,” said Tan. “So we’re certainly seeing a lot of customers making that wholesale switch that otherwise we wouldn’t have seen before. We’re seeing customers in retail industries adopting MacBook Air for everyday use, we’re seeing that in manufacturing, and we’re seeing that in health care. So we think Apple Silicon has broadened the appeal to enterprise customers by a significant margin”, he added.
If you look closely, users who wanted bigger MacBook devices earlier only had the option to go for the 14-inch MacBook Pro or the 16-inch MacBook Pro models. Both machines are relatively more expensive than the 13-inch MacBook Air and even the latest 15-inch MacBook Air. Now, the lack of a 15-inch MacBook Air made a huge gap in Apple’s MacBook lineup. With the introduction of the 15-inch MacBook Air, Apple has certainly filled the gap and as per the two marketing professionals, they are also seeing people switching to Apple MacBook Air for their everyday use.