Apple kills $999 MacBook Air and 12-inch MacBook - CNET

Apple Macbook 12-inch 2017 — The 12-inch MacBook is no more.
Sarah Tew/CNET

Apple upgraded its newest MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops on Tuesday, but it looks like two notebooks have vanished from the company's site. The smallest of the MacBooks and the cheapest MacBook Air are now gone.

The $999 MacBook Air and 12-inch MacBook are no longer available on Apple's website as of Tuesday. It appears the Mac maker will have the updated $1,099 MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro as the new entry-level notebooks.

That effectively raises the entry cost of buying a Mac by $100, part of a broader trend by Apple to hike up prices throughout all of its new products, from the iPad to the iPhone. The removal of the two Macs also streamlines the lineup, offering a simpler, albeit more expensive, set of options for consumers.

Apple says the $999 MacBook Air will still be available via its Education Institution store.

While the iPhone continues to drive a vast majority of Apple's revenue, the Mac line has grown to be the company's No. 2 hardware line, having surpassed flagging sales of the iPad.

First released in 2015, the "classic" 13-inch MacBook Air was the default low-cost option and a favorite of college students and young professionals. The thin laptop received annual updates until 2017 with improvements to its Intel processor while keeping the sub-$1000 price tag.

Apple's 12-inch MacBook also made its debut in 2015 and received updates for the following two years. The laptop served as a tweener, smaller and less powerful than the Pro line, but more expensive than the Air lineup. The more powerful 2018 MacBook Air effectively rendered the MacBook irrelevant.

Google searches for either MacBook still show the laptops available on Apple's site. However, clicking on the search results for the discontinued notebooks will redirect you to the company's Mac landing page.

Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Originally published July 9, 6:23 a.m.
Update, 7:38 a.m. PT: Adds MacBook Air info. 7:53 a.m. PT: Adds background details. 8:16 a.m. PT: Adds more details.