Stephen Hackett, writing for 512 Pixels, on figuring out what path to take in choosing his next Mac:

I like the 13-inch screen size a lot more than the smaller notebooks. While it may be weird next to my iPad Pro, I think that’s a pretty decent trade-off between size and portability.

The 13-inch models each come with their own compromises, however. The Air has amazing battery life but a screen that’s far from ideal and it can be configured with fewer options. On the other hand, the 13-inch Pro is much more flexible from customization stand point and has a Retina display, but the battery life isn’t great.

Of course, the entire notebook could get turned upside down whenever Apple ships Skylake-powered notebooks. The 13-inch Pro could end up much slimmer and lighter, thanks to Intel’s recent power-saving technology. The MacBook Air could go away all together, being replaced with a more powerful MacBook.

Not an easy choice. Interesting to me how complex Apple’s laptop product line has gotten. Brings to mind Steve Jobs’ famous chart dividing the entire company into 4 products. The chart showed a 2 x 2 grid with column headings Consumer and Pro and row headings Desktop and Portable. One product in each cell. Simple.

Obviously, times have changed, but that simple logic has been lost.