The MacBook dilemma: Pay more, or get an old machine

At its MacBook-centric event Thursday, Apple announced very few in-house devices: essentially, just three new MacBook Pros, 13- and 15-inch models with a Touch Bar — the laptops' new signature feature — and a 13-incher without one.

If you don't care about how much any of it costs, go right ahead and buy one. But if you're a cost-conscious customer that wants to buy a new laptop from Apple, your choices just became a lot crappier. 

The changes to Apple's laptop lineup are subtle, but significant. The new MacBook Pro starts at $1,499 — that's the Touch Bar-free variant. Apple's VP of Marketing Phil Schiller compared that version to the Air, touting it as a faster, better, lighter and thinner option. 

That may all be true, but it's also $500 more expensive than the cheapest, 13-inch MacBook Air. For two new entry-level Pros, you can buy three new Airs — not a negligible difference for a small business. 

It's ok, you think, because Apple is still offering the 13-inch MacBook Air (the 11-inch variant is gone, sorry). That is correct, but that machine has not been updated. It's the same old Air, last updated in March 2015, and changed in spring 2016 to start with 8GB of RAM instead of 4GB. 

What are your other sub-$1,500 options? You can get the old, old 13-inch MacBook Pro, which Apple still sells. It's also a 2015 model that costs $1,299. Or you could get a MacBook for that same price, but frankly, a MacBook won't do for any sort of professional work. 

Apple's pro-grade laptops are, simply put, much more expensive than before.