When Apple first introduced the MacBook Air back in 2008, I?m not sure anyone knew quite what to expect in the long-run from the little, low-powered Mac. Though the ultra-portable laptop itself wasn't a new idea, there is in retrospect a distinct line dividing the Air ? the first of what we now classify as Ultrabooks ? from previous attempts at ultra-portables. What Apple eventually kicked off was a distinct market segment, though as a market it did take some time to materialize.

With the announcement this week of the suffix-less MacBook (2015), I?m left to wonder if Apple is doing the same thing for a new market segment. The MacBook isn't just a new Air ? though in a sense it's an heir to the Air ? but it's something new that isn't entirely removed from its predecessors while not being exactly the same either. The end result is a device that like the original Air is hard to pin down in this time frame, as it straddles a couple different product segments.