MacBook

The MacBook is a brand of Macintosh laptop computers by Apple Inc. that merged the PowerBook and iBook lines during Apple's transition to Intel processors. The current lineup consists of the MacBook Air (2008–present) and the MacBook Pro (2006–present). A different MacBook line existed from 2006 to 2012 and 2015 to 2019.

Overview
The MacBook family were initially housed in designs similar to the iBook and PowerBook lines which preceded them, now making use of a unibody aluminum construction first introduced with the MacBook Air. This new construction also has a black plastic keyboard that was first used on the MacBook Air, which itself was inspired by the sunken keyboard of the original polycarbonate MacBooks. The now standardized keyboard brings congruity to the MacBook line, with black keys on a metallic aluminum body.

The lids of the MacBook family are held closed by a magnet with no mechanical latch, a design element first introduced with the polycarbonate MacBook. Memory, drives, and batteries were accessible in the old MacBook lineup, though the newest compact lineup solders or glues all such components in place. All of the current MacBooks feature backlit keyboards.

The MacBook was discontinued from February 2012 until March 2015, when a new model featuring an ultraportable design and an all-metal enclosure was introduced. It was again discontinued on July 2019 following a price reduction of the 3rd generation MacBook Air and discontinuation of the 2nd generation model.

MacBook Air
The MacBook Air is Apple's least expensive notebook computer. While the 1st generation was released as a premium ultraportable positioned above the 2006 - 2012 MacBook, lowered prices on subsequent iterations and the discontinuation of that MacBook has made it serve as the entry-level Macintosh portable. The 2010 to 2017 base model came with a 13-inch screen, and was Apple's thinnest notebook computer until the introduction of the MacBook in March 2015. This MacBook Air model features two USB Type-A 3.0 ports and a Thunderbolt 2 port, as well as an SDXC card slot (only on the 13inch model). This model of MacBook Air did not have a Retina Display. A MacBook Air model with an 11-inch screen was available from October 2010 to October 2016. In 2017, the MacBook Air received a small refresh, with the processor speed increased to 1.8 GHz.

On October 30, 2018, the MacBook Air underwent a major design change, dropping the USB Type-A ports, MagSafe, and the SD card slot in favor of two USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports and a headphone jack. It was updated with a Retina display and Intel Y-series Amber Lake i5 CPUs, as well as a Force Touch trackpad, a third generation butterfly mechanism keyboard, and the Touch ID sensor found in the fourth generation MacBook Pro, but without the Touch Bar. The base price was also raised, although the base configuration of the 2017 model was retained until July 9, 2019, when it was discontinued along with the Retina MacBook. The base price of this model was also dropped to $1099 ($999 for students) on the same day.

MacBook Pro
The MacBook Pro is Apple's higher end laptop available in both 13-inch and 15-inch configurations. A redesigned MacBook Pro was introduced on October 27, 2016, which is thinner and lighter than the previous generation MacBook Pro. Both size models feature a touch-sensitive OLED display strip located in place of the function keys, a Touch ID sensor integrated with the power button, a butterfly mechanism keyboard similar to the MacBook, and four USB-C ports that also serve as Thunderbolt 3 ports. The 13-inch model was also available in a less expensive configuration with conventional function keys and only two USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports, but since July 2019, the base MacBook Pro model has the Touch Bar as well as quad-core processors, similar to the higher-end models, although it still has only two USB-C / Thunderbolt 3 ports.

Discontinued
The original MacBook was a line of Macintosh portable computers introduced in May 2006 that served as entry-level laptops following Apple's transition to Intel processors, replacing the iBook G4. It was discontinued on July 20, 2011 for consumer purchase and in February 2012 for education institutions, being superseded by the 2nd generation MacBook Air, as the 11-inch model introduced in 2010 had the same starting price of the MacBook.

The Retina MacBook was a line of Macintosh portable computers introduced in March 2015. It was discontinued on July 9, 2019, as it had been superseded by the 13-inch Retina MacBook Air, which had a lower base price ($1299 for the MacBook, $1199 for the 2018 MacBook Air, and $1099 for the 2019 MacBook Air), additional USB-C / Thunderbolt 3 ports (the MacBook has only one USB-C port vs two USB-C / Thunderbolt 3 ports on the MacBook Air), and better performance.

Ban from the aircraft
Apple has determined that, in a limited number of older generation 15-inch MacBook Pro units, the battery may overheat and pose a fire safety risk. Affected units were sold primarily between September 2015 and February 2017 and product eligibility is determined by the product serial number.

In June, Apple recalled the 2015 MacBook Pro with Retina Display, sold between September 2015 and February 2017, because the battery “may pose a fire safety risk,” and the FAA soon reminded airlines not to carry those laptops with defective batteries on board. But some airlines are now banning Apple laptops whether they’ve got a bad battery or not, as reported by Bloomberg.

Virgin Australia isn’t taking any chances: it’s banning every single MacBook from being carried in checked baggage. In a notice on its “Dangerous Goods” page, the company doesn’t differentiate by shape, screen size, or the year it was made: all “Apple MacBooks” can only be brought onto planes in carry-on baggage.

That may sound extreme, as the large majority of Apple laptops have not been recalled. The policy does make it sound like you can still use your laptops once on the flight, though.

But if you’re flying Qantas Airways with a 15-inch MacBook Pro, that last part may not be true. Not only is the carrier banning every single 15-inch MacBook Pro from checked baggage, it won’t let you use them in flight.

“Until further notice, all 15-inch Apple MacBook Pros must be carried in cabin baggage and switched off for flight following a recall notice issued by Apple,” a Qantas spokesperson told ZDNet.

While it’s understandable that Quantas might not be able to easily tell whether a 2015 15-inch MacBook Pro has one of the recalled batteries or not — that’d require looking up a serial number online — it’d be nice if they exempted the 2016-and-later MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, which has several pretty easily distinguishable visual characteristics and hasn’t had a battery recall that we know of.