Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Pro is no more

The arrival of Apple's new 16-inch MacBook Pro comes with an unexpected twist: the classic 15-inch model is being phased out entirely. The 16-inch MacBook Pro is replacing it in the lineup, coming in at the same $2,399 starting price.

The outgoing 15-inch screen size has been a fixture of Apple's laptop lineup dating back to the PowerBook G4 days and continued on with the MacBook Pro, which was first introduced over a decade ago in 2006.

With this change in place, Apple's laptop family now consists of:

• 16-inch MacBook Pro
• 13-inch MacBook Pro
• MacBook Air

(Earlier this year, Apple discontinued its ultra-portable 12-inch MacBook.)

The last 15-inch MacBook Pro, which was just refreshed in May, will likely remain available for some time, and its exit from the lineup should mean you'll be able to find decent deals on it. But part of the appeal of the new 16-inch model (aside from the bigger screen) is that it returns to a scissor-switch keyboard. The new keyboard should prove more dependable than the butterfly mechanism that has done damage to the reputation of Apple's laptops since 2016.

By eliminating the 15-inch model altogether, Apple is beginning to transition away from that controversy. And the company is likely hoping that anyone who has held on to their 2014 or 2015 15-inch MacBook Pro will now be willing to make the upgrade.