Why is there still a MacBook Air?

This week, Apple introduced upgrades to a number of its products. They showed a new Mac Mini and a new MacBook Air. The need for a new Mac Mini I understand. The need for a new MacBook Air I do not.

The original MacBook Air was revolutionary in that it omitted a CD/DVD reader. So revolutionary that Apple needed a way for a MacBook Air to "borrow" a CD/DVD reader from another computer (another Apple computer) to install software.

The MacBook Air stunned the world with its thinness and its low weight -- hence the adjective "Air". Compared to laptops of the time, even Apple's MacBooks, the MacBook Air was almost weightless.

But that was then. This is now.

Apple has improved the MacBook (without the "Air") to the point that MacBooks and MacBook Airs are indistinguishable. They are both thin. They are both lightweight. They both have no CD/DVD reader.

Yes, there are some minor points and one can tell a MacBook from a MacBook Air. MacBooks are slightly smaller and have only one USB C port, whereas MacBook Airs are larger and have multiple ports.

But in just about every respect, the MacBook Air is a new and improved MacBook. When you consider the processor, the memory and storage, the display, and the capabilities of the two devices, the MacBook Air is simply another member of the MacBook line. So why keep it? Why not just call it a MacBook?

Apple could certainly have two MacBooks. They have two MacBook Pro computers, a 13-inch model and a 15-inch model. They could have a 12-inch MacBook and a 13-inch MacBook. Yet they keep the "Air" designation. Why?

Its possible that the "MacBook Air" name has good market recognition, and Apple wants to leverage that. If so, we can expect to see other "Air" products, much like the iPad Air.