I would argue yes. The two port MacBook Pro, in my opinion, was launched to replace the MacBook Air when it came out in 2016 [1]. It didn’t have a Touch Bar, for example, and based on my conversations with Apple at that time, I feel very strongly it was meant to replace the Air in the lineup (the 12” MacBook was another attempt to replace the Air, that one I think we can blame a lot more of on Intel). Apple never told me this outright, but that was absolutely the impression I got about how it was being positioned against the MacBook Pro with four ports and it was how I reviewed the first release of that model.
For a variety of reasons, it didn’t work. Not only was the price higher, the port selection (just two TB3s at a time when the industry hadn’t moved en masse to USB-C, remember, this was four years ago) was really limiting. And of course, the keyboard drama.
It is my contention, though I have no proof, that Apple didn’t want to release the redesigned Retina MacBook Air in 2018, but had to based on continued sales of the older model and the lack of love for the Touch Bar free MacBook Pro. (Recall, even after the redesign, Apple was still selling a Broadwell-based MacBook Air, technically into 2019. That was essentially the same MacBook Air that was first released in March 2015.)
Once the MacBook Air was redesigned, the two-port MBP never made any sense, even with the re-added Touch Bar. In fact, every single year, when I participate in Jason Snell's Apple Report card [2], I comment on this weirdness in the lineup. I don’t think the two-port MacBook Pro needs to exist.
For a variety of reasons, it didn’t work. Not only was the price higher, the port selection (just two TB3s at a time when the industry hadn’t moved en masse to USB-C, remember, this was four years ago) was really limiting. And of course, the keyboard drama.
It is my contention, though I have no proof, that Apple didn’t want to release the redesigned Retina MacBook Air in 2018, but had to based on continued sales of the older model and the lack of love for the Touch Bar free MacBook Pro. (Recall, even after the redesign, Apple was still selling a Broadwell-based MacBook Air, technically into 2019. That was essentially the same MacBook Air that was first released in March 2015.)
Once the MacBook Air was redesigned, the two-port MBP never made any sense, even with the re-added Touch Bar. In fact, every single year, when I participate in Jason Snell's Apple Report card [2], I comment on this weirdness in the lineup. I don’t think the two-port MacBook Pro needs to exist.
[1]: https://gizmodo.com/the-pricey-touch-bar-free-macbook-pro-wa... [2]: https://sixcolors.com/tag/reportcard/