Until recently, Apple had a 13" Macbook Air, a 13" MacBook and a 13" MacBook Pro.
As a first-time Mac buyer last year I was certainly confused about the difference between the plastic MacBook and the MacBook Pro.
I find it hard to believe that simplicity of choice is a reason people buy Apple laptops.
If you're looking at the various MacBook models, you've pretty much already made a conscious decision to consider buying from Apple for reasons that had nothing to do with how many models were on display.
It was probably the reputation for good design, easy software, lack of shovelware, no viruses etc...
In retrospect this was a transitional phase for Apple since the Macbook is no longer offered. Even at three different models it is still far less complicated than the rest of the industry.
But you can just look at the pictures to tell them apart. Oh, that one's tiny and made of aluminum, that one's bigger and made of plastic, and that one's bigger and made of aluminum. I didn't have to click through meaningless pages of non-differentiating differentiations to see those options, they were right there on the page.
For Apple it was due to a transition period. As far as the customer is concerned, the customer notices that there's a plastic MacBook, and it's cheaper than the aluminum one.
As a first-time Mac buyer last year I was certainly confused about the difference between the plastic MacBook and the MacBook Pro.
I find it hard to believe that simplicity of choice is a reason people buy Apple laptops.
If you're looking at the various MacBook models, you've pretty much already made a conscious decision to consider buying from Apple for reasons that had nothing to do with how many models were on display.
It was probably the reputation for good design, easy software, lack of shovelware, no viruses etc...