[mschuster91]

Battery consumption and antenna efficiency are two major pain points. iPhones suck battery like a horse drinks water when in hotspot mode, and the large surface area of even a small MacBook Air would allow for some pretty interesting antenna design.

And it isn't really ironed out to behave in Germany where on a train you have frequent losses of phone connectivity. Every time it loses signal, the hotspot drops out and disconnects.

[snowwrestler]

You can save battery in hotspot mode by using Bluetooth instead of WiFI, or even better connect the phone and laptop with a cord.

[reustle]

But that’s an ok tradeoff. They offer a cellular iPad, why not MacBook.

[achandlerwhite]

They might once they are off Qualcomm modems (the new 16e is now an Apple modem). Qualcomm charges them a royalty fee per device sold.

[bgnn]

This is a weak argument. Qualcomm is charging for iphone and ipad too. They could do it if they wanted.

The real reason is Apple wants you to buy an ipad for on the road. Laptops, according to them, are strictly for office/home usage where wifi is available.