There is. 15" laptops are the most popular size and what Apple sells in that size bracket is not cheap. It's a pretty gaping hole in their lineup really. A $1300 or $1400 15" MBA would probably sell very well, not because of weight and size but because it's a 15" screen for less than $2500. It makes more sense than the 13" MBP that's barely distinguishable from the MBA.

absolutely. when I worked at bestbuy maybe 5 years ago, there were a lot of people who would have bought a Mac if there were a cheaper 15" option. For many people, especially some older folks, 15" is the minimum.

On the other hand, there were also a few people who paid up for a 15" Pro just for the larger screen.

As a webdev I don’t need beefy gpu and cpu performance has got so good that even smaller one would do. Also 15 and 16 have same resolution so not much difference for dev. I mostly work off a couch so having lighter laptop would be nice. I’m always amazed when I pick up previous gen 15”.

I’ll need to replace my 2015 model soon, and anything smaller than 15” is a downgrade - screen is too small for serious work all day.

The problem is that MacBook Pros has been creeping past into the $2000 range for an entry level configuration.

I think so too. M2 MBAs are priced at $1200 for the base model, which is "low" considering Apple's tendency to overcharge for powerful machines.