Apple to Sell Low-Cost 12-Inch and 13-inch MacBooks for $700 or Less

[DavidSchaub]

One other thing is that this rumoured MacBook doesn't need to be any thinner than the M2 MacBookAir. It doesn't need to take on the tradeoffs of the old Retina MacBook 12".

It just needs to be a touch smaller, a bit more durable, and much cheaper.

 

[Lioness~]

...i'd rather get a 12" MacBook for $700.

Would be great, but outside US it means double that price with taxes included.
But I would buy it instantly. Don't need a lot from a 2nd Mac, just a small one.
Soon we'll know.

 

[Veinticinco]

My guess is this idea dies a death after some basic market research.

There's no significant market segment for a gimped $700 MacBook Lite/SE. If pushed, you could argue university/college students on a tight budget but they already get educational subsidies and AirPod sweeteners anyway.

 

[darngooddesign]

My guess is this idea dies a death after some basic market research.

There's no significant market segment for a gimped $700 MacBook Lite/SE. If pushed, you could argue university/college students on a tight budget but they already get educational subsidies and AirPod sweeteners anyway.

If what you want is a small and light laptop, then compared to the 12” MacBook the 13” M1 Air is gimped with too much size and too much weight.

 

[Veinticinco]

One other thing is that this rumoured MacBook doesn't need to be any thinner than the M2 MacBookAir. It doesn't need to take on the tradeoffs of the old Retina MacBook 12".

It just needs to be a touch smaller, a bit more durable, and much cheaper.

The 12 RMB was a form factor of beauty. It's fundamental failing (horrific testbed price aside) was on the inside, a toxic arranged marriage of a severely underpowered crappy Intel Core M (for mobile) chip with a fanless, thermally-compromised design.

With Apple Silicon, that fatal flaw no longer exists.

 

[Veinticinco]

If what you want is a small and light laptop, then compared to the 12” MacBook the 13” M1 Air is gimped with too much size and too much weight.

Nobody is going into an Apple Store and making that comparison. Barely anybody outside of the forum community even remembers the 12" RMB.

What they are directly comparing however is the heft/thickness of the M2 vs the comparatively svelte wedge M1 MBAs

 

[transpo1]

There is gap there between by "volume sold" 'most' and by "systems offered" 'most' .

The new Chromebook Plus initiative is indictive that space is not completely about a 'race to the bottom' overall system price.

Also it is a criteria some organizations are looking for. For example:

" ... and passes MIL-STD 810H tests for reliable longevity ..."

CTL Chromebooks | Empowering Work and Learning Around The World

Find the best deals on Chromebooks here. Free shipping on Chromebook orders over $99 in the continental USA.

ctl.net

and

" ... Acer Spin 714 ...
... . It's also remarkably tough. It's MIL-SPEC Standard 810G tested, which means it can handle drops and other physical shocks. If you need to take a computer to a building site, this is the one I'd take. ... "

The 5 best Chromebooks for work in 2023

Chromebooks offer fantastic features, such as touchscreens, fast processors, and decent storage, allowing you all the tools you need to knock out your work. Plus, you'll have some fun doing so.

www.zdnet.com

(the Spin 714 lands in this around $700 range that Apple looks to be dipping their toe into. )


and

" ... To make the keyboard more durable — and resistant to small exploring fingers! — the gap between the edges of the keycaps and the keyboard surround is reduced to prevent anyone from prying the keys out. ...

...
( in the tech specs tab on that website )
... US MIL-STD 810G military-grade standard ...
"

ASUS Chromebook C403ï½Laptops For Homeï½ASUS USA

With over 10 hours battery life and an ultra-thin and light design, ASUS Chromebooks give you all-day freedom â these ASUS laptops are always ready to go at any time, wherever you are!

www.asus.com

Is it a requirement for all Chromebooks? No. Are more than a few of them trying to get there? Yes. There are a wide variety offerings that are not all primarily clustered in the sub $280 range. there is a better 'balance' at this point with vendors releasing sytsems into a wider price range. ( so not quite so much 'crabs in a barrel' trying to claw the others back to the bottom contest. )


The "Intel N100" generation of SoC is better than some of the increasing older SoC in some of the examples above. The trickle-down from Intel's 'E-core' work into more affordable SoCs has been kind of slow to get traction in Chromebooks. Probably a bit of a catch-22 . if they sold more then probably more effort put into pushing in uplift quicker.

Good breakdown of higher end Chromebooks! But how many schools go for these higher end models instead of the more affordable ones?

 

[transpo1]

Nobody is going into an Apple Store and making that comparison. Barely anybody outside of the forum community even remembers the 12" RMB.

What they are directly comparing however is the heft/thickness of the M2 vs the comparatively svelte wedge M1 MBAs

Power users remember the 12” MacBook. I used to see lots of business warriors with those machines in First Class cabins. If you put it in front of them and market it right, they’ll get the picture ;-)

 

[Mainsail]

Never seen so many confusions in an Apple line up. What a cluster. And why is MBP13 stilll being produced?

At this point, the MacBook line-up is not that confusing to me. The M2 MBA is the everyday laptop for people looking for portability and price. The M2 MBP is for more spec conscious consumers that need to do more taxing computing. Both models come in two sizes, since consumer's display size preferences are somewhat independent of consumer's internal spec requirements. Pretty simple to me.

The odd ducks are the M1 MBA and the base MBP. I suspect there is left over inventory and existing capacity for these machines that Apple is simply running to the end of their product life cycle. There are some consumers that want the cheapest possible MacBook, and some folks that still want the Touch Bar.....so, these two models will linger a bit longer. For all we know, they will die-off after the Oct 30 event.

If they add an economy model, it still would not be that confusing to me. For example:

• Good: MB (MacBook) starting at $799 for the sub-12in model and $899 for the 13.3in model (just the existing M1 MBA rebranded). With the $100 education discount, entry level goes to the $700 rumored price.
• Better: MBA starting at $1099 for the 13.6in model and $1299 for the 15in model
• Best: MBP starting at $1999 for the 14in model and $2499 for the 16in model

Basically, this would not be that much different than the iPad or the iPhone lineup.

 

[DavidSchaub]

The 12 RMB was a form factor of beauty. It's fundamental failing (horrific testbed price aside) was on the inside, a toxic arranged marriage of a severely underpowered crappy Intel Core M (for mobile) chip with a fanless, thermally-compromised design.

With Apple Silicon, that fatal flaw no longer exists.

The sucky keyboard, that led to a generation of sucky laptop keyboards didn't help

 

[macfacts]

Yep.
I also think Apple's been taking the piss on their 'upgrade' pricing even more of late. I'm sure someone somewhere aside from Wayback has tracked Apple pricing and upgrade costs throughout the years, but the memory and storage bump pricing is just getting to insanity, starting price of 'ok, already more than a quality mgr Intel system' but you quickly wind up into much higher #s.

Dell XPS bump in memory from 16GB (base) to 32GB is like $100, going from 512GB storage to 1TB or 2 TB is ~$100 per bump up in size.

It does look like Lenovo is trying to follow suit with Apple, as on Thinkpad Carbon going from 32GB RAM to 64GB is $450 and going from 256GB SSD (!! Really, Lenovo?) to 2TB will set you back ~$750.

Profiteering at work. Inflation and supply chain goes up 20%, let's increases costs by 50% while claiming 'we've done the best we can on pricing in this situation.' Meh.

R&D isn't free. /s

 

[progx]

Think it would be time to bring out the MacBooks, then you'll have the Air and Pro... plus finally ditch the 13-inch Pro model too.

Unless this will be MacBook mini? Then the 13-inch Pro would just be MacBook?

 

[ISignedUpToAskThis]

I haven't read the rest of the replies as I'm lazy, so apologies.

What would I expect/hope for in a lower cost MacBook?

- Will be called just "MacBook" like the earlier lower cost model
- 12 inch or 13 inch Retina LCD screen
- M1 chip (potentially M2 by the time it's released but at least 2 generations old)
- 8GB RAM (option of 16GB)
- 256GB SSD (options of 512GB/1TB)
- Tough and high quality plastic, possibly with a metallic effect (non-unibody)
- Similar colour options to current iMac (blue, pink, silver, green etc)
- Notch with 1080p camera
- Colour matched braided USB-C charging cable (possibly non-MagSafe)


Essentially the base spec M1 MBA but with cheaper body and screen. The M1 is still a fantastic, power efficient chip and if it's just aimed at web browsing, video streaming and light productivity it'll be perfect and still be up to those tasks for 4-5 years at least.

 

[MRxROBOT]

Yeah, I know, tablets have pretty much taken over the space. But there are times I want something small and light to travel with that also has decent computing power.

Select iPad models are just as powerful as the MacBook Air Line, so im not sure why you're looking for more power. It exits, they both have the latest M2. I find it highly unlikely a 12" MacBook will get a a Pro chip. Now If you just prefer macOS, thats a different story.

 

[Mainsail]

Select iPad models are just as powerful as the MacBook Air Line, so im not sure why you're looking for more power. It exits, they both have the latest M2. I find it highly unlikely a 12" MacBook will get a a Pro chip. Now If you just prefer macOS, thats a different story.

I agree about the Pro chip. These new models will probably be fanless, so I have a difficult time imagining a Pro chip in them.

 

[bumblebritches5]

Yes because nobody in their right mind should pay $700 usd for a gimped laptop that could have 4gb ram and 64gb ssd like some people are speculating in an Apple roasting like fashion.

They can cut costs and still deliver a decent machine. Maybe in your world you want less for more of your money.

I’m not going to buy a machine intended for 5-12 year olds to learn how to type and write essays with, and $700 is too expensive.

Kids don’t need what you want, time you stop being narcissistic.

 

[bumblebritches5]

I haven't read the rest of the replies as I'm lazy, so apologies.

What would I expect/hope for in a lower cost MacBook?

- Will be called just "MacBook" like the earlier lower cost model
- 12 inch or 13 inch Retina LCD screen
- M1 chip (potentially M2 by the time it's released but at least 2 generations old)
- 8GB RAM (option of 16GB)
- 256GB SSD (options of 512GB/1TB)
- Tough and high quality plastic, possibly with a metallic effect (non-unibody)
- Similar colour options to current iMac (blue, pink, silver, green etc)
- Notch with 1080p camera
- Colour matched braided USB-C charging cable (possibly non-MagSafe)


Essentially the base spec M1 MBA but with cheaper body and screen. The M1 is still a fantastic, power efficient chip and if it's just aimed at web browsing, video streaming and light productivity it'll be perfect and still be up to those tasks for 4-5 years at least.

It’s meant for a 7 year old learning to type, this is not in any way meant for you.

 

[DavidSchaub]

Essentially the base spec M1 MBA but with cheaper body and screen. The M1 is still a fantastic, power efficient chip and if it's just aimed at web browsing, video streaming and light productivity it'll be perfect and still be up to those tasks for 4-5 years at least.

I fail to see how those specs are low enough to hit lower price points, or to avoid taking away sales from the higher priced MacBookAir line.

 

[bumblebritches5]

I fail to see how those specs are low enough to hit lower price points, or to avoid taking away sales from the higher priced MacBookAir line.

Honestly, considering the fact that out of over 200 comments only about a dozen commenters understand the intended market and requirements for such a device, I hope Apple doesn’t even offer it for sale to the public, volume sale only to K12 schools.

The general public clearly isn’t smart enough to handle it.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Big, if true. In the past, Apple has used the talking point of avoiding this approach because it creates a race to the bottom.

Right, which is what makes me wonder if they’ve found all of Kuo’s sources and are feeding them bad info one by one.

 

[veena3]

What about $350 for MacOS for Chromebooks, haha? Wouldn't that be better ROI?

 

[RowellE]

I would absolutely pay a premium price if the 12" MB had up-to-date internals.

 

[ric22]

Keep M1, keep the retina display, drop to a polycarbonate shell again, that would be a compelling buy for 700

I agree with all but the polycarbonate shell. That does not fit apple's design aesthetic

 

[10anta]

This will not make a confusing line-up. Remove the M2 MBP and M1 MBA, and it's pretty simple. Budget, base, pro.

The iPad lineup was fine too until they kept 2 gens of base iPads and decoupled the specs between Air and mini.

The optimal Mac lineup, MacBook or desktop fits the Steve grid - one consumer option (plastic, cheaper), and one pro option (higher performance and premium materials). People either want cheap and functional or performance and damn the expense.

Same is true for iPads, and for iPhones.

Can offer with different screen sizes and customised upgrade options, but no need to overly expand and complicate the core lineup.

 

[darngooddesign]

Nobody is going into an Apple Store and making that comparison. Barely anybody outside of the forum community even remembers the 12" RMB.

What they are directly comparing however is the heft/thickness of the M2 vs the comparatively svelte wedge M1 MBAs

No one can make that comparison because Apple doesn’t make a 12” MB. Once they do, people can directly compare it.