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Apple to Sell Low-Cost 12-Inch and 13-inch MacBooks for $700 or Less
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The reason for Mac sales dropping off a cliff isn’t the lack of more affordable sub $1000 MacBooks - Apple hasn’t sold these for years. It’s the general economic environment and the M1 Macs simply being too good so there’s no reason for users to upgrade. A more affordable MacBook could however increase market share and sales at the expense of lower profit margins and the dilution of Apple’s reputation as premium brand.
Me using a maxed out 2017 one, it will last me until Apple makes an Apple Silicon one... (possibly many years if these rumors are not true 😅)
Agreed. Get rid of the MBP 13 and just make it a "MacBook." Although, not sure separate 12 and 13 inch MBs makes a lot of sense.
I do like the idea of a plastic one. When I was in college and grad school I love the black and white MacBooks. Never had one but always wanted one.
Leaked photo of the upcoming MacBook Mini!!!!
Who would be the target market of a $700 MacBook? Not schools, they would use Chromebooks. Would college students be interested in them? Maybe America, if Apple thinks the economy is going to tank. What about China or India? I can't see it being popular because of the large income gap between the poor and the rich.
I just don't see it myself.
I just don't see it myself.
Retired people perhaps? Teenagers in the West? A low cost Apple MacBook would be ideal for my elderly parents, or my nieces.
I suspect they’ll only do it if they can maintain their reputation for premium materials and design.
It doesn't weight half in a modern context. .
MBA 2020 (intel ) 2.8lbs ( 1.29 kg)
MBA 2020 ( M1 ) 2.8lbs ( 1.29 kg)
MBA 2022 ( M2 ) 2.7lbs (1.24 kg)
MB 2017 2.03 lbs ( 0.92 kg)
(https://support.apple.com/kb/SP757?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US )
2.03/2.8 = 73%
Even a MBA 15 ... 2.03/3.3 = 61%
maybe a
MBP 14 2.03/3.5 = 51%
but now in the about $1,000 difference in price range also and a totally different performance zone. The MBP 14 is not a 'regular' (average Joe User) macbook.
A non-butterfly keyboard would likely very slightly bump up the MB weight. (thickness and additional aluminum all around).
The weight gap that the MB had creeping up on a decade ago is not what it was. The 'regular' macbook moved on in the current decade.
A MB 2017 plus a charger you might need for a full days use is likely in the same range as a M1 MBA which you might be able to get away with with no charger transported with it. "All day battery life" means the net necessary system weight goes down if don't have to carry a charger with you.
Could a MB be incrementally lighter ? Yes. but is the market smaller? Also yes.
I switched between the 14" M1 Pro MacBook Pro and 15" M2 MacBook Air from time to time and connected to the Apple Studio Display (closed lid mode). My MacBook Pro is a week shy of 2-year mark, it's still an exceptional computer just wish the battery standby time is longer. However I never used it in its' full potential (built-in mini-LED display w/ProMotion, great speaker system, and raw power). I bought it just because the MacBook Air tapered chassis was no longer my favorite design and I never liked the 13-inch MacBook Pro form factor.
With a 3rd or 4th gen M Series chip in a much smaller enclosure, I think Apple should have a better understanding to deal with thermal by then. As for speaker system, it will be a compromise.
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I JUST said this yesterday lol.
Apple is actively developing new 12-inch and 13-inch MacBook models for sale at a planned price point of around $700 or less, claims a rumor out of Korea.
According to the operator of news aggregator account "yeux1122" on the Naver blog, supply chain sources have "consistently" seen evidence that Apple has low-cost MacBooks in two different sizes in ongoing development.
The account's sources suggest that while Apple has yet to fully commit to mass producing the low-cost Macs, they are now "more likely than ever" to make it to market because of a sharp fall in iPad and MacBook sales.
The latest rumor comes after Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo this week claimed that Apple is considering launching a low-cost MacBook series next year to boost ailing MacBook shipments, with a target of 8-10+ million units per year.
A DigiTimes report last month also said Apple could launch a more affordable MacBook series in late 2024 to differentiate from the company's existing MacBook Air and Pro lines, and to help the company compete with Google's popular Chromebook models.
The number of educational institutions that have adopted Chromebooks over the last few years has seen rapid growth, especially when compared to Apple's iPads, sales of which have declined in the education market.
Apple's attention is said to be increasingly focused on the sector as a possible avenue to boosting flagging MacBook sales, and is considering offering cheaper and more compact student-friendly machines to claw back its market share. Higher-performance Chromebooks can be picked up for around $700, hence the ~$700 figure Apple is targeting, according to the latest rumor.
The Naver blog account has a mixed track record for forecasting Apple's plans, but some of its claims last year proved to be significant. For example, in March 2022 it accurately revealed some details about the third-generation iPhone SE ahead of Apple launching the model. In October of the same year it also accurately predicted that Apple would delay the release of new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models until early 2023.
Article Link: Apple to Sell Low-Cost 12-Inch and 13-inch MacBooks for $700 or Less
There are no supply chain leaks for the price of unreleased products. Nobody outside of Apple’s spaceship knows about the planed pricing and naming of unreleased products.
$799 is still to high. If they want to even attempt to even begin chipping away at chromebooks there are gonna have to do ALOT better than $799
Having managed Chromebooks via Google Workspace, and Apple devices via Jamf Pro in K-12 education, I can safely say that Chromebook management is far easier and can be assigned to a technically inclined teacher if necessary.
Chromebooks and MacBooks originated from two very different design philosophies. One is a glorified browser designed to be permanently connected to the Internet, the other is a self-contained computer with the capacity to run programs locally. Microsoft tried to shoehorn Windows 10 (Windows 10 S) into a low cost device and abandoned it.
Chromebooks and MacBooks originated from two very different design philosophies. One is a glorified browser designed to be permanently connected to the Internet, the other is a self-contained computer with the capacity to run programs locally. Microsoft tried to shoehorn Windows 10 (Windows 10 S) into a low cost device and abandoned it.
Should Porsche and BMW make some cheap cars to compete with the Nissan Sentra, too?
It’s a bad idea.
It’s a bad idea.
It isn't just Chromebooks. Microsoft is gearing up to take another stab at a "ChromeOS killer"
"... The cloud-powered Windows 12 is not intended to replace the traditional Win32 experience on desktops. It would be a new variant tailored for specific markets. Microsoft’s latest attempt is to create a more modern, modular, and lightweight version of Windows for low-end educational devices, setting the sights on the educational sector’s tech landscape. ..."
Microsoft is building a Chrome OS killer version of Windows 12
Windows 12 is the 'true' answer to Chrome OS. Here's everything you need to know about a web-focused variant of Microsoft's next-gen Windows.
www.windowslatest.com
"... he tech giant's rumored earlier venture into creating a lightweight operating system to counter Chrome OS, dubbed Windows 10X, never saw a commercial launch. Now, with a tailored version of Windows 12, Microsoft is reinvigorating its vision, emphasizing a contemporary, modular design for low-powered educational devices. ..."
Microsoft Developing Chrome OS-Like Version of Windows 12: Report
Chrome OS killer is reportedly coming from Microsoft.
This may not make it into release like Windows 10X, but Office-in-the-cloud is more mature now. More folks are used to "Windows instance hosted in the cloud" also ( you just need a 'local terminal' to get to your work 'PC". )
Throw on top MS pushing the Windows SoC vendors to do more local (and private ) AI inference. You have a student machine that can do collaborative learning and could do some limited local stuff.
It likely would not be a ChromeOS 'killer' , but likely could be a decent ChomeOS competitor. And the new "Chome Plus" campaign makes things even less a total 'race to the bottom'. ChromeOS isn't about the 'cheapest possible system" anymore. All ofwhich has indirect effect of being an even larger competition issue for iPadOS (and macOS).
Pretty good chance Apple is looking for a place to sell more "hand me down" , older Mn units than just the iPad Air. Apple sells the iPhone N , n-1 , n-2 to drag out the time they keep selling the same processor over several years. The iPhone SE is similar tactic for the chassis and other major elements besides the A-series processor.
This isn't going to truly solve sagging MacBook sales over time. Likely this is to spread costs over more systems by pragmatically entering a different submarket. This is more so expanding into selling "fast enough" models. Which many folks will buy and then squat on for an extended period of time also. If Apple can't sell into the current MacBook markets at a decent rate they still have a problem. This is more so just be misdirection to cover up the problem.
Apple's fixation that SSD pricing is stuck at $400/TB no matter what the actual SSD market does is an issue. ( And likely will bleed over into any of these '700 and down' systems also . ) Ditto on memory BTO pricing.
If Apple is aiming at the EDU market though ... throwing a 'butterfly' keyboard at that market is 'nuts' . That would be just asking for trouble. Kids are generally harder on computers than folks that actually know what it costs( go to work and make money) to buy them. if they just recycle the old MB 12" somewhat skeptical this ends well for them.
Except they all have economy brands that outsell their high end counterparts. BMW and Porsche alllllll have high selling economy models. Not to mention BMW in Europe isn’t considered a luxury car. Mercedes makes most of its sells off the low to mid tier car sales. While mentioning this the brand you made reference to are some of the least economically viable short life span and highest cost maintenance devices on the car market. Sounds a lot like apple when you think about it. Apple use to be a leader in affordable well engineered long lasting economically friendly computer manufactures for decades.
Catering to only the high end market when you’ve already saturated that market doesn’t bode well to sustainability of that model. So it makes complete sense to enter other markets to keep profits trending forward.
I mean yeah, they’re little kids between 5 and 12. 64GB/8GB is perfectly fine to compete with Chromebooks.
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Well, if we are discussing a low-budget laptop... wouldn't education be the target group? And I only brought up education and Chromebooks, because that's what's in the article.
The market’s not smaller if you include the education market
The EDU market is not primarily looking for the most "Princess and pea", lightweight possible laptop. Durability is going to matter at least as much as weight.
Honestly, kids shouldb’t have webcams, did you not hear those sextortion scandals involving suicide when middle schoolers were blackmailed over pics they took on school provided laptops?
No webcam is good here.