Cheaper Macs for increasing the market share?

[romanof]

Cheaper Macs (and iOS stuff) are coming. Eventually the Steve Jobs dynasty will run out and a bean counter will take over as CEO. His first question in the first meeting will be, "WTH is it with all this expensive aluminum? And fancy packaging that is just thrown away? Get hold of a plastics injection company and find a supply of plain cardboard, and fast! I have a meeting of stockholders coming up that I need to impress. Get with it people!"

Happens to every successful company. Economics 101.

 

[tmoerel]

Cheaper Macs (and iOS stuff) are coming. Eventually the Steve Jobs dynasty will run out and a bean counter will take over as CEO. His first question in the first meeting will be, "WTH is it with all this expensive aluminum? And fancy packaging that is just thrown away? Get hold of a plastics injection company and find a supply of plain cardboard, and fast! I have a meeting of stockholders coming up that I need to impress. Get with it people!"

Happens to every successful company. Economics 101.

That would be the end of Apple!

 

[darngooddesign]

Cheaper Macs (and iOS stuff) are coming. Eventually the Steve Jobs dynasty will run out and a bean counter will take over as CEO. His first question in the first meeting will be, "WTH is it with all this expensive aluminum? And fancy packaging that is just thrown away? Get hold of a plastics injection company and find a supply of plain cardboard, and fast! I have a meeting of stockholders coming up that I need to impress. Get with it people!"

Happens to every successful company. Economics 101.

According to everyone using the pejorative "Timmy", Tim Cook is the ultimate bean counter who only cares about shareholder profit and he will lead to the ruin of Apple, yet here we are with aluminum computers.

 

[Xiao_Xi]

Cheaper Macs (and iOS stuff) are coming.

Apple is an aspirational brand, cheaper products will kill its charm.

 

[sunny5]

This is only true of the bigger market share is in the same segment. Once you start offering a lower tier this might not be true anymore.

That's why I suggested to use M1 based chips on M2 or M3 Macs. You clearly didnt read my post at all.

Sorry no! Apple does not force you to buy anything. You are free to choose.

If you choose something that is above what you need, you have not been forced but chose wrong.
If you choose something below what you need, you have not been forced but chose wrong.
In both cases you are an idiot of your own making!!

LOL, they do. Look at iPad Air's storage. They are forcing you to buy 256GB or stick with 64GB. Why not make 128GB? For RAM, 8GB will cause memory swap issue so you have no choice but to get 16GB. Some chips aren't even full chip which you are also forced to get a higher tier.

Simple:
1. Less profit
2. More clueless customers
3. More support cost

And you have no proofs to support your claim. Do you even aware that Apple get a lot of profits from iPad which is $329. I was in their education service and I know this while I was working in school.

 

[Krypton Deer]

Last thing Apple wants is pushing existing customers to lower price brackets, so they will make sure the SE version looks dated and lacks obvious features like the iPhone SE, iPad and Mac mini. But I can see it happen as the Apple ecosystem and services flourishes.

Present MacBook Air design can be maintained for years priced at $699 like Mac mini. Anything lower should be iPad territory. I'm interested to see future iMac lineup co-existing with Mac Studio but I don't see iMac SE anytime soon.

 

[JPack]

My experience is the opposite. Nobody commits to a single ecosystem except tech enthusiasts. People buy their first Macs because their friends and family recommend it, or because they already use one at work. Not because they already have a pile of other Apple devices.

It's common to have an Android phone and a Mac laptop, because the iPhone range is still quite narrow and the combination of price and features people are looking for often does not exist. For example, parents may buy cheap android phones for their kids, because it's likely that the kids will break their phones. Then they will use Android phones themselves, because they must be familiar with Android.

Think about your claim. It doesn't make sense.

If it were "common" to have an Android phone an a Mac, then the Mac market share wouldn't be low to begin with. Android has over 70% of the global market share.

 

[Falhófnir]

Let's say it works out like this:

* 13/15" iBook/MacBook colorful lineup this autumn with M2
* 13" MacBook Air becomes "MacBook" for $749 or $799.

There is room for a cheaper model: by continuing to manufacture and sell a previous design at a lower price point.

13/15" MacBook - $1,299 and $1,499 respectively.
M2 MacBook Air (same design) - $999.

That leaves maybe the option of an M1 MBA for $899, but that really cannibalises the M2. To get to $799 I guess they could slash base storage back to 128GB, as that was a -$100 modifier from 256GB. That's not a particularly appealing main computer though, and price sensitive people aren't likely to be looking at secondary machines and will want better bang for the buck on price:specs.

The average selling price of a laptop is $730 (in 2020). This is why I suggested a $750 entry price point for a Macbook SE.

Now when customers go into Best Buy, they will look at a $730 Windows laptop and have a choice of buying a $750 Macbook SE instead. This is going to make a massive impact, especially for those who already own an iPhone. Remember that there are more iPhone + Windows users than iPhone + Mac.

Now of course inflation has run wild since I first suggested $750 in 2020. So Let's make it $799.

I think $799 (in 2022 or 2023) is about right for a Macbook SE. This is $100 cheaper than an iPad Pro 11, which probably costs Apple more money to produce. The iPad Pro 11 has a better screen, better and more cameras, higher refresh rate, more sensors, thinner packing, same amount of RAM and storage.

See above, compromises to get to $799 probably leave it an unattractive proposition. Otherwise Apple's cannibalising whatever becomes their $999 offering (and that scenario even assumes there is an M2 MBA, and they don't just leave the M1 on sale at $999 which is what they did with the 2017 when the retina model debuted at $1,199).

 

[JouniS]

Think about your claim. It doesn't make sense.

If it were "common" to have an Android phone an a Mac, then the Mac market share wouldn't be low to begin with. Android has over 70% of the global market share.

While Mac usage is not common among Android users, Android usage is common among Mac users.

 

[darngooddesign]

Present MacBook Air design can be maintained for years priced at $699 like Mac mini.

The MBA comes with some obvious things that the Mini does not.

 

[sunny5]

I think this Keyboard Mac will help increasing the market share by starting at lower price. M1 or A16 should be enough. I dont think it will be more expensive than M1 Mac mini. The question is are they really developing this kind of Mac?

People In China Are Using MacBook Pro Without Screen And Now I Want One - iOS Hacker

Recently we read about an Apple Patent that talks about Apple's plans of fitting a whole Mac computer in a Magic Keyboard. This device will essentially be

ioshacker.com

And it seems China might be a good target.

 

[dieselm]

It's easiest to think of Apple conceptualizing fixed customer price points and margin first, rather than fixed products with a lower manufacturing cost over time.

Take the $329 iPad or the $999 Macbook air, or $399 iPhone SE. They don't sell last years model cheaper. They keep a price point and put in more value. They don't suddenly open a new price tier at $299 or $229 to sell the last iPhone SE or iPad.

With iPhones, they keep the $699/$999 price points and refresh them with new models. Last year's iPhone does usually get $100 cheaper, but think of it as the $599 price point refreshed with last year's phone.

The business goal is to increase or maintain pricing and brand, not erode it. Subtle.

In this inflation environment, they could just as easily try to shift the value tier up to $1099 for an "all new Macbook", leaving the current MBA at $999.

 

[macsound1]

Education customers can buy a Macbook Air for $899 or a Mac Mini for $649 that run entry-level workloads every bit as well as the Mac Studios and Macbook Pros costing thousands more. You only get graphics, ports, screens, and multi-core performance at the higher price points. $200 more gets you 16gb if memory is an issue.

It's really difficult to buy a Windows laptop at that has anywhere near the performance with a screen like that in a small, completely silent package. I wouldn't discount AppleCare service at the mall and working seamlessly with the phone in their pocket either. To the extent that customers adjust their minimum expectations up (and that includes color, which will come in the new Macbook Air), neither market share or margins is going to be an issue.

also, margins are a blend. The memory/storage/warranty upgrades are north of 80%-90% margin and many customers take them. The base offerings from Apple are a screaming value now that they have the performance. And they work for a lot of people.

When people mention "low end" and SE Apple products, it doesn't translate to the Mac.

Entry level truly means what it says - the model you enter the product line.
Sometimes that's the cheapest product, but not always.

The iPad is entry level because it shares a charging cable with the iPhone. 0 barrier to entry as an existing iPhone customer.

The White MacBook used to be the entry level mac because of the material and its durability. Ok for news reporters and students, lighter than a 15" macbook pro (remember there wasn't a 13" MBP until 2009), and in the age of the iPod - it was visually an entry into Apple if all you owned was a white iPod.
This was also the philosophy with the 5C. They thought customers would see it as more durable because of the plastic...

I agree - there isn't an entry level mac laptop right now.

My prediction: iMac colored 12" MacBooks. They're easy to swallow visually, they might be 999, and might even include an SD card slot. So useful, fun looking, small, and light. Maybe they'll advertise break resistant glass or have differently designed feet than the current MBPs.
I'd expect them to sport an M1 and release right around the time the M2 Pro is coming out in a 15" MacBook Air.

 

[jjcs]

That would be the end of Apple!

It's already happened to Apple once. They got better.

 

[senttoschool]

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I think this Keyboard Mac will help increasing the market share by starting at lower price. M1 or A16 should be enough. I dont think it will be more expensive than M1 Mac mini. The question is are they really developing this kind of Mac?

People In China Are Using MacBook Pro Without Screen And Now I Want One - iOS Hacker

Recently we read about an Apple Patent that talks about Apple's plans of fitting a whole Mac computer in a Magic Keyboard. This device will essentially be

ioshacker.com

And it seems China might be a good target.

I really like this idea.

I think this will replace the Mac Mini. The Mac Mini is redundant given this.

It makes carrying around a "desktop" computer far easier than the Mac Mini. No need to carry a keyboard to use with a Mac Mini. It's a keyboard!

But again, this isn't the Mac that will make Macs popular. It must be a laptop.

 

[jjcs]

I really like this idea.

I think this will replace the Mac Mini. The Mac Mini is redundant given this.

It makes carrying around a "desktop" computer far easier than the Mac Mini. No need to carry a keyboard to use with a Mac Mini. It's a keyboard!

So, they basically patented the Commodore 64 and a few other systems from decades past. Inventive Apple and all....

 

[senttoschool]

So, they basically patented the Commodore 64 and a few other concepts from decades past. Inventive Apple and all....

No one has ever been able to make a powerful computer in the size of a keyboard and fanless. Apple Silicon is the first.

 

[jjcs]

No one has ever been able to make a powerful computer in the size of a keyboard and fanless. Apple Silicon is the first.

Define "powerful", as it's relative to timeframe, and note that the C64 didn't have a fan. At least I don't remember mine having one.

 

[senttoschool]

Define "powerful", as it's relative to timeframe, and note that the C64 didn't have a fan.

I define it as uncompromising single-thread performance, good multi-thread performance, 1080p gaming performance, and able to do anything that a normal computer could do.

M1 Air when it was came out had higher single thread speed than anything Intel and AMD offered. And it was fanless. That's "powerful" in a fanless frame.

 

[jjcs]

I define it as uncompromising single-thread performance, good multi-thread performance, 1080p gaming performance, and able to do anything that a normal computer could do.

Compare to "what" and "when"? The context is a "computer in a keyboard" and no, that isn't even remotely an idea Apple invented.

M1 Air when it was came out had higher single thread speed than anything Intel and AMD offered. And it was fanless. That's "powerful" in a fanless frame.

In 2021. Your frame of reference for "powerful" is very narrow and very, very, recent.

 

[DisraeliGears]

Honestly, isn't the M1 Mac mini capable of fulfilling this role? Right now I can get the base spec Mini refurbed from Apple for $589. Looking at Best Buy, that's the same price as an HP box with a Ryzen 5, a touch more RAM and SSD but larger and more power hungry. I'll bet dollars to donuts the M1 would run circles around that machine.

If Apple really wanted to, when they start pushing out the M2, they should try and push these older M1 models into schools/gov purposes. That's how you could increase market share, and I feel like the value on these M1 machines can't be beat. I remember the old iMacs were a staple of class computer labs back in the early 2000s, and that could easily happen again. It just takes a desire on the part of Apple to make it happen (which, who knows).

 

[tmoerel]

I define it as uncompromising single-thread performance, good multi-thread performance, 1080p gaming performance, and able to do anything that a normal computer could do.

M1 Air when it was came out had higher single thread speed than anything Intel and AMD offered. And it was fanless. That's "powerful" in a fanless frame.

Gaming is irrelevant!

 

[turbineseaplane]

Gaming is irrelevant!

From your lips to Apples ears!

 

[senttoschool]

Compare to "what" and "when"? The context is a "computer in a keyboard" and no, that isn't even remotely an idea Apple invented.


In 2021. Your frame of reference for "powerful" is very narrow and very, very, recent.

Why are you so defensive?

We've never had a fanless computer that takes a semi-highend PC laptop to match. The M1 Air showed what a fanless computer could do. It was a game-changer and opens us up to a keyboard computer.

The best recent keyboard computer was this: https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/raspberry-pi-keyboard-and-hub/

 

[thenewperson]

Why are you so defensive?

We've never had a fanless computer that takes a semi-highend PC laptop to match. The M1 Air showed what a fanless computer could do. It was a game-changer and opens us up to a keyboard computer.

The best recent keyboard computer was this: https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/raspberry-pi-keyboard-and-hub/

Because they’re an annoying troll.