Kuo: Apple Considering Low-Cost MacBook Launch in 2024

[Macalicious2011]

The best low cost MacBook is used 1-2 year old MBP with 512GB storage and 16GB RAM.

Whatever Apple release as a “cheap” Macbook will likely have major drawbacks E.g down locked CPU, slow SSD, single USB port And mono speakers.

Think first gen MacBook Air:

 

[Falhófnir]

MacBook SE - Looks like the 13" MacBook Pro minus the Touch Bar with a semi-recent M2 or M3 chip. That's my theory.

Talking about this before, consensus seemed to be a 128GB version of the M1 MacBook Air for $799, maybe rebranded as the 13" MacBook... M2 chip if they want to discontinue production of the M1!

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

Never understood why the new Air is randomly 15 inch and not 14 inch like the Pro or at least have the Pro be the 15 inch one

It's almost like Apple does things purposefully annoyingly sometimes. They make too many products and should fix the ones they make, including sizes.

 

[traderdude123]

This is a bad idea.

 

[Blackstick]

Our district pays a negotiated price of $164 per Chromebook. They’re plasticky pieces of garbage with low resolution screens, but you really don’t need much to write a 5 paragraph essay about George Washington.

Google’s MDM is like, $4/month per device/student. There isn’t an Apple MDM solution on the market that beats that pricing.

We’re also in one of the richest districts in the state, other districts have even less cash to throw around.

Apple can’t compete in education on price, and that’s the only thing that matters to school districts.

 

[daabido]

I want a low cost MacBook that has enough memory and storage (for swap space) for the Adobe suite. The processor in even the M1 is enough, but the memory and storage is a serious limitation and upping those makes the MacBook not cheap.

12GB becomes the new 8GB. And I'm surprised Apple's stingy storage offerings would cost no more than about $5 for them to upgrade. That won't happen though.

 

[F-B-Z]

I do not care if it is cheap. But I would be thrilled to have an ultra-portable device with macOS (as in, not iPadOS).

 

[Blackstick]

Never understood why the new Air is randomly 15 inch and not 14 inch like the Pro or at least have the Pro be the 15 inch one

14 inch notebook screens fit better on economy class tray tables than 15” screens (which ostensibly are used by more price sensitive consumers at home/school more often).

Just one of the aspects Apple considers. Our entire staff of 400 sales people use 14” Pros. Every pound matters when you fly 80,000/year.

 

[azentropy]

MacBook SE - Looks like the 13" MacBook Pro minus the Touch Bar with a semi-recent M2 or M3 chip. That's my theory.

I've been saying for a long time it makes more sense to use the former MacBook Air form factor. Just upgrade ever other year or so with a more current CPU and rebrand it the MacBook SE. So that is mine.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

This is the one that everyone wants the most. For years now everyone's been saying they need to make a Macbook SE, since the only low cost Mac they got is the Mac Mini desktop. The moment a Macbook SE arrives, it will dominate the laptop market.

 

[utsava]

I think it's a big sales miss if they don't update the MacBook Airs to M3 at this event. THAT is their money maker - not iMacs and MBPs.

 

[corinthos]

Apple. Think ReHash.

 

[canon-cinema-0r]

I was thinking the same thing. The A17 includes USB 3 I/O support and supports 8GB of RAM. It would be more than fast enough for an entry level notebook doing lightweight stuff. Apple could call it the M3 Lite or M3 SE.

Lowering the cost should start with the display. Putting in a 2560x1600 panel (M1 Air) in a machine which most people use in 1440x900 or 1680x1050 is a luxury. Looks better? Of course. But for a lot of use cases it's mostly meaningless. It's like Apple thinks only graphic designers buy their products.

Having two performance cores could work, but not with limiting the soc to 8GB RAM. And this step would make ipads more powerful than this macbook. External display support is also questionable. Just stick to the regular M3. It's only a ~25% transistor count difference after all, which translates to a couple dollars, a dozen at max.

 

[contacos]

14 inch notebook screens fit better on economy class tray tables than 15” screens (which ostensibly are used by more price sensitive consumers at home/school more often).

Just one of the aspects Apple considers. Our entire staff of 400 sales people use 14” Pros. Every pound matters when you fly 80,000/year.

Here I always thought the Air was supposed to be the „light“ device for people, which need portability

 

[canon-cinema-0r]

• Using the M1 processor & no fan. Though the 2020 m1 might be a stretch for a new product in 2024. Maybe we’ll even see the A16 used.

Phone chip is absolutely no-no. Going back generations is not a good idea either. But going back one might fly.

• 8BG & 128 GB storage. Again, this is fine for a basic computer imho. Both from the m1 air.

Hell no. It would be rightfully ridiculed if it comes out below 256GB storage. 8GB start is fine, but with upgrade options.

• USB-c only.

I support omitting the useless magsafe, but an hdmi is kinda must have if you target people who have to use a projector.

• The m1 air’s screen.

You've kept the only component that's definitely an overkill for a lot of use cases, and offers the most cost savings.

• The 1080p camera from the m2. Even apple can’t get away with bringing out a 720p camera in 2024.

I don't care much about this, but it's just a personal preference.

 

[ignatius345]

Apple could really use a well-priced basic laptop to entice younger cash-strapped consumers into the ecosystem. The basic MacBook buyers of 2023 will be the MacBook Pro buyers of 2033.

And the buyers of iCloud services immediately. The "services" slice of the pie is much bigger than the whole Mac hardware slice at this point.

 

[DanneP]

A15
6 GB RAM (upgradeable to 12 GB)
128 GB SSD (upgradeable to 256 GB)
30-40 Wh battery
Some 13" aluminium chassis with retina display

It would be cheap to produce and nice to use as a web surfing/light work machine!

 

[ignatius345]

They flip flop on this all the time.. the MacBook Air 11 inch was perfect size, then the MacBook Retina was launched but they didn’t commit to it (and they positioned it as a premium device just because it was thin!)

Now they want to release again!

I suppose 3 years later they will drop it

Have you noticed that they flip flop on labeling the front bezel with MacBook/MacBook Pro too! It looks bad man

As much as a lot of people loved the form factor of the Retina MacBook, the underlying Intel architeture just couldn't deliver. I'm not surprised they ditched it, because there was no way to improve its specs year over year without compromising the form factor. But (as many have pointed out) they could very easily pull off with Apple Silicon an ultraportable MacBook with decent performance and good battery life. And I bet they could even put a real keyboard in it this time.

 

[Fuzzball84]

As much as a lot of people loved the form factor of the Retina MacBook, the underlying Intel architeture just couldn't deliver. I'm not surprised they ditched it, because there was no way to improve its specs year over year without compromising the form factor. But (as many have pointed out) they could very easily pull off with Apple Silicon an ultraportable MacBook with decent performance and good battery life. And I bet they could even put a real keyboard in it this time.

I had my Retina MacBook for 5 years and never had an issue with performance.. its battery life was pretty good, had an amazing screen, never got warm... was perfect for light productivity, web browsing and email. Terrible keyboard tho.

 

[TheNewLou]

If an iPhone SE has the form factor of the smallest last-generation device, but with updated CPU,

And an Apple Watch SE has the form factor of the last-generation device, but with updated CPU,

Then a MacBook SE would be the current M1 13" MacBook Air with an updated CPU (M3).

$749?

 

[utsava]

As much as a lot of people loved the form factor of the Retina MacBook, the underlying Intel architeture just couldn't deliver. I'm not surprised they ditched it, because there was no way to improve its specs year over year without compromising the form factor. But (as many have pointed out) they could very easily pull off with Apple Silicon an ultraportable MacBook with decent performance and good battery life. And I bet they could even put a real keyboard in it this time.

I thought that would be the first Apple silicon laptop they released, but alas, here we are 3+ years in to the Apple silicon era and still nothing. The 12" MacBook from almost 10 years ago still makes Apple's current laptop form factors look dated. It was a decade ahead of its time. Add 2mm thickness to it for a reliable keyboard, plop a last gen M-series processor in it, and sell it for $799.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Apple could really use a well-priced basic laptop to entice younger cash-strapped consumers into the ecosystem. The basic MacBook buyers of 2023 will be the MacBook Pro buyers of 2033.

Although I would give my left kidney for a resuscitated 12 inch MacBook, I don't think that would quite fit the bill. Really the M1 Air already does the job perfectly - it just needs to be cheaper.

If the M1 Air is too expensive to make, Apple could definitely cut some corners and still have an excellent machine. If they could get something out of the door for $799 with an 'M3 Lite' (with circa M1 performance), a plastic case, smaller battery, lower quality screen, smaller trackpad and webcam in the bezel instead of a notch, I think it would still provide much the same experience for many tasks.

Apple has an image, and "budget" isn't it. It would destroy their brand value just as if Tesla came out with a $20,000 electric car that the average person could afford.

 

[TheNewLou]

Our district pays a negotiated price of $164 per Chromebook. They’re plasticky pieces of garbage with low resolution screens, but you really don’t need much to write a 5 paragraph essay about George Washington.

Google’s MDM is like, $4/month per device/student. There isn’t an Apple MDM solution on the market that beats that pricing.

We’re also in one of the richest districts in the state, other districts have even less cash to throw around.

Apple can’t compete in education on price, and that’s the only thing that matters to school districts.

Weird that any school district wouldn't consider TCO, much less one of the richest ones in the state. What's the takeaway lesson for kids?

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Our district pays a negotiated price of $164 per Chromebook. They’re plasticky pieces of garbage with low resolution screens, but you really don’t need much to write a 5 paragraph essay about George Washington.

Google’s MDM is like, $4/month per device/student. There isn’t an Apple MDM solution on the market that beats that pricing.

We’re also in one of the richest districts in the state, other districts have even less cash to throw around.

Apple can’t compete in education on price, and that’s the only thing that matters to school districts.

Check out Mosyle. $1/mo per user for basic MDM capabilities, $3/mo for full package of features. Works with Apple Business Manager and integrates with various directory services. That's for business. For education, prices are $0 - $9 PER YEAR per device.

 

[Blackstick]

Weird that any school district wouldn't consider TCO, much less one of the richest ones in the state. What's the takeaway lesson for kids?

The Chromebook issued in 9th is expected to last until 12th. How does Apple beat $164 at $41/school year on a TCO perspective?

I'm a Jamf admin in the enterprise, I definitely understand the TCO argument when you're comparing a $899 (negotiated) MacBook Air vs a $720 Dell Latitude... but how does Apple beat the stupidly low price of Chromebooks and not compromise on everything they hold dear?