Kuo: Apple Considering Low-Cost MacBook Launch in 2024

[canon-cinema-0r]

I think the issue people have is that MacBook Airs aren't in the same sizes as MacBook Pros. Just make the Air 14 and 16 inch like the Pro, but ofc keep it passive-cooled, worse display and weaker chip.

Then they could just make this MacBook SE (or whatever it's gonna be called) 12 inch with the same PPI as MBA, maybe a downclocked M3, and limit it to a maximum of 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of SSD (base model should come with 8/256 or unlikely even 6/128 to further differentiate it from MBA). And *bam* you have a "cheap" MacBook that is perfect for university or someone travelling a lot, that doesn't have a need for a lot of computing power.

Apple already failed with the 15" Air because they try to ride the horse backwards. It looks like the last time they've looked at the PC market was when netbooks were still around. The small notebooks are the premium ones, not the big ones (when talking about similar internals). If they want to do a cheap one, it must be in the 14-15 range, like how everyone else does. That's why the big Air sells badly, there are very rare edge cases when someone will buy a bigger machine for more with the same specs.

Air should be the small and light premium brand for macbooks (preferably 12 and 14), Pro should be the performance premium brand (14 and 16), then the plain macbooks at 14. And make it "plain" by using cheaper materials and worse displays, not by trying to make them DoA with ridiculous specs. Having three 14" models could save a lot on logistics, and the premium lightness of the 12" Air and the premium performance of the 16" could justify the higher pricing to cover the costs. Not to mention that calling a line Air but being the only notebook manufacturer that doesn't have an offering at/under 1 kg is a bloody disgrace for Apple.

 

[canon-cinema-0r]

Yeah I don't think it's bad.

Try buying a product from another company.

Dell has 10 different categories for laptops... some with dozens of models. Yikes!

Apple would have dozens of models too if they'd keep more configurations and wouldn't have to wait sometimes weeks for the desired specs... yikes!

 

[bluecoast]

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

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

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

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

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

Fair comments.

I’m just trying to imagine a computer for schools that are competing against Chromebooks on price and where the cpu, memory and SSD requirements will be very low.

In fairness, the answer to the above is likely :

‘Get the 9th gen iPad with a 3rd party keyboard & trackpad & mouse’.

So it makes me wonder what the business case is for a low end MacBook for schools that the iPad cannot already do.