Apple is preparing to enter the low-cost laptop market for the first time since discontinuing its iBook line in 2006, developing a budget Mac aimed at luring customers away from Chromebooks and entry-level Windows PCs for under $1,000.
The new device, designed for students, businesses and casual users, will target people who primarily browse the web, work on documents or conduct light media editing, reports Bloomberg. Code-named J700, the machine is currently in active testing at Apple and in early production with overseas suppliers. The Cupertino, California-based company plans to launch it in the first half of next year.
The move represents a strategic shift for Apple, which has historically focused on premium devices with hefty profit margins. The company has also vowed not to chase market share with lower-end offerings.
Apple plans to use less-advanced components to achieve the lower price point. The laptop will rely on an iPhone processor and a lower-end LCD display. The screen will be the smallest of any current Mac, measuring slightly below the 13.6-inch one used in the MacBook Air.
This would mark the first time that Apple has used an iPhone processor in a Mac, rather than a chip designed specifically for a computer. However, internal tests have shown that the smartphone chip can perform better than the Mac-optimised M1 used in laptops as recently as a few years ago.
Growing threat of Chromebooks
Apple is facing a growing threat from Chromebooks, which run Google’s operating system Chrome OS and sell for as little as a few hundred dollars. Microsoft’s shift to Windows 11 has also irked some users of the previous-generation software, leaving them without security updates.
Apple’s cheapest Mac is currently the £999 MacBook Air in the UK and the $999 M4 MacBook Air in the US, prices that can drop to $899 with educational discounts. The new budget Mac would echo Apple’s iBook strategy, which targeted entry-level, consumer and education markets from 1999 to 2006. The original iBook launched at $1,599 and was the first mass consumer product to offer Wi-Fi network connectivity, branded by Apple as AirPort.
iBooks proved particularly popular in education, with school systems across the United States distributing them to students. Apple replaced the iBook line with the MacBook in May 2006, during the transition to Intel processors for the Mac.
Apple held about 9 per cent of the global PC market in the third quarter, according to IDC, ranking fourth behind Lenovo Group, HP and Dell. A budget Mac that adheres to Apple’s design standards and integrates seamlessly with the company’s other products could spark a new wave of Mac adoption, particularly in the US, where the iPhone is dominant.
The Mac segment was the fastest-growing hardware category for Apple last quarter, rising 13 per cent to $8.73 billion.
