Apple is preparing to enter the low-cost laptop market for the first time with a budget macOS device to compete with entry-level Windows devices and Chromebooks, Bloomberg reported.
The device, code-named J700, is designed to sell for well under $1,000 (£768) and could also appeal to people who might otherwise buy an entry-level iPad with a Magic Keyboard Folio, a combination that costs roughly $600, the report said.
Compared to the iPad offering, the upcoming laptop is in a similar price range but offers better battery life, the ability to run a broader range of software with macOS, and an integrated keyboard, which could appeal both to students and consumers.
Affordable device
Apple’s cheapest laptop is currently the $999 M4 MacBook Air, which sells for $999 and drops to $899 with educational discounts, compared to Chromebooks that sell for a few hundred dollars, with premium versions reaching to around $600.
The device is currently in active testing at Apple and in early production with overseas manufacturers, with plans to launch it commercially in the first half of next year, the report said, citing unnamed sources.
Apple is cutting manufacturing costs by using less-advanced components, including an iPhone processor and a lower-end LCD display, which will be slightly smaller than the 13.6-inch screen on the MacBook Air, according to the report.
Apple has not previously used an iPhone processor in a Mac, but internal tests reportedly showed that the chip can perform better than the M1 desktop chip released a few years ago.
Apple has previously focused on premium devices with high profit margins, but is facing a competitive threat from popular Chromebooks, while Apple also has a potential opportunity to take advantage of customer anger over Microsoft’s shift to Windows 11, which has left Windows 10 users without security updates.
Market opportunity
The company previously experimented with offering older MacBook M1 Air devices for $700 through Walmart, but the upcoming device will be a new design.
Macs were the fastest-growing hardware category for Apple in the third quarter of this year, rising 13 percent to $8.73bn.
