Apple Readies a Low-Cost Laptop to Rival Chromebooks and Windows Pcs

Postedabout 2 months agoActiveabout 2 months ago

mfiguiere

11 points

11 comments

bloomberg.comTechstory

calmmixed

Debate

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AppleLaptopsChromebooksMarket Strategy

Key topics

Apple

Laptops

Chromebooks

Market Strategy

Apple is reportedly developing a low-cost laptop to compete with Chromebooks and Windows PCs, marking a potential shift in their market strategy, with commenters discussing the implications and potential specs of such a device.

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Discussion (11 comments)

Showing 11 comments

wslh

about 2 months ago

2 replies

> Apple held about 9% of the global PC market in the third quarter, according to IDC. It ranks fourth in the industry, trailing Lenovo Group Ltd., HP Inc. and Dell Technologies Inc. — all of which sell Windows or ChromeOS devices.

I think it makes perfect sense, there's still plenty of room to grow here, and they clearly know how to do it. I'm just curious which specs they'll decide to cut or define. Even an M1 with 8 GB of RAM is still very capable today. I only hope they don't launch a new operating system variety for this, just the same macOS. I can't imagine a "macOS Home Edition".

musicale

about 2 months ago

1 reply

> Apple held about 9% of the global PC market

Tablet market is growing while PC market isn't. iPads already outsell Macs on a unit basis.

> I can't imagine a "macOS Home Edition"

https://www.apple.com/os/ipados/

wslh

about 2 months ago

Apple has a lot of room to grow at 9% even if the PC market is steady. I imagine a lot of students with Chromebooks and Windows PCs migrating. Again, the "old" M1 is still a challenge to cheap computers now.

ppeetteerr

about 2 months ago

An article mentioned that it will be an iOS chip

ylee

about 2 months ago

3 replies

If this is true, it will be a significant change in strategy. The company has always played upmarket. Average iPhone prices have risen since the first iPhone 18 years ago, as opposed to falling. Around that time, I heard Apple's CFO say at a Citigroup-hosted investor conference that his company could release a $799 computer "but we don't want to".

musicale

about 2 months ago

1 reply

The original Mac mini was $499 in 2005.

But Apple had already released a $799 laptop - the eMate 300 in 1997.

Ahead of its time - ARM processor, 28-hour battery life, flash storage, wireless modem card. Its curved, translucent case design (with a handle!) was echoed in the iMac (1998) and iBook (1999).

It also appears to have come with a decent keyboard.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMate_300

afandian

about 2 months ago

I have strong nostalgia for the eMate. Yes, it had a nice keyboard (at least comparable with the era); smaller pitch than standard keyboards. And, of course, resitive pen-based touch screen.

It _was_ a PDA with a keyboard though. It had a good office suite, a web browser, printer drivers, and a vibrant developer community. But you probably still expected to dock it with Newton Connection Utilities on a computer to add software and get data off it.

ekropotin

about 2 months ago

Even 799$ is a waaaay too expensive for something to be considered chrome books competitor.

giraffe_lady

about 2 months ago

The mac mini is $599? Shit a base macbook air is $899.

mitchbob

about 2 months ago

https://archive.ph/NgahT

m463

about 2 months ago

an ipad at costco is $299