Apple may be thinking up way to offer laptops that are cheaper and more par down than its existing MacBook Air line of products . As report byDigiTimes(viaMacRumors ) , industry sources are meditate Apple could be turn on a low - cost version of its MacBooks that would contend in the crowded Chromebook market place .
There ’s not much detail on what this gadget would look like , other than keep the usual metallic element case . Otherwise , the gimmick would use less pricy materials and ingredient for its internals . As far as a release escort go , DigiTimes suppose that , since there has n’t been much activity at major Apple suppliers like Foxconn , there ’s no good reason to expect we ’ll see an extremist - cheap MacBook betimes in 2024 . That means a previous 2024 discharge windowpane at the early , if ever .
This is the first anybody ’s hinted at a Apple - fashion Chromebook , so the lack of detail is n’t too surprising . The hearsay should be taken with enough salt to taste , but it does make for an interesting thought experiment . Gizmodo reached out to Apple for comment , but we did not forthwith hear back .
Apple’s MacBook Airs have only gotten slimmer and more streamlined, even with beefier chips.Photo: Michelle Ehrhardt / Gizmodo
Apple is n’t one to caricature the competition without adding some trademark brandish . After all , that ’s how we begin the upcoming$3,500 Vision Pro headsetthat the Cupertino company hopes will overturn VR , at least for those who can give it . Meanwhile , we’re still wait on Apple ’s iPhone SE4for a return to cheaper iPhones , but Apple does n’t seem too interested in the ultra - cheap market .
The tech goliath has distanced itself from non - Apple - blade Si , and it ’s intemperate to see the company going back to it , even to establish a new ultra - loud laptop brand . Currently , the cheapest version of the M1 - powered MacBook Air starts at $ 999 . The M2 - powered MacBook Air is already consideredone of the best laptop devices for its Mary Leontyne Price . There ’s a15 - in versionreleased this yearplus M3 - power Airs coming down the pike . To get below $ 1,000 , Apple would need to give quite a bit from its current design .
Chromebooks are a mainstay ofschool - age , simplified laptop computer intention . We ’ve see the style of Chromebooks shifting more toward the lowly - end tier of even laptop computer mightiness withAcer even knight one of its latest designs a “ game Chromebook . ”Then you have non - Chromebooks also feed into the sub $ 1,000 category like theMicrosoft Surface Laptop Go linewhich does n’t run a pared down ChromeOS .
If Apple could somehow make its MacBook even more slim and pared down , any cheap laptop computer that could support speed and useableness of Apple ’s aboriginal fries and OS would have a major leg up compared to the native limitations of the Linux - based ChromeOS which mostly run on the Chrome browser app .
Apple ’s jumping into Chromebooks could also fare at an significant metre for the ultra - cheap laptop market place . Chromebook shipments increased dramatically during the first two years of the pandemic , butgrowth slowed in 2022.The Wall Street Journalreported last month that educators across the state are dealing with the empty hope of Chromebooks . Many school dominion that bought thousands Chromebooks back in 2017 and 2018 are finding their devices are becoming defunct . Googleended supportfor 13 models this year and 51 models next twelvemonth . The U.S. Public Interest Research Groupbegged Googleto protract the lifetime of 2023 ’s 13 Chromebook models , but to no help .
Apple has a relatively solid running book of supporting aged hardware , but it ’s unreadable if these kinds of equipment would meet school ’ need . While there ’s no vouch lifespan for many devices , the usual lifespan for oxygen upgrades is about five to seven years , but the company still supports certificate update on devices that are no longer being actively sell . Apple no longer supports macOS 10.15 Catalina , but any 2013 MacBook Pro or later can still still technically run macOS 11 , at least until Apple ends support for that OS this November .
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