Apple's 'cheap' MacBook revealed soon: but is it really cheap?

[ Gearbest Technology News]According to media reports, Apple is expected to release a highly anticipated cheap MacBook at its “Global Experience” event on March 4. However, the jury is still out on its most critical issue – price.

Apple has historically focused on the high-end market with higher profits and rarely launched truly “cheap” products in order to maintain its high-end and even luxury brand image. From iPhone 5C to Apple Watch SE, Apple's so-called “people-friendly” products are often located at the junction of the entry-level and mid-range markets, and are not truly low-priced.

According to Gearbest, in order to speculate on the possible price of this new MacBook equipped with the A19 chip, some foreign media compared it with Apple's existing product line. Currently, the 14-inch MacBook Pro equipped with the M5 chip starts at US$1,599, and the 13-inch MacBook Air equipped with the M4 chip starts at US$999. Therefore, the price of the new model must be less than $1,000.

On the other hand, the discontinued M1 MacBook Air provides a price floor. The price of this model dropped from $699 in 2024 all the way down to $499 on Cyber ​​Monday last year. That sets a rough range for “cheap”: somewhere between $499 and $999.

The report further analyzed that the target users of this notebook are those who need mobile light office work, which overlaps with the positioning of iPad Air. The iPad Air starts at $599, and the total price when including the Magic Keyboard reaches $868. Therefore, it is expected that the price of the new MacBook will likely fall between these two figures.

Industry analysts' forecasts are also consistent with this range. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says the MacBook will be “well under $1,000.” More optimistic predictions say that in order to compete with Chromebooks, the starting price may be as low as $599, but this may require Apple to make major compromises in specifications and functions. Based on the transition experience from iPhone SE 3 to iPhone 16e, the report author personally predicts that the A19 Pro MacBook may be priced between US$699 and US$799 (approximately RMB 4,800 to 5,500 yuan), and educational users may enjoy a discount of US$50 or US$100.

Although there are a large number of laptops on the market priced at US$500 or even below US$300, foreign media believe that Apple is unlikely to truly enter the ultra-low-price market. If consumers are looking forward to an “extremely cheap” Apple notebook, they may be disappointed.

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