Apple working on affordable MacBook lineup to compete with Chromebooks: Report

Chromebooks have developed to have a significant impact on the educational field. They have gained a lot of traction in schools due to their low cost. According to a new report, Apple may introduce a new affordable MacBook lineup to compete with Chromebooks.

According to a report by Android Authority, Apple might be working on a cheaper MacBook series that would compete against Chromebooks. The new laptop will likely be launched as a separate lineup from the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro. The news was first reported by Digitimes, citing industry sources.

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The new laptop lineup might continue to use a metal casing but made of other materials, which would allow the tech giant to cut the price. Also, it is anticipated that other elements will be budget-focused too.

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The earliest the laptop might be released is in the second half of 2024 because Apple has a nine-month development cycle for moving from development to mass production.

It makes sense that Apple appears to have rekindled its interest in the education sector. Following the pandemic, the US K-12 education market is lucrative because of the surge in demand for online learning. Because of its cheaper price and simplicity of use in the envisioned educational use cases, Chromebooks have subsequently overtaken Apple's iPad, which originally served as this market's primary competitor.

It will be interesting to see how Apple develops this less expensive MacBook and whether it plans to market it outside of the US. To begin with, the new laptop would need to be much less expensive than the lowest 13-inch M1 MacBook Air, which is currently listed at $999.

According to the report, customers can get top-end Chromebooks within the $700-$1,200 price range, while education-focused Chromebooks typically cost between $150 to $300. So, Apple will have to seriously figure out how to cut down the cost to beat Chromebooks in the education sector.