Apple is said to be considering a lower-cost MacBook to compete with Chromebooks

Technique

by Shannon Thaler

Apple is said to be working on a lower-cost MacBook to compete with Google’s Chromebook — which costs a fraction of the price of an Apple device and has come to dominate the laptop market.

Chromebooks — which retail for about $149, compared to the $1,599 starting price of a MacBook — have been bought in droves by school districts for their students after coronavirus lockdowns forced remote classes.

As of early 2022, Google reports that more than 50 million students and teachers are using Chromebooks, prompting the tech giant to launch a new line of Chromebooks — plus a repair program — designed entirely for education.

Meanwhile, the high cost of MacBooks has prevented most schools from buying them for their students.

However, 10 million schools around the world use Apple iPads, according to nonprofit education analyst GreatSchools.

Apple’s alleged lower-cost MacBook will be made of “different materials” than existing models to lower the cost of the mini-computer and become more attractive to the education sector, according to Digitimes.

Sources told the publication that a cheaper version of Apple’s MacBook could be released as early as the second half of 2024.

Dan Ives, managing director of Wedbush Securities, told The Post that it “was a matter of when, not if, Apple aggressively went after the Chromebook market with its low-cost MacBook.”

“The education market has been difficult to penetrate because it is already owned by Google and Microsoft, but Apple will play the long game over the next three, five, seven years,” Ives added.

“Many consumer households are Apple — they are everywhere else except in the classroom. This is the last frontier for them to go after consumers.”

Apple representatives did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

Apple is also struggling with its best-selling iPhone, as Android competitors continue to make gains in the mature market.

The Cupertino, California-based tech giant also plans to release its Vision Pro mixed-reality headset to consumers in early 2024 — more than six months after it was announced in June — and is said to be spending more on artificial intelligence in a bid to win. sales background.

In the three-month period ended July 1 — Apple’s third quarter — it reported revenue of $81.8 billion, down 1.4% from the second quarter and down 3% year-over-year.

Weaker iPhone sales were offset by strong sales in the services segment containing Apple TV+ and sales in China that grew 8% year-over-year.

Luca Maestri, the tech giant’s chief financial officer, said on a conference call last month that Apple’s performance would be similar in the fourth quarter.

If Maestri is right, a further drop would mean the biggest downtrend Apple has seen in two decades.

In June, Apple became the first company in history to reach a market capitalization of $3 trillion.

However, its survival as the world’s only $3 trillion company was short-lived, as it fell to $2.86 trillion after news that it had experienced a third straight quarter of declining sales.

As of Tuesday morning, shares of Apple were down nearly 1%, to $188.06. Its market capitalization was still strong at $2.94 trillion.