Apple is developing a lower-cost MacBook series to compete with Chromebook models in the education sector that could be launched as early as the second half of 2024, according to a new report from Taiwan.

according to Digi TimesIndustry sources, Apple is likely to launch the new product line to differentiate it from the company’s existing MacBook Air and Pro lines. The report claims the exterior will still use a metal casing but will be made of “different materials” and the mechanical components will cost less.

The launch timeframe for the alleged new MacBook series appears to depend on a lack of relevant activity at major Apple suppliers such as Quanta Computer and Foxconn, which makes a launch in the first half of next year unlikely.

More than 13.9 million Chromebooks shipped in 2019, rising to more than 30.4 million in 2020 and 33.5 million in 2021, according to Digi Times Research highlighting the popularity of low-cost Google laptops in the education sector, especially during and around the global pandemic.

Chromebook shipments are said to have slowed since the end of the lockdowns, but shipments are still larger than they were before the coronavirus. The number of educational institutions that have adopted Chromebooks over the past few years is also said to have grown rapidly, especially when compared to Apple’s iPads, whose sales have lagged behind the education market.

This is the first rumor we’ve heard that Apple is actively developing a new MacBook series that the company will price lower than its more premium MacBook offerings, so expectations should remain cautious until we receive confirmation from other sources.

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