It’s not believable that going from a base M4 SoC to the A18, and reducing the screen size by 6-8% is going to reduce the overall BOM by 40%.
So either the “as low as” is not going to be met and the market will respond with a giant yawn (or anger), or they’re going to be doing a lot more to get that cost down.
It might be interesting, but this is a really risky move. If you’ve got kids with Chromebooks you’ve surely noticed that the apps and webpages they’re forced to use are all designed with the assumption that the users have stronger processors and more vertical screen real estate than they actually have (it’s the classic “my time is too valuable to slow down and think” developer mindset). So Apple could end up making a great little machine that absolutely sucks to use.
fithisux · 3h ago
I'd rather have a Risc-V laptop or a Raspberry Pi 5
bell-cot · 5h ago
With Windows 10 support ending on Oct. 14th*, it'd be very interesting if this MacBook was officially announced in September. No need for Apple to suggest switching from Windows to MacOS - there'd be plenty of reporters and pundits and fans talking that up.
*Yes, there are various work-arounds. Every one with some cost, downsides, and/or FUD.
So either the “as low as” is not going to be met and the market will respond with a giant yawn (or anger), or they’re going to be doing a lot more to get that cost down.
It might be interesting, but this is a really risky move. If you’ve got kids with Chromebooks you’ve surely noticed that the apps and webpages they’re forced to use are all designed with the assumption that the users have stronger processors and more vertical screen real estate than they actually have (it’s the classic “my time is too valuable to slow down and think” developer mindset). So Apple could end up making a great little machine that absolutely sucks to use.
*Yes, there are various work-arounds. Every one with some cost, downsides, and/or FUD.