Apple is creating its first low-cost Mac laptop computer, marking a strategic shift towards affordability. The brand new mannequin, code-named J700, is in testing and early manufacturing, with a launch deliberate within the first half of 2026.
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LUCAS JACKSON/Reuters
Apple Inc. is getting ready to enter the low-cost laptop computer marketplace for the primary time, creating a funds Mac aimed toward luring away prospects from Chromebooks and entry-level Home windows PCs.
The brand new system — designed for college students, companies and informal customers — will goal individuals who primarily browse the online, work on paperwork or conduct mild media enhancing, in line with individuals acquainted with the matter. Apple can be concentrating on would-be iPad patrons who would possibly choose a conventional laptop computer expertise as an alternative.
Code-named J700, the machine is presently in energetic testing at Apple and in early manufacturing with abroad suppliers. The Cupertino, California-based firm plans to launch it within the first half of subsequent 12 months, stated the individuals, who requested to not be recognized as a result of the product hasn’t been introduced.
An Apple spokesperson declined to remark.
Strategic shift for Apple
The transfer would characterize a strategic shift for Apple, which has traditionally targeted on premium gadgets with hefty revenue margins. The corporate additionally has vowed to not chase market share with lower-end choices.
However Apple is dealing with a rising menace from Chromebooks, the low-cost laptops that run Google’s working system, Chrome OS. There’s additionally a possible alternative to entice Home windows prospects. Microsoft Corp.’s shift to Home windows 11 has rankled some customers of the previous-generation software program and left them with out safety updates.
Apple plans to promote the brand new machine for effectively beneath $1,000 by utilizing less-advanced elements. The laptop computer will depend on an iPhone processor and a lower-end LCD show. The display may also be the smallest of any present Mac, coming in at barely under the 13.6-inch one used within the MacBook Air.
iPhone chip inside
This may mark the primary time that Apple has used an iPhone processor in a Mac, quite than a chip designed particularly for a pc. However inside assessments have proven that the smartphone chip can carry out higher than the Mac-optimized M1 utilized in laptops as not too long ago as a couple of years in the past.
Apple has lengthy used iPhone chips to energy the iPad however shifted these gadgets to its M-series processors for higher-end fashions a couple of years in the past.
The corporate has beforehand experimented with the market by promoting a reduced M1 MacBook Air for beneath $700 by means of Walmart Inc. and different retailers. However the upcoming mannequin will likely be a wholly new design, quite than a reduced older machine.
New pricing technique
Apple’s least expensive Mac presently is the $999 M4 MacBook Air — a value that may drop to $899 with academic reductions. Chromebooks, in the meantime, promote for as little as a couple of hundred {dollars}, with premium variations reaching about $600.
In colleges, Apple’s entry-level iPad paired with the Magic Keyboard Folio is a well-liked setup, costing roughly $600 mixed. The brand new Mac would fall in an analogous vary however supply higher battery life, the larger flexibility that comes with the macOS software program and an built-in keyboard. That might attraction to college students and shoppers alike.
Apple held about 9% of the worldwide PC market within the third quarter, in line with IDC. It ranks fourth within the business, trailing Lenovo Group Ltd., HP Inc. and Dell Applied sciences Inc. — all of which promote Home windows or ChromeOS gadgets.
A less expensive Mac that maintains Apple’s design and works easily with the corporate’s different merchandise might spur a brand new wave of Mac adoption — significantly within the US, the place the iPhone dominates.
Already, the Mac section was the fastest-growing {hardware} class for Apple final quarter, rising 13% to $8.73 billion. That progress is predicted to decelerate this quarter, however primarily as a result of Apple will solely have one new mannequin within the interval: the entry-level MacBook Professional with an M5 chip.
Future product roadmap
The corporate is planning a flurry of updates in 2026. Past the brand new low-end laptop computer, Apple has completed work on an M5 MacBook Air due early within the 12 months, in addition to M5 Professional and M5 Max-powered MacBook Professionals.
Additionally on the highway map: new M5 and M5 Professional Mac mini fashions and M5 Max and M5 Extremely Mac Studio updates. And there’s a revamped MacBook Professional with an M6 chip and an iPhone-style OLED contact display deliberate for late 2026 or early 2027. Apple will debut two new exterior Mac shows as effectively.
Extra tales like this can be found on bloomberg.com
Revealed on November 4, 2025
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