"Apple is developing a low-cost MacBook series to compete with Chromebook models in the education sector that could be launched as early as the second half of 2024, claims a new report out of Taiwan."
Bear in mind this is DigiTimes we're talking about, so this could easily be nothing but wishful journalistic thinking, but still.
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/09/05/apple-low-cost-macbook-rival-chromebook/
@porsupah yeah, and their "budget" options have seen mixes success, the 5C was a disaster but I think the SE is doing a bit better? at some point they need to sort out the "the iPad is the budget macbook" issue too
@noiob Mm, the 5c had a few too many compromises - I went with the SE, primarily because of the 64-bit CPU, suggesting it'd be supported for a while. And yes, the SE's seen a couple revisions since, for people wanting a smaller phone, and lower cost than the flagships.
Quite what they'll do on the iPad front I really don't know. Touch is a completely different input method, and we see from the Redmond bunch how well mixing touch and mice works. Yet, here we are, with iPads burly enough to support full-on video editing, in Final Cut Pro and DaVinci Resolve. (And let's remember, the original Mac only had a 9" display!)
@noiob Mmm, that's ultimately the key - there'd have to be the will at the top to make it so.