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A budget MacBook? A market gap and chip crunch explain it
Mint Chennai
|March 11, 2026
Apple is premium but needs a sales boost amid a shortage of chips
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Consumer market and supply dynamics have shaped Apple's strategy.
(BLOOMBERG)
“Budget-friendly” isn't typically a descriptor you find next to "MacBook." But priced at $599-$499 with a student discount—Apple's new MacBook Neo is the least expensive laptop it has ever offered. Expect its four colourful variants to start gracing college campuses and coffee shops very soon.
Apple's strategy seems straightforward: A cheaper laptop puts it in direct competition with Google's Chromebook, now a mainstay of classrooms globally, plus a whole universe of Windows-powered laptops. It could lock in the next generation of Apple laptop users.
Yet Apple could have justifiably made that kind of move at any point in the Chromebook's almost 15 years on the market. Instead, Apple stayed firmly dedicated to its premium reputation and price point. A confluence of reasons made 2026 the right time for a cheaper MacBook.
This story is from the March 11, 2026 edition of Mint Chennai.
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