Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) has put some cheap products on the market. Some say it may be to dodge a shortage of high-end chips, which are expensive. Others say Apple’s more expensive stuff won’t sell. It announced products that are at the low end of what it has ever charged for them.
The announcements were big news. The headline at CNBC was “Apple announces MacBook Neo, its most affordable laptop ever.” The first MacBook came out in 2006. By 2015, it had become wildly popular.
.The new MacBook Pro is called the “Neo”. It has a starting price of $599. Apple released a comment from John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. “There is simply no other laptop like it.” Apple didn’t elaborate much beyond that, with the exception of how it is built. It uses the iPhone-class A-series chip, which is relatively inexpensive in a world where demand for high-end chips is growing (Incidentally, sales of the MacBook have been poor, according to Apple’s earnings release).
The iPhone 17e also starts at $599. Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product Marketing, “iPhone 17e combines powerful performance and features our users love at an exceptional value, making it a compelling option for customers looking to upgrade to the iPhone 17 family.” It is powered by Apple’s best-in-class A19 chip. Apple also pushed its battery life and its nifty 48MP Fusion camera. It produces pictures and videos better than most people need.
Apple’s current operating system is iOS 26.1. Apple’s next version, Apple fans hope, will have its first real AI features. Presumably, this will be in iOS 26.5. It will be powered by Google’s Gemini AI, which has gotten stellar reviews. Maybe a cheap iPhone will make some people who are waiting happy. After all, the current iPhone 17 is priced at $799, and the Pro at $1,099. The iPhone 17 Pro Max costs $1,199.
Apple won’t say why it is going down market. It is unusual for companies to do so unless they have sales trouble. Maybe the plan is to get new customers who think Apple products are too expensive.
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