Gurman: Cheaper iPad to Debut Next Week, Sub-$1,000 MacBook Likely Not Ready Yet

[Greenmeenie]

And is this cheaper iPad going to replace the current cheapest iPad (9.7'' 2017) or are they going to keep both models? Glad I returned mine and got an iPad Pro, it just felt like an overly expensive, outdated iOS device put into a piece of plastic and aluminum. And I think an iPad without pencil support doesn't make any sense anymore. To be able to take notes on it with the pencil is one of the major features I went for the Pro. I've learned the lesson: never buy low-end Apple products, not worth the price, outdated technologies.

Totally agree about the apple pencil. All ipads should be able to use it. Makes no sense anymore to make it an ipad pro only accessory. If rumors are correct, the upcoming cheaper education ipad will be able to use the apple pencil. Now all Apple has to do is update the ipad mini with pencil support, and i’ll be a happy camper.

 

[Rogifan]

Well, to be honest I think that Apple is a little bit embroiled...

Now they have MacBook Pro, MacBook at MacBook's Pro price point and lighter than Air, which supposed to be lightest MacBook.. But hey! MacBook Air have better hardware (well, not all of it) and is cheaper with crappy display.

I think it would be better if Apple COMPLETELY change their notebook strategy

MacBook Pro 13" and 15" (or even 17" like in old days) for $1299 for basic model (just like now)

MacBook Air - Which should be current MacBook, change the name, Air means light/slight and thin (again, like the current MacBook, so this hardware should be call Air). Add one more USB-C?Thunderbolt 3 and drop the price point from $1299 to $1099

MacBook - Current MacBook Air in the same design but with higher resolution display, one USB-C and USB 3.0 for $949 or like now $999. This wolu be for people that starts their adventure with Apple or even for education. Why 1 USB-C - to be ready for new, why 1 USB 3.0 - if its for students, it's very possible that they don't have money for newest hardware and will not change pendrive's/printers/scaners just because courage...

So - you want to Pro machine? Get MacBook Pro. You want ultra portable hardware? Get MacBook Air. You want budget Apple device? Get MacBook?

If they add retina to Air and better CPU, I can't see people will buy current 12" MacBook for $300 more. Same screen, similar size and weight, worse CPU for more money - sounds cool. If the difference is $150 and with one more USB-C port, that may be worth it.

They don’t need 3 product lines. Have 2 - one consumer/education and one for business/professionals. And within the consumer line have a product that is sub $999 and an education product that is priced to compete better with Chromebooks.

 

[deanthedev]

How about broken software for at least a few years while non-Apple devs decide if they want to re-code their offerings yet again, especially when the rest of the line is still based in intel?

How about abandonware when devs decide it's just not worth it to re-code again?

Is there a Rosetta-type product available to somewhat smooth this kind of transition? Or would this be the harsher kind of CPU change, where stuff just breaks and Mac people need to own 2 Macs and hop back & forth to be able to use their key software (not made by Apple).

How about consumer confusion that some Apple Mac software runs on this new computer and some doesn't?

How about (probably) no more bootcamp so we can go back to a world where we need separate computers instead of killing 2 birds with one stone? I know someone like you probably would not give a hoot about Windows compatibility but everyone else is not you. For some, it's very nice to be able to switch into Windows when our clients need something done in Windows and/or the only way to connect or do something for clients requires a Windows computer... much nicer than having to lug along a second computer just in case and/or do without or let down a client.

And I have zero faith that Apple hardware deprecation = lower prices. Instead, when Apple kicks hardware features out, pricing seems to RISE. Where you may perceive Apple would deliver lower prices, I expect Apple would enjoy higher margins by not lowering prices.

Apple used to control the OS and the processor/hardware it ran on. Ultimately, that drove them to switch to Intel.

So typical. Can't post without making a stupid comment like "someone like you probably would not give a hoot about Windows compatibility".

Your last sentence is an outright lie. Apple didn't switch to Intel because of some inherent flaw in controlling software/hardware. They went to Intel because Intel processors were superior in performance and power consumption.

 

[Bacillus]

Well, to be honest I think that Apple is a little bit embroiled...

OMG, I am getting so excited about a charging mat or a 0.3” larger iPad screen
So much inspiration...

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Their laptop line is incredibly confusing right now. The Air naming convention should not exist, period. Just bring to market an entry level MacBook that has a better screen than the current Air but maybe not as good as the current retina MacBook and price it aggressively. Yes it would probably would cannibalize more expensive retina MacBook but who cares.

What I say they do is have 2 laptops. The MacBook, and the MacBook Pro. You can by the MacBook in 12 inch and 13-14 inch for $899 and $1099 respectively. Both have a better display, and the 13-14 inch has 2 USBC ports, while the 12 inch remains with 1.
Then, you would have the 15 inch MacBook Pro with 13 and 15 inch, for $1299 and $1699 respectively. That would bring down the prices, especially for that 15 inch, witch really needs it. And, for good measure, allow 13 inch MBPs with 4 core I5-I7s, and the 15 inch with 6-8 cores.

 

[Queen6]

So basically, "If I find no use in something then nobody else needs it either." Interesting philosophy.

Or just ignorance of others needs...

Q-6

 

[Rogifan]

It is quite sad how Apple have let their computers fall in to chaos. A Mac "Pro" that has 5 year old internals. A Macbook "Air" which isn't their lightest laptop. Macbook "Pro" which many people don't think is up to professional use due to the keyboard (even though mine is fine, lots of people seem spooked by it.) It's really not rocket science, they need three levels of laptop - cheap, mid range, and professional.

The problem is Apple’s method of competing in the low end is by keeping around products past their sell by date. When it comes to the education sector Apple needs to be willing to give up some margin otherwise Google and Chromebooks will takeover forever.

 

[scrapesleon]

This article says that it WON'T be ready for next weeks event so it's likely that we won't hear anything about this new MacBook until around WWDC time.

Still we wait and see

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

So typical. Can't post without making a stupid comment like "someone like you probably would not give a hoot about Windows compatibility".

Your last sentence is an outright lie. Apple didn't switch to Intel because of some inherent flaw in controlling software/hardware. They went to Intel because Intel processors were superior in performance and power consumption.

Every post I see from you- every single one- is overwhelmingly pro-Apple. Feel free to show me any post- even just ONE- where you seem to be posting as a consumer instead of towing the company line or enthusiastically supporting whatever you think the corporation might want to do or what would make the corporation even more successful.

My posts are as a consumer. I can show gushing praise for Apple products and strong criticism. Can you do that too? If not, that's OK- you post whatever you want. But I'll do the same. And here- what we each apparently would like to see- significantly differs. That's OK too. You are free to covet an A-series Mac and I am free to prefer Intel-based Macs.

Apple had a very influential part of the PowerPC partnership. THEY were THE dominant mainstream computer platform using PowerPC chips. If Intel was winning in performance & power consumption, why didn't they make PowerPC better than Intel at performance & power consumption? Else, why argue for Apple to roll out A-series based Macs here and run into potentially the same situation where the competing platform just steps too far ahead to stick with the home-grown chip?

That's not putting down Apple- just pointing out the apparent conflict in advocating for Apple to go back toward controlling their own CPU and then potentially watching an Intel or similar get way back out front again. Then what? Switch back again?

 

[joeswamp]

My wife has a MB Pro from work with that new terrible keyboard -- it's the worst I've ever used, I can't get used to it. That laptop has also landed on the floor a few times because no more magsafe. The Apple folks are ripping out the best laptop features to shrink the thickness by an imperceptible amount, it's absurd.

If they ruin the keyboard on the MB Air, I haven't decided if I'm going to buy the last model Air or just go ahead and switch back to Lenovo/Linux. I really like OSX so it's a real drag that Apple no longer makes good laptops.

 

[EugW]

If they don't release a new 13", they could reduce the 12" MacBook price somewhat by having an edu model like this:

128 GB SSD
Core m3-7Y30 or else an older Core M/m3 or even Pentium 4410Y (unlikely).
Another possibility would even be to have a 4 GB model, although I'd consider that less likely too.

...while at the same time cutting $100 off all the MacBook models across the line.

However, all the reports seem to be centering around a 13" laptop.

Highly doubt an entry level Apple laptop is going to have TB3. That's probably the least of what it won't have. If you are looking for TB3 you want something in the MBP line.

Possible for a 2019 MacBook, since TB (and USB-C 10 Gbps support) MIGHT be included with Ice Lake chipsets.

 

[GoodWheaties]

We’re just repeating history here. The same thing is happening when the MBA first came out as the eventual successor to the MacBook, it’s just that this time the MacBook is here to take back it’s throne; it just needs a couple more years.

The rMB is years ahead of its time. It’s super light and compact, but I don’t think it’s just price that is keeping entry level users away. When you factor in the single port, new keyboard (which has been polarizing for some), low processing power, and crappy FT camera and THEN tack on the price, it’s clear it’s not ready for that entry market. Buying a MBP for the same exact price, while just adding one pound and a little bit of bulk is a hard deal to pass up.

How they redesign a MBA and offer it at a $300-$500 cheaper price than the rMB and not cannibalize the rMB is tough. I say they give the MBA a new screen, USB-C / USB-A, and that’s it. It will be as plain as the new budget iPad.

It’s best to put the rMB in a side category by itself. It makes things a lot clearer.

I just wish they would put an IPS display on the MacBook Air. 1440x900 is fine for the low-end, but it needs IPS. It will be sad if they discontinue the last MacBook with an SD slot.

 

[albebaubles]

Big difference between software and hardware. You can pre-announce software because there is no penalty when buying new hardware now, you'll get the software for free like everybody else later. If you pre-announce hardware, people buying now before the new hardware ships would be worse off compared to waiting and only buying when the new hardware drops. Consequence, lower sales now.

ok, shall I enumerate the hardware examples? First white phone....announcing the new Mac Pro a year (or more) in advance
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Totally agree about the apple pencil. All ipads should be able to use it. Makes no sense anymore to make it an ipad pro only accessory. If rumors are correct, the upcoming cheaper education ipad will be able to use the apple pencil. Now all Apple has to do is update the ipad mini with pencil support, and i’ll be a happy camper.

upset,.

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

Apple kills the Air in favor a cheaper Macbook with garbage keyboard and no ports!

Woohoo!

And Apple will tell us how "courageous" it is . . .

Sorry! As a MacBook user, for me it's the best Mac of all time. I've been using Macs in business since 1995!
No love for the Air. Ugly silver bezels, tinny speakers. Didn't deserve to enter 2012 let alone 2018! Sorry, no love for it!

 

[Dave245]

Normal for to announce products that wont be available for months, if ever. Airplay2, open sourcing FaceTime....

Yea but this is a education event it’s not the typical Apple event, also they are live streaming it which seems a little odd if it’s just for education.

 

[ignatius345]

They mentioned software. I hope iWorks suite gets an overhaul to better compete with Office. That would be exciting.

The iWork suite is actually quite underrated.

Keynote, believe it or not, holds its own alongside MUCH more expensive design software. I've used it extensively for high-level corporate presentations and PowerPoint can't even begin to compare. Recent versions of PPT have gotten better, but the fluidity of Keynote's motion effects is dramatically better. (And that's not even getting into the fact that you can paste vector objects directly between Adobe Illustrator and Keynote and transform them in all kinds of ways, which is a designer's dream). Everyone at the company loved the Keynote decks... except for the fact that you can't run a Keynote deck on a PC. I kind of used Keynote as a trojan horse to make them give me a Mac and to generally have more Macs around the office

Pages, I don't know as much about, but it seems to have a lot of the same very smart layout tools as Keynote, and generally performs beautifully. I'm sure there are some features that it doesn't have that Word has, but my guess is 95% of users never touch them. Most writers and editors I've seen mostly just use commenting and revision tracking, which Pages does nicely.

Numbers? I love it, but spreadsheet nerds need more. People do mind-blowing thngs with Excel. At my old job they used to have it pull and update info directly from some big database somewhere. And the charting it can do is insane. I'm not a spreadsheet person so I'm kind of talking out my *** here, but I do know Numbers is not remotely in the same league. Score one for Microsoft here.

People don't seem to realize this, but you can collaborate in real time on iWork documents right from the apps, on iOS and MacOS. Kind of like Google Docs, but not inside a frickin' browser and not being info-harvested by Google. People also don't realize (and Apple doesn't seem to have publicized enough) that iCloud.com also lets you edit iWork documents much the way Google Docs does, which should let you collaborate with PC-based collegues. I haven't used this much so I don't know how stable and reliable it is, though.

Anyway, yeah, iWork is great -- but in the larger corporate world? Office has decades of advantage there and even if Apple did make a cross-platform version of the iWork suite (which they will not), it would never take a foothold.

 

[TheShadowKnows!]

It is quite sad how Apple have let their computers fall in to chaos. A Mac "Pro" that has 5 year old internals. A Macbook "Air" which isn't their lightest laptop. Macbook "Pro" which many people don't think is up to professional use due to the keyboard (even though mine is fine, lots of people seem spooked by it.) It's really not rocket science, they need three levels of laptop - cheap, mid range, and professional.

It is not rocket science -- totally agree.
But everything TC and crew do now is driven by margin preservation. Can you think of any other credible reason?

To Tim Cook, the ultimate bean counter, it is all about margins -- though he does make, periodically, protestations to the contrary.

What would you expect from someone that, shamelessly, could be so wrong?

“I think if you’re looking at a personal computer, why would you buy a personal computer anymore? No really, why would you buy one?” Tim Cook told The Telegraph."

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I

Possible for a 2019 MacBook, since TB (and USB-C 10 Gbps support) MIGHT be included with Ice Lake chipsets.

Right but we are talking Apple. Possible, of course. Probable that Apple would put TB3 in its most entry level machine -- nope.

 

[Rogifan]

It is quite sad how Apple have let their computers fall in to chaos. A Mac "Pro" that has 5 year old internals. A Macbook "Air" which isn't their lightest laptop. Macbook "Pro" which many people don't think is up to professional use due to the keyboard (even though mine is fine, lots of people seem spooked by it.) It's really not rocket science, they need three levels of laptop - cheap, mid range, and professional.

The problem is Apple’s method of competing in the low end is by keeping around products past their sell by date. When it comes to the education sector Apple needs to be willing to give up some margin otherwise Google and Chromebooks will takeover forever.

 

[navaira]

I love the retina Macbook. It's amazing. And I also live in constant fear of the keyboard breaking. So far needed to use canned air twice, at random moments, which means when I travel I need to bring that canned air along. This is a €1799 computer. I love the keyboard, it's the most comfortable I ever used, I learned to live without the ports – I have a monitor with built-in hub, so when I need to connect something I attach the Macbook to the monitor (which also charges it). BUT.

I imagine the sub-$1000 laptop:
1) will cost $999 (€1199)
2) will be something along the lines of Chromebook specs – rMB 13" version with 16 GB SSD, and 32 GB free iCloud, plus 4 GB RAM, one USB-C, same keyboard
3) quite possibly, as mentioned before, based on ARM processor, with Apple's iWork apps and some others that were recompiled for ARM and available only through Mac App Store.

 

[deanthedev]

Every post I see from you- every single one- is overwhelmingly pro-Apple. Feel free to show me any post- even just ONE- where you seem to be posting as a consumer instead of towing the company line or enthusiastically supporting whatever you think the corporation might want to do or what would make the corporation even more successful.

My posts are as a consumer. I can show gushing praise for Apple products and strong criticism. Can you do that too? If not, that's OK- you post whatever you want. But I'll do the same. And here- what we each apparently would like to see- significantly differs. That's OK too. You are free to covet an A-series Mac and I am free to prefer Intel-based Macs.

Apple had a very influential part of the PowerPC partnership. THEY were THE dominant mainstream computer platform using PowerPC chips. If Intel was winning in performance & power consumption, why didn't they make PowerPC better than Intel at performance & power consumption? Else, why argue for Apple to roll out A-series based Macs here and run into potentially the same situation where the competing platform just steps too far ahead to stick with the home-grown chip?

That's not putting down Apple- just pointing out the apparent conflict in advocating for Apple to go back toward controlling their own CPU and then potentially watching an Intel or similar get way back out front again. Then what? Switch back again?

Not buying it. You claim to be neutral but are clearly biased.

There have been a few articles on MR where Windows on ARM has been discussed (with posters generally thinking it's a great idea for the reasons I gave previously). If Windows on ARM does take off, then Windows on an A-Series MacBook would also be possible (since they both use the same ISA). Except it would be vastly superior due to the the fact no Android SoC vendor bothers to make powerful tablet versions of their processors. So the people that would need/want to run Windows on their MacBook (which is a small percentage of users despite people on MR trying to make it sound like it's an absolute necessity) would still keep that ability. And it would be Microsoft that has made that possible, without Apple needing to worry about it.

If Intel was winning in performance & power consumption, why didn't they make PowerPC better than Intel at performance & power consumption?

Did you actually just post that? Let's flip that around and see how ridiculous it sounds. "If Apple A-Series chips are faster than Samsung and Qualcomm, then why doesn't Samsung and Qualcomm just make their chips better than Apple?" or "If Intel chips are better than AMD, then why doesn't AMD just make their chips better?" You seem to be implying that all Apple had to do was decide to make a better PowerPC processor and go build it. As if designing processors was as simple as decided what clothes to wear for the day.

 

[crsh1976]

The 12" MB uses a 4.5 W TDP processor (Y series). The Air and the MBP escape use a 15 W TDP processor (U series). If you don't need ultimate thinness and low weight, using the Y series processor is the better choice and will provide you with better performance for a lower price (the cheapest, ie, lowest-clocked, U series processor is faster than the most expensive, ie, highest-clocked, Y series processor).

This speaks against using the 12" MB as the cheapest entry-level Mac laptop as it won't provide the best value for money. The current "retina MBA", aka the MBP escape, starts at the same price as the 12" MB. It comes with only a 128 GB SSD vs a 256 GB SSD in the 12" MB, but it comes with a larger, wider-gamut screen, more powerful CPU and GPU, TB3 instead of USB-C-only ports (and two instead of one port) and a 32% larger battery.

A new, entry-level 'Macbook', could be based on the MBP escape but possibly with a smaller battery, smaller gamut monitor and only USB-C instead of USB-C/TB 3 ports and a slightly slimmer body. And could be combined with the MBP escape going away.

I totally agree with you on all counts.

This has been my beef with the Y chips for a few years, Intel and manufacturers have been selling it as a premium processor in >$1k ultrabooks when its performance level should have made it an ideal candidate for entry-level machines (netbooks/chromebooks and the like).

Intel being Intel, making weird strategic choices, the Y/CoreM/faux-i5 became the kind of chip that you'd want to avoid when shelling out over $1k because its only merit is to power fanless laptops, but the performance is terrible and battery life isn't outstanding either - not to forget there are awesome tablets like the iPad out there that do a great job in that "prosumer going after something light with a long-lasting battery" niche.

The MBA having a more powerful U chip and a lower price tag never made sense in the product line-up, Apple should have replaced the MBA with the rMB and sell the rMB at a lower price to begin with (or better yet IMO, just update the MBA with a retina display).

 

[manu chao]

ok, shall I enumerate the hardware examples? First white phone....announcing the new Mac Pro a year (or more) in advance.

You know exactly that the white iPhone 4 (not the first white iPhone) wasn't announced to come out months later. It was announced on 4 June 2010 to come out together with the black iPhone 4. It was only on June 19 that first reports surfaced that the white iPhone pre-orders wouldn't be able to ship on launch day due to manufacturing issues (which turned out to take more than half a year to overcome).

And sure, there are exceptions, like the new Mac Pro but they are for products that don't really have any existing sales that could be delayed by customers, either because the category didn't exist yet in Apple's portfolio (eg, Apple Watch) or have almost no sales (trashcan Mac Pro at this point in time). The MacBook Air hardly falls into that category, it's Apple's best selling Mac.

 

[joeblow7777]

If the new iPad offers decent spec improvements over my current Mini 4 I will likely get one. I think I will miss the laminated display if it doesn't have one though, and if it still have 2GB of RAM, I hope that's not going to be too much of a hindrance down the road.
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I'd love for the cheaper iPad to have Pencil support, but I know that's asking too much, haha.

Based on the fact that they're targeting it at the education market and the event invite seems to hint at something Pencil related, I actually think there's a pretty good chance that it will.

 

[blairh]

Apple really needs to offer a retina laptop at $999 this year.