I’m assuming Tim Apple’s sweatshop salaries can afford this? Asking for a friend… 

I definitely didn’t have this on my 2025 bingo card, but apparently Apple is building a cheap laptop.  Let that sentence sink in. The company that’s spent two decades convincing you $999 was a “reasonable” entry price for typing in Notes is now working on a sub-$1,000 Mac… a device specifically meant to compete with Chromebooks. Which is hilarious, because Chromebooks cost less than most Apple Watch bands.

(Source: Giphy) 

In short, code-named J700, the budget Mac is built from repurposed iPhone parts, a lower-end LCD screen, and whatever morals remains in Cupertino’s product team. It’s designed for students, small businesses, and “casual users,” which is Apple’s way of saying people who don’t buy AirPods every year. It’s a strange pivot for a company that’s spent years insisting it doesn’t do “low-end.” But here we are… Apple, gunning for the peasants crowd (a.k.a. me). 

(Source: Bloomberg) 

Y tho?

For one, Mac growth has slowed. The “Apple Intelligence” rollout barely registered. The company’s next act isn’t another revolution… it’s friggin’ volume. They’ve maxed out the luxury market, so now they’re coming for the broke-but-brand-loyal demographic. As for the specs, the laptop will run an iPhone chip and still somehow outperform half the M1-era Macs people bought three years ago. That’s the real trick: Apple can cut specs in half and still outperform expectations, because expectation management is the one product it’s never failed to optimize.

Naturally, HP and Dell stocks dipped on the news, which tells you everything you need to know about market psychology. Apple announces a student laptop and two decades of PC incumbents collectively flinch, because deep down they know what’s coming: a dirt cheap MacBook that looks, feels, and smells like victory. Meaning, if Tim Apple can get kids on macOS in middle school, that’s 60 years of future iCloud bills, App Store taxes, and accessory purchases. Translation: Google is legit punching air right now. 

(Source: Giphy) 

So yeah, the new Mac will be “accessible.” It’ll also be the start of a new Apple era: one where affordability is just a side project of the integration phase. Because the next trillion in market cap won’t come from premium margins. It’ll come from scale… from owning the world one student discount at a time. Meaning, keep your eyes on Apple and place your bets accordingly. Until next time, friends… 

At the time of publishing, Stocks.News holds positions in Google, Dell and Apple as mentioned in the article.