Apple preparing its first ever low-cost laptop, rumour claims – and it could have something familiar inside

iPhone processor could sit at the heart of new, cheaper MacBook, rumours claim

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Apple is preparing to launch a new, low cost laptop – with a familiar chip inside of it, according to a new report.

The computer would be Apple’s first firmly low-cost laptop, aimed at competing with other computers such as Google’s Chromebooks and cheap PC notebooks, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Those computers are popular in settings such as education, where schools need to buy multiple computers cheaply for relatively non-intensive tasks. The new Apple laptop will be focused on allowing users to easily browse the web or work on documents, for instance.

Apple is already testing the computer at its headquarters and production is beginning, according to the Bloomberg report. It could be ready to launch in the first half of next year.

Apple plans to enter the low-end market – which until now it has explicitly shunned – by using cheaper components, the report claimed. That could include a processor borrowed from the iPhone.

Apple has already borrowed its iPhone chips to power the iPad and even its displays. But its more powerful iPads also now borrow from the M-series chips, built for its Macs, since Apple moved to manufacturing its own computer chips in 2020.

The company has long attempted to compete in the education market. That has included selling older laptops for relatively cheap prices, but the new laptop will aim instead to introduce a whole new design.

Apple has pursued a similar strategy with its cheaper iPhones, such as the SE and iPhone 16E, which aim for the lower end of the market.