Interesting. If they'll come with a cutdown version of the os like the iPads, it'll limit the target audience and the success of the device. On the other hand if it'll be powered by a fully fledged MacOS it'll make it more arbitrary the decision not to have the same features on iPads.
I don’t really get it, from a consumer perspective, unless the idea is mass education sales. They already sell enough Macs for economy of scale to kick in.
Calling it an iPhone processor doesn’t explain anything by itself, and wouldn’t save much money. Is the screen cheaper? The keyboard? The SSD?
I suppose the point would be to farm and beta test a base of new, cheaper, slower, less reliable components, and then find the path to making them acceptable for retail.
I think the reverse offering on the Apple device roadmap would be interesting.
A MacPad and a MacPhone. Given its eventually going to be completely the same silicon this would enable them to offer a non App Store experience for people who want to experiment with alternative app stores like Epic.
In that way they could keep the average Apple target iPhone/iPad customer within the walled garden of iOS while being able to point specifically to EU regulators that they are allowing alternative app stores on the MacPhone/MacPad platform.
How much difference is there between an M4 chip and something like the A18 regarding pricing? I assume a lower end screen and maybe a plastic body would reduce the price further.
An 11" version of this proposed A-series chip Macbook is exactly what I would want to see, and would more likely expect to see from Apple's sales perspective, than an iPad that is capable of running MacOS.
A tiny Macbook that I can slip into a sling bag is more preferable to me than an iPad for many tasks.
Yet something like the Raspberry Pi will still have more 'power' to actually get useful things done, as it's not chained to an App Store, allows you to compile code, etc
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[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 39.9 ms ] threadCalling it an iPhone processor doesn’t explain anything by itself, and wouldn’t save much money. Is the screen cheaper? The keyboard? The SSD?
I suppose the point would be to farm and beta test a base of new, cheaper, slower, less reliable components, and then find the path to making them acceptable for retail.
A MacPad and a MacPhone. Given its eventually going to be completely the same silicon this would enable them to offer a non App Store experience for people who want to experiment with alternative app stores like Epic.
In that way they could keep the average Apple target iPhone/iPad customer within the walled garden of iOS while being able to point specifically to EU regulators that they are allowing alternative app stores on the MacPhone/MacPad platform.
This would only cannibalize their higher tier sales with a low margin product. I don't get it.
This company is visionless.
A tiny Macbook that I can slip into a sling bag is more preferable to me than an iPad for many tasks.