Steve Jobs, on Apple’s quarterly results call back in October 2008:
There are some customers which we choose not to serve. We don’t
know how to make a $500 computer that’s not a piece of junk, and
our DNA will not let us ship that.
Harry McCracken:
With that out of the way, the question that folks have been
asking lately about whether Apple will or should
release a netbook-like Mac is fascinating. Regardless of whether
the company ever does unveil a small, cheap, simple Mac notebook,
it’s fun to think about the prospect of one. And I’ve come to the
conclusion that such a machine could be in the works, in a
manner that’s consistent with the Apple way and the company’s
product line as it stands today. I’m not calling this a
prediction. But it is a scenario.
Apple made many $500 “computers” in the years between then and now. But they were iPads, not Macs. I think part of the impetus behind the MacBook Neo is an acknowledgement that as popular as iPads are, and for as many people who use them as their primary larger-than-a-phone computing device, there are a lot of other people, and a lot of use cases, that demand a PC. And from Apple, that means a Mac.
