In the day and age of AI getting shoved into everything whether it’s warranted or not and CEOs behaving badly, it’s nice to seem some positive trends in tech.
Have you heard about this MacBook Neo? It’s priced to go and is apparently doing just that: “Apple’s stock could surge 20%, and the MacBook Neo could be a key catalyst” (Apple News link)
Tip o’ the antlers to Horace Deiu, who says:
…a doubling of the Mac user base is certainly a worthy and achievable goal over the next decade.
Now, before you sniff and say “Where were these customers when the Mac was dying? Where were these customers when we needed them? And where are we going to put them all now that they’re coming to the Mac? They’re not staying at my place. Kevin has much more room than I do and Kevin never does anything,” remember first that Kevin is still reeling from the heartbreak of psoriasis. So… you know. But also, while millions of people buying cheap Macs may not be the best thing for Apple’s margins, it does mean good things for Mac users.
Even after Steve Jobs returned and saved the Mac from extinction, Mac users had to deal with the walk of shame to the secluded area in the back of Circuit City to buy software and Mac peripherals. What changed that and made the Apple Store viable was the iPod. When it was still just a relative few who owned Macs, everyone owned an iPod. Anyone who walked the floor at Macworld Expo in the mid-2000s can attest to the bevy of third-party products you could buy for the iPod.
More Mac users could mean more software and more accessories for our favorite non-pocketable computing platform.
Of course, the company still has some problems to iron out. According to Tim Culpan, MacBook Neo demand is so good it has exceeded Apple’s expectations, meaning the company may have to spin up more production of the A18 Pro processor. The whole idea behind the MacBook Neo was it could be made from stuff Apple just had lying around, like binned A18 Pro chips. If the company now has to make more just for the Neo, they’ll cost more, cutting into margins.
As problems go, though, massive sales are not a bad one to have.
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Foundry
So, yeah, it turns out people like products that are made well and that they don’t feel like they’re being gouged for! Huh! Who knew?
Apparently here in the Year of Our Lord 2026, some are just discovering this whole “price elasticity of demand” thing. For example:
What are they teaching in MBA school these days?
PepsiCo, 2022: “Our glorious product is like air to people! They cannot live without it and will pay any price to get it! Hahaha!”
PepsiCo, 2026: “Oh, no.”
Surprise, when prices get too high, people just buy other carbohydrate and sodium injection systems covered in various types of flavored powder! Likewise, you can get music in other ways when the price of music streaming gets too high. As Gizmodo points out, nostalgia isn’t the only reason iPods and other dedicated digital music players are becoming popular again, largely with da yoots.
In January, Spotify raised its prices once again, this time reaching $13 a month. For context, in 2023, subscription fees rose from $9.99 to $10.99, and again in 2024 from $10.99 to $11.99. Apple Music is more affordable, but not by much at $11 per month.
People moved from buying music to subscribing to a streaming service for convenience but also price, it was simply cheaper than buying music. When it becomes not cheaper, guess what people do?
It would certainly be fun if Apple decided to make an iPod Classic again, but do not hold your breath or even any other bodily expulsion of gases because it’s not gonna happen. The Macalope doesn’t need anyone exploding because they misread this column.
Not again.
Not again.
You think Tim Cook is making it easier for you to quit sending him that sweet services revenue? Please.
Finally, there are some signs that AI is being pulled from places it just doesn’t add any value: “Microsoft starts removing Copilot buttons from Windows 11 apps”
Noted weirdo Sam Altman may dream of someday tithing all of us for graciously shoving a firehose into our windows and spewing AI into our homes, but the divide between his opinion and public opinion is growing.
And he is not The Lathe of Heaven. He may be a lathe of some kind, but it’s not of Heaven.
