For years, the budget laptop market, particularly in education, has been dominated by low-cost Chromebooks and Windows PCs. (A market valued at over $6 billion globally in 2025, with Chromebooks alone being used by over 30 million US students).
Apple has largely watched from the sidelines, with its premium-only strategy setting the entry price for a laptop at the $999 MacBook Air. That wall, however, may be about to crumble.
