@cstross__dup_483@wandering.shop
Post #719336
2026-03-22 13:35 UTC
@rootwyrm@weird.autos @graydon@canada.masto.host You missed an angle: Apple has a stockpile of not-good-enough-for-flagship-phones SOCs that are nevertheless adequate for low-end-laptop territory they previously ignored. Slap a cheap LCD screen, keyboard, and battery on it and it's a Neo. The chipset is *free*—otherwise they go in the trash.
Replies (1)
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@rootwyrm@weird.autos 2026-03-22 13:38
@cstross @graydon no, I didn't, because these aren't "not good enough" SoCs. These are just phone parts not going into phones that aren't selling because the upgrade isn't compelling. Using cheap parts with it ALSO damages Apple's vaunted 'high end' image, even more than the budget price. So their margins out of the gate are razor thin or non-existent. And all they're doing is cannibalizing the market for high margin base model Macbooks.