GoKawiilOne of the biggest mysteries ahead of the MacBook Neo launch was the price. We’d seen various estimates in the $599 to $799 range, and while we’d certainly hoped for that lower-end figure, experienced Apple watchers weren’t necessarily expecting it.
Reaction to the price was universally positive, all the more so as it breaks the $500 barrier for education users. School and college students can buy the machine for just $499 …
That’s great news for anyone wanting to buy a Mac on a budget, but it’s even better news for the long-term future of Apple. As Macworld put it, the company has just created an entire new generation of Mac users.
Until now, a truly affordable MacBook that parents and schools could justify for kids didn’t exist—Apple’s cheapest laptop started at $999 with the MacBook Air. Starting at a mere $499 for education, Neo is catering to this untapped market for the first time ever. Before long, many students will either be using a MacBook Neo or asking for one.
Sure, $500 is still not nothing, and there will be some families unable to afford it who will stick with a cheaper Chromebook or entry-level Windows machine. But way more families can afford to buy a MacBook Neo for their children than a $1,000+ MacBook Air. We’re going to see parents buying this machine for their college student offspring for sure, and a good chunk of high school students too.
I don’t think the importance of this can be overstated.
Way back in the 1980s, In Search of Excellence author Tom Peters wrote about the concept of the lifetime value of a customer. Lifetime Value (LV) or Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is a way of thinking about the total profit a company will make during the entire life of a loyal customer if they can keep them happy. That’s a very different mindset to thinking only about a present-day sale.
Let’s run some imaginary numbers, just for fun.
Johnny Appleseed’s parents buy their 14-year-old son a MacBook Neo for $499. At 18, Johnny Appleseed wants to upgrade and buys a MacBook Air at the education price of $999. At the same time, he switches from his Android smartphone to a base iPhone, at $799. Finally, he gets the latest AirPods with ANC to go with it for $149.
At 20 he buys his first iPhone Pro model for $999. He also gets his first Apple Watch for $399.
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