Apple is moving one step beyond its "win even when selling at high prices" game to a strategy of "dominate even when selling cheap." After recently lowering the price of its new budget smartphone compared with the previous model, it is also rolling out, for the first time, a new MacBook priced under 1 million won. Lowering the entry barriers for both smartphones and laptops at the same time is not just a simple lineup expansion; it is closer to a signal that Apple's revenue structure is changing.
◇ Apple rolls out budget models with lower prices even as component costs rise
According to the industry on the 8th, Apple will release the new budget smartphone "iPhone 17e" and the new MacBook "Neo" on the 11th. Both products start at 990,000 won in Korea. They do not cross the psychological threshold of 1 million won.
According to Apple, the global launch prices for the iPhone 17e are set at $599 for the 256GB model and $799 for the 512GB model. Even as rising memory costs have made smartphone price hikes unavoidable, Apple cut the iPhone 17e price by $100 per tier compared with the previous model (iPhone 16e). The iPhone 16e launched at $599 for 128GB, $699 for 256GB, and $899 for 512GB. The iPhone 17e may be a budget model, but the strategy is not shallow. It uses the A19 chipset and bundles Apple Intelligence, the company's artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, reinforcing the message of "entry-level but the latest experience." In charging standards, Apple has also applied MagSafe, the magnet-based wireless charging feature that had been scarce in budget models, adjusting to reduce lower-tier inconveniences.
Pricing for Apple's new MacBook Neo is even more aggressive. Apple set its launch price at $599, the lowest for any of its laptops in the company's history. The education model sold to students is discounted to $499. In Korea, the price is 990,000 won, or 850,000 won with an education discount. Apple lowered the laptop entry price in one shot, zeroing in on "people buying their first MacBook." Even under 1 million won, it is based on the A18 Pro chipset, handling everyday tasks such as web browsing, streaming, and photo editing, with AI features also available.
◇ Selling services yields more than hardware
The numbers explain why Apple is expanding its budget lineup. Last year, Apple's services institutional sector revenue ($109.2 billion) surpassed $100 billion for the first time. That is about half of last year's iPhone sales revenue ($209.6 billion). iPhone revenue is still dominant, but what Apple is focusing on is the "margin structure." The services gross margin reaches the 75% range, creating a large gap with the products side. The more users there are, the greater the leverage of services. Expanding the budget market is the fastest way to accelerate this structure.
Apple's ambitions have grown in terms of market share as well. In data from market research firm Counterpoint Research, Apple ranked No. 1 in 2025 with a 20% share of global smartphone shipments. If Apple had long been called the "king of profit," taking a substantial portion of the global smartphone industry's profits, it is now moving to claim the title of "king of units sold." A further lift in share in the budget market could make services revenue grow exponentially.
◇ Expanding budget models cuts both ways
Even so, expanding budget models is a double-edged sword for Apple. As prices go down, consumers compare specs more carefully. For example, unlike the iPhone 17, which supports a 120Hz refresh rate display, the iPhone 17e maintains a fixed 60Hz refresh rate. If such visible "tier splits" remain, the perception that "a budget model is a budget model after all" can harden. For the MacBook Neo as well, the moment features dropped to hit the price point come to the fore, expectations for "Apple-like completeness" could backfire.
The service expansion strategy itself also ties into regulatory risks. As antitrust pressure grows over App Store fees, payment rules, and ecosystem lock-in, services become both the "engine of growth" and the "target under fire." Apple's reason for broadening its base with budget models is clear, but designing that expansion so it does not clash with the trust of a premium brand could be a tougher task. The key is units sold. More money comes "after that" than from the margin on a single device. As revenue from services spanning apps, subscriptions, payments, and cloud grows, Apple's most important key performance indicator (KPI) is redefined not as the premium image itself but as the user pool of the ecosystem. In other words, budget is not the opposite of premium; it becomes the growth engine of the services era.
Kim Kyung-won, a distinguished professor in the Department of Business Administration at Sejong University, said, "It appears Apple aims to build a robust base of long-term customers in the budget market who, through user growth, will drive services and content payments," adding, "What matters for Apple is not how many new users it attracts, but how long they remain within Apple's ecosystem."