# Apple's first cheap laptop cost $1,599

> The 1999 iBook was heavy, port-starved, and slower than a ThinkPad, but it put Wi-Fi in everyone's hands.
- Title: Apple's first cheap laptop cost $1,599 · PCMAG | Shortify
- Summary: The 1999 iBook was heavy, port-starved, and slower than a ThinkPad, but it put Wi-Fi in everyone's hands. The iBook won by picking an audience over a spec…
- Keywords: apple, ibook, laptops, retro tech, wi-fi, technology, Apple's, first, cheap, laptop, cost, 599
- Source: PCMAG — https://pcmag.com/articles/apples-first-budget-laptop-cost-more-than-two-macbook-neos
- Author: Joe Osborne
- Published: 2026-09-15T12:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: apple, ibook, laptops, retro tech, wi-fi, technology
## A looker with a question
PC Magazine's Jon Hill reviewed the translucent, candy-colored iBook in the Dec. 1, 1999 issue. His verdict was mixed: gorgeous machine, unclear whether it earned the noise around it.

> The Apple iBook is a looker, that's for sure. But can it live up to the hype?
## Budget meant $1,599
The iBook started at $1,599 as the cheap alternative to Apple's pricey PowerBooks. It created the tiered laptop lineup Apple still runs, now anchored by the $699 MacBook Neo.
## Chunky even for 1999
It came in colors like the Neo does, but it weighed 6.6 pounds and stood 2 inches thick. Comparable IBM ThinkPads were also faster.
## Ports were missing
No PC Card slot, no floppy drive, no serial or parallel ports, and a single USB channel. Strangest of all, Apple left out its own FireWire standard.

> There is no PC Card slot, no floppy disk drive, no serial or parallel ports, and just a single-channel USB port.
## First mass-market Wi-Fi
The optional AirPort card let the clamshell hop online through a router at up to 11Mbps. No consumer laptop had offered wireless at that scale before.
## Built for regular folks
Apple aimed at students and casual users, not power users chasing specs. Hill told anyone hunting performance per dollar to buy a Windows notebook instead.

> But for some people, none of these shortcomings will matter.
## The legacy lives on
Twenty-seven years later, the $699 MacBook Neo carries the same pitch: an affordable Mac for students and broke fans. Cheap and welcoming beat fast and loaded.

> a more affordable device for everyone, from students to straight-up-broke Mac fans
## Key takeaway

The iBook won by picking an audience over a spec sheet, and that bet still shapes Apple's cheap laptops today.