> It seems pretty clear that the play here runs "Look here's our entry level
Not quite. The play here is, "Look, here is our 98% of sales laptop". That it's entry level is only an incidental factor. 98% of sales volume is at this price point, and so they get the maximum bang for their buck, the maximum impact, by attacking that one first. Not just because it's the slowest or entriest.
Had they started at the fastest possible one, sure it would have grabbed some great headlines. But wouldn't have had the same sales impact. (And it's icing that the slowest part is probably easiest to engineer.)
Not quite. The play here is, "Look, here is our 98% of sales laptop". That it's entry level is only an incidental factor. 98% of sales volume is at this price point, and so they get the maximum bang for their buck, the maximum impact, by attacking that one first. Not just because it's the slowest or entriest.
Had they started at the fastest possible one, sure it would have grabbed some great headlines. But wouldn't have had the same sales impact. (And it's icing that the slowest part is probably easiest to engineer.)