This leak/rumour has been going around for a bit, I really don't get what Apple is aiming at.

This thing would only make sense if it were in the $300-400 range, at $600 you just get an older refurbished MBA - it's a much better purchase.

Another thing that is often overlooked, and a very real possibility is that this low-end Macbook won't run MacOS, it will run iPadOS - if true, that makes this low-end Macbook-like device just an iPad with built-in keyboard and trackpad. It sounds plausible given Apple's weird positioning ideas.