March 3 (Reuters) – Apple on Tuesday launched a series of MacBook laptops at ‌a starting price of $1,099, as ‌it looks to attract customers with new hardware ​in a shrinking PC market that is grappling with memory chip shortages.

The MacBook lineup, spanning the MacBook Air and ‌MacBook Pro ⁠models, is a core part of its personal computing business ⁠and has been central to the company’s push into custom silicon.

Since transitioning ​from Intel ​processors to its ​in-house M-series chips ‌beginning in 2020, Apple has touted gains in performance and battery life, helping it differentiate from Windows-based PC makers.

The MacBook Air laptops start at $1,099 for ‌the 13-inch screen variant, ​while the MacBook ​Pro series with ​the M5 Pro chip ‌start at $2,199.

The Mac generates ​a smaller ​share of revenue than the iPhone but remains strategically important, particularly in ​education, ‌creative industries and higher-end consumer segments.

(Reporting ​by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing ​by Anil D’Silva)