Apple is reportedly working to create a lower-cost MacBook than the Air, which has been Apple’s entry-level product over the past decade.
This rumoured machine will use the A18 Pro chip from the iPhone 16 Pro series. When it launched this chip benchmarked around the same level as the M1 Air so it should be more than capable enough to run macOS. If this computer isn’t coming out for a few years still I wouldn’t be surprised if it launches with an even more capable iPhone chip.
The leaks point to the laptop going into production at the end of this year or in early 2026 so it prob won’t hit store shelves until the end of 2026 at the earliest, but is more likely to hit in 2027. There are expectations that this computer will come in fun colours like pink and yellow.
The new computer is slated to have a 13-inch screen which will make it very similar to the current MacBook Air in terms of form factor. The leaker says Apple is targeting a production of 5-7 million units which would suggest an aggressive price will be needed to drive that many sales.
Apple has been running with the MacBook Air and Pro combo for a long time now. A decade ago Apple tried to introduce a smaller 12-inch MacBook, but it weirdly had a higher price than the Air. While there are dozens of us that loved the premium simplicity of the smaller computer, I expect Apple has learned that the smaller the computer, the more affordable the price needs to be.
The company has found success in the low-cost computer space with its iPad lineup and this year those are getting even more Mac-like with iPadOS 26 and the new multi-window support. It will be interesting to see where this new computer sits between an iPad and a Mac if it is released.
Source: Ming-Chi Ku0
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