13-inch and A18 Pro
In midsummer, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote that the budget MacBook would be equipped with the A18 Pro chip, which is found in the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. Now, DigiTimes reports that the gadget will feature a 12.9-inch screen. By comparison, the current MacBook Air has a 13.6-inch panel.
If the information is correct, it would be the first commercially available Mac based on Apple's mobile chipset. In 2020, Apple provided a custom Mac mini with the Apple A12Z, along with an iPad Pro, to developers to test applications on the ARM architecture, but it never went on sale.
The 18-core A1 Pro with a 6-core graphics accelerator is comparable to the Apple M1 in processor performance and even slightly ahead of it in graphics.
The budget MacBook is expected to enter mass production by the end of 2025. Therefore, the official release of the model should occur in the first half of 2026.
Not Without Compromises
The A18 Pro's power is more than enough for web surfing, productivity, and content consumption. However, the chip is incompatible with Thunderbolt technology, so the laptop will have a regular USB-C port instead of supporting multiple external displays. However, Apple has previously artificially limited this feature in the MacBook Air to separate it from the MacBook Pro.
Furthermore, the mobile chipset only supports 8GB of RAM. Again, this isn't a problem for Cupertino: the MacBook Air recently came with 16GB in the base configuration.
Ten years ago, the MacBook 12-inch was released, not as the most affordable, but as the "simplest" Apple laptop.
Why?
Major US retailers are still selling the M1-powered MacBook Air for $599. According to DigiTimes' sources, the budget version of the MacBook is priced roughly the same: $600 to $700. But if Apple retains its traditional $100 student discount, the novelty will be more appealing, if only for the fresh design and longer support period.
In the roughly $500 market segment, the new Macs will compete with Chrome OS-based Windows laptops and models. These are particularly popular in the education sector: Chromebooks are widely purchased by American schools due to their affordability and ease of management. Potential advantages of the MacBook include high-quality construction, a convenient touchpad, and tight integration with iPhones and other Apple devices.
According to DigiTimes analysts, the new models will also help offset potential inflation-induced price increases for the MacBook Air.
Cupertino will, of course, earn billions of dollars in additional revenue. According to experts, annual shipments of the budget MacBook could reach 5 to 7 million units, increasing Apple's overall laptop production by 30-40%.
