Apple Launching Budget MacBook in 2026

[Kiwamu]

I really want this device. It’s lightweight enough to be sensible for my use cases, but I appreciate the form factor. Still rocking my M1 iPad Air with a keyboard, but I do feel the OS is holding me back.

This would also Apple be able to sell me their first Mac and if I like the offer and it’s upgrade time, I could look at more pricey offers.

 

[RumorConsumer]

As somebody who has owned well over 20 Macs I would be all for this. I love my 16" MacBook Pro and I am deeply thirsting for something with computer functionality thats lighter I can just chuck in my bag and not notice. This 16" is a huge weight. I would love to leave it plugged in at home and take something small on the road with access to my files if needed. Throw that C2 modem in there and it's a winner. iPhone Air with a huger battery. IN like Flynn.

 

[jclardy]

En****ification much. COMPLETELY lost direction if this is true. Reminds me of Sony. Used to make great products, then tried to make every product known to man with more misses than hits and now where are they?

Yeah..no. This isn't a "new" product in a different market, it is repackaging components they have left over from last year and selling it for $150 less. My guess is this will be a single USB-C port, previous year M series chip (so M4), 12" display, 60hz IPS panel (Air will likely get a display upgrade once this rolls out, and likely a price bump with it), $749 base price. The successor to the 12" macbook.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

I don't get it.

 

[Corefile]

The fact the OS will be locked down and can't sideload apps will be extremely concerning to its longevity and utility.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I actually hope it is thicker and maybe even heavier than the MacBook Air.

I think Apple needs a cheaper tough laptop for students, not a super-thin-and-light delicate machine for executives.

Don't worry, one will be able to buy a $179 "TechWoven" case for it 😂 😉

 

[jmckenzie]

En****ification much. COMPLETELY lost direction if this is true. Reminds me of Sony. Used to make great products, then tried to make every product known to man with more misses than hits and now where are they?

Not for me. I love my Mac Studio but would love a MacBook for couch use. However MacBooks are so good these days they’re kind of overkill for web browsing / cueing up music. I couldn’t justify an M4 Air for this but something lower power? Sure.

 

[realmccoy69]

for your average teen or whoever who doesn’t do processing work i think this definitely fills a gap , they can’t just keep making the chips stronger and stronger if there is enough people who just doesn’t need an m4/m5 eating away battery power , i do think eventually with sales it should be around $550-$595 if its ever going to compete with chrome
books , still dearer than a lot of chromebooks but if you have apple devices already it’s worth the extra, they will clearly market this to bulk education services, most schools give ipads to every student these days , they could sell a LOT of these as alternatives to ipads and get kids their first macbook , good thinking by apple imo

 

[turbineseaplane]

Not for me. I love my Mac Studio but would love a MacBook for couch use. However MacBooks are so good these days they’re kind of overkill for web browsing / cueing up music. I couldn’t justify an M4 Air for this but something lower power? Sure.

Just buy an M1 from WalMart?
or any M1-M4 preowned?

Base models in particular can be had for a song.

 

[navaira]

A MacBouquet maybe?

“It’s MacB-U-C-K-E-T, Bouquet!” (RIP Patricia Routledge)

My half-donkeyed $599 specs for (in order of likely):
- A18 Pro
- smaller battery
- no Rosetta 2
- one external display
- M1's webcam
- two 10 Gbps USB-C
- headphone jack
- two speakers
- 256GB storage (one chip)
- 12GB RAM
- sub-retina screen
- non-backlit keyboard
- no charger in the box
- plastic case

It’s going to have a retina screen, every Apple device does at this point. No charger in the box, in the EU that’s definitely correct. Judging by the colour descriptions I expect it to be made of the same materials and in the same colours as the base iPad. I agree on the rest. Maybe MagSafe and one USB-C, though? I don’t know whether A18 Pro can actually drive two USB-Cs, phones and iPads have one, after all.

It would be interesting if it has the Apple modem built-in and is subsidised by phone carriers, like the 5G iPads. “Revolutionary! The first truly mobile MacBook!”

Just buy an M1 from WalMart?

Person from Europe: *groans powerlessly*

 

[navaira]

*double post*

 

[Abydos]

I get it, a notebook for people who browse, keep their finances on it, read books, and email, with the right margin of return sounds like it could be a winner for apple but not for those into video editing ot similar resource intensive tasks

 

[nt5672]

Curious to see what corners they'll cut to make the price point work. Equally curious to see what improvements get made to the Air to keep it from being cannibalized by this thing.

Pretty sure there will be no ports on this thing at all.

Magnetic charging for power. Of course, like the Magic Mouse the charger will be under the keyboard, so that if you try to use the keyboard it will rock back and forth.

All connectivity will be WiFi using Apple's inferior chip. For cost's sake they will go back to WiFi 3.

The battery life will be 5 or 6 hours for the benefit of the children. They should not be using this device for any longer anyway.

 

[bluecoast]

I think that SixColors has called it correctly.

Bloomberg adds heat to the low-cost MacBook rumors

After a 2023 report from Digitimes and a July 2025 report from Ming-Chi Kuo, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is joining in on reports that Apple is planning to release of a low-cost laptop: Apple pla…

sixcolors.com

i.e. this is surely just the 2019 / M1 MBA body with a new old chip.

I suppose that they could use a form of plastic like the Watch SE on the base or top of the chassis to cut costs.

However, It's surely going to be more expensive for them to create a new chassis process than to just use the existing aluminium unibody product lines.

Hopefully we will get it in a range of regular iPhone-esque fun colours too - here's hoping.

I'm sure that they will sell a tonne of these to high school and college students who don't need the extra grunt of a Mx processor.

P.S. I know that in the original Bloomberg article it says it's 'an entirely new design', but c'mon - this is Tim Cook's Apple. The Apple that has just launched the new Watch SE in 2018's watch form factor.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I expect some real creativity here.

Things like "Apple One subscription required"

 

[klasma]

If macOS can run on A18 Pro, I'd like the ability to plug an iPhone into a display and get a desktop, similar to Dex.

I don’t disagree in a desktop setting, but if you want to use a hardware keyboard and a display on the go, it’s more convenient to make those two into one device and add an A18 Pro to it.

 

[klasma]

I don't get it.

You mean you won’t get it.

 

[The_Interloper]

Just buy an M1 from WalMart?
or any M1-M4 preowned?

Base models in particular can be had for a song.

Walmart doesn't exist outside the US. Deals like their new M1 Air didn't exist elsewhere.

Closest we have in the UK is currently a £699 M2 Air on offer at Argos.

 

[shagless]

Could this be targeted at K-12 market?

 

[tim0409]

If it is close to the 12" MacBook form factor it will be an instant buy from me.

The 12" Macbook was by far and away my favourite Apple product.

 

[DunedinD]

En****ification much. COMPLETELY lost direction if this is true. Reminds me of Sony. Used to make great products, then tried to make every product known to man with more misses than hits and now where are they?

MacBooks have steadily got to a point, since SSDs as standard arrived around 2010 and Retina displays filtered down since the 2012 MacBook Pro, where we’re now at a point where built-in storage is the main concern when buying.

The rest of even the baseline MacBook spec more than adequately meets the needs of many people, there’s plenty of scope to make some compromises without crippling the experience at the same time as achieving the price point talked about here.

The Mac mini M4 has been lauded for being a very capable Mac at the very bottom of the current Mac range. For the additional cost of a battery and a good (not professional-quality) display, I have pretty high hopes for what Apple will introduce.

 

[Biro]

Curious to see what corners they'll cut to make the price point work. Equally curious to see what improvements get made to the Air to keep it from being cannibalized by this thing.

Already there is talk about an OLED screen coming to the MBA. This budget MacBook would keep the current MBA-level screen. I also expect either 8GB or 12GB of RAM with the new machine while the MBA is already at 16GB. I’m hoping the new A*-chip MacBook will keep a 256GB SSD. 128GB would disappoint me but not shock me. How about base iPad level speakers and a single port? But don’t expect much in the line of available upgrades with the new laptop. For that, Apple will likely direct you to the MBA.

 

[tuckerjj]

If macOS can run on A18 Pro, I'd like the ability to plug an iPhone into a display and get a desktop, similar to Dex.

Just give us what iPads already have when docked to a monitor, Magic Trackpad and keyboard!

 

[redjar597]

I actually hope it is thicker and maybe even heavier than the MacBook Air.

I think Apple needs a cheaper tough laptop for students, not a super-thin-and-light delicate machine for executives.

Depends on the material they aren't mutually exclusive. Yes the 12 inch MacBook was delicate. But an iPad, all of them, are thin and strong (foldable form of the laptop might change this though).

I don't think it needs to look particularly executive either. A computer can be tough, thin, playful, and still be of interest to different groups. In the same way the phones are. Colours will influence too. Teenager might go for pink. Someone like me might go for silver or sky blue.

Personally, I don't really like executive looking things even though I am one. Especially as this will be for more personal use and entertainment in my case, and only hooking into work if needed.

It don't need to look Fisher Price to be tough and cheaper.

 

[jwdsail]

Apple is developing a more affordable Mac notebook that's set to come out in the first half of 2026, according to Bloomberg. The machine will cost "well under $1,000" and it will compete with affordable Windows machines and Chromebooks.

Apple's lowest priced Mac notebook right now is the MacBook Air, which starts at $999, though students can get a $100 discount through the Education Store. The Mac mini desktop machine is more affordable at $599, but it is not portable and does not come with a display or peripherals.

While Apple has long had a more affordable "SE" version of the iPhone, Macs have always been more expensive, premium devices. Cheaper PCs have seen success with students and those that don't need capabilities beyond web browsing and document creation.

The low-cost Mac could replace the entry-level iPad and keyboard combo that some people use as an affordable way to get a PC-capable Apple device.

We've heard multiple rumors about Apple's plan for a lower-cost notebook over the last few months. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in June that the machine would have a 13-inch display and an A-series iPhone processor rather than a Mac processor. Apple will reportedly use the A18 Pro chip that first came out in the iPhone 16 Pro.

Kuo said that Apple could offer the Mac in bright colors like the iMac, selling it in Silver, Blue, Pink, and Yellow.

The low-cost MacBook will not replace any existing Mac in Apple's lineup, and it will be sold alongside M5 versions of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro that Apple plans to debut early in 2026.

Article Link: Apple Launching Budget MacBook in 2026

I still say that this will be an Education market exclusive device, unless/until they see a sufficient demand for it in the broader market, that they can be confident that it won’t cannibalize existing profitable products, like the Air.