Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip

[crsh1976]

For a low-cost option, I wish they could just bring back the 12" Macbook model, and stick in an M2 or M3 chip in?

Going on a limb, Apple is using the Chromebook approach for an all-cloud and light apps approach. Except we all know Apple will never release a dirt-cheap Macbook Air product.

So we're not looking at a cheaper Macbook Air with a smaller screen that runs off iOS/iPadOS, we're looking at a base regular iPad with a built-in keyboard/trackpad. I'd guess the starting price won't be less then $500.

Buying last year's discontinued/refurbished Macbook Air will always be a better deal to me.

 

[MacMikePro]

This is exactly what I’ve been waiting for but specifically for it to be the 12” MacBook design, single USB C but with MagSafe added would be perfectly fine. So I really hope the 13” part of the rumor is incorrect, and hopefully it’s the 12” size but with heavily reduced bezels and a notch so that’s why they think it’s 13”. Fingers crossed.

 

[darngooddesign]

This is exactly what I’ve been waiting for but specifically for it to be the 12” MacBook design, single USB C but with MagSafe added would be perfectly fine. So I really hope the 13” part of the rumor is incorrect, and hopefully it’s the 12” size but with heavily reduced bezels and a notch so that’s why they think it’s 13”. Fingers crossed.

Thats a good question. The 12" MacBook only had space for two ports, USB-C and headphone, so would we accept one without the headphone jack if it had MagSafe and USB-C?

I would take that deal.

 

[Timpetus]

Mac mini with an internal battery option would be better. Currently its the only thing keeping me away from buying one for my home server. It would be great for protection against electric outages. Old laptop that im using for home server right now wins this versus..

If that's your preferred setup, the laptop is what's best for you. In my case, I use a Mac Mini headless connected to the same UPS as my other networking and storage equipment in the office. A battery inside the Mini would be pointlessly redundant, as it would unnecessarily take up more space just like a laptop would. It wouldn't fit in the small cabinet I put it in currently. A UPS is ideally a separate device, because that gives you much better options and lets you put everything important on battery backup.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Are we sure this will run macOS?

 

[aaronage]

Are we sure this will run macOS?

Why do you think it won't?

Edit: this update puts the whole debate to bed https://www.macrumors.com/2025/06/30/new-macbook-with-a18-chip-spotted/

It's a macOS device

 

[turbineseaplane]

Why do you think it won't?

It's not mentioned either way and Apple has a REALLY strong desire to keep people on iOS/iPadOS (and grow the #) where they have a revenue lock down on nearly all Apps.

I still maintain that Tim would love macOS to go away eventually.

It's too "open" for his preferred business goals.

I just installed some software on my Mac this morning (err .. "sideloaded it" ) and Tim got no cut of the transaction. He doesn't like that.

 

[svish]

Love the idea of colours. Think it will be at least $200 cheaper than the current 13" Air. It will most likely lack TouchID and maybe even the MagSafe charging port.

However would have been better if an M series chip is in it considering that Apple might limit some features of macOS only to computers with an M chip.

On a separate note, would like to see some nice colours for the other models too.

 

[turbineseaplane]

It will most likely lack TouchID

I don't think that's likely at all.

Apple isn't going to release anything new like this without Face or Touch ID of some form.

 

[bluecoast]

$100 would be massive, in relative terms.


There are limits on what Apple will be willing to compromise.

Ports? Maybe. Likely even.
Touch ID? Possibly - but biometric login has become standard across their (portable) product line.

But low-res panel and „bad“ trackpad?
They still want customers to have a decent experience and upsell them later.

I could see it having just two usb c ports, one for charging.

It might even just have one usb-c port, just like the original MacBook (and the iPad), but in 2025 that would be a stretch, so I’m expecting two.

I presume that an a18 MacBook will have insane battery life, so the argument will go that this is a computer that you don’t use plugged in. So no MagSafe for you.

Nor will potential users have much need to plug in peripherals. Again the argument will be that most people will use this laptop as a laptop and not have it plugged into a monitor.

As for the education discount. It depends if this machine is serious about competing with chromebooks.

Then apple could give a decent discount to education institutions and argue that the relatively expensive price is worth it for the utility it offers and future proofing etc.

 

[ericinboston]

Chromebooks are the devil. If you have kids (or have ever used one yourself), they are worse than any Windows device I've ever used. Just terrible experience for kids, especially with their short attention span as it is these days.

1)I agree that Chromebooks are terrible, even the "powerful" ones around $500. They are really only used by kids under 8th grade to connect to Google Docs and do work all your school work there. My 4th-7th grade kids have them and I can't stand the machines, yet they are happy as clams using them for school work or web surfing. But I don't care since they cost $350 each, the kids and teachers are happy, and the teachers manage/troubleshoot the machines, which amazingly, I've never heard of any problems with the grades and machines. We've had our 2 machines for 3 years.

2)Come on, you're really going to bring out the Windows bashing? Unlike Apple, you can buy 1000 different Windows machines by dozens of vendors for prices ranging from $200-$5000. Of course you're going to find some crappy ones in that kind of selection size. I'm not a laptop fan but Windows laptops above $800 are generally great machines...just about the same price as Macbook Airs when on sale.

 

[darngooddesign]

Are we sure this will run macOS?

MacBook

 

[ksec]

For a low-cost option, I wish they could just bring back the 12" Macbook model, and stick in an M2 or M3 chip in?

I think this is potential it. The same size as old MacBook 12' but the thinner bezels means 13". A18 Pro means 8GB Memory. It is basically reusing iPhone 16 Pro components and fit it into a MacBook. Possibly with Apple's own WiFi and BT combo as well. Only one TB4 Port.

Starting price at $799.

 

[ericinboston]

Mac mini with an internal battery option would be better. Currently its the only thing keeping me away from buying one for my home server. It would be great for protection against electric outages. Old laptop that im using for home server right now wins this versus..

Wait. If the power goes out in your house, then EVERYTHING goes off...so why are you mad at the Mac Mini server for not having an internal battery?

Buy a good UPS for $150 and it will power your Mac Mini (M2 model only uses about 25 watts) for easily over an hour. Of course you're going to need a UPS for your router, cablemodem, network rack, etc.

What's great about the Mac Mini (I have 20 of them at home) is that if they lose power, they boot right back up when the power comes back on. You can even configure the machine to auto-log-in in case you have some scripts or software that doesn't start until actual log in.

p.s. For years and years I've hoped that many low powered desktops would include a battery long enough for the machine to run for 1-2 minutes for very short power outages and/or time for your home generator to kick in and also for the machine to write what's in memory to disc and gracefully shut down. Alas, I've never seen said desktop even though hard disks are basically gone and replaced with very low-power-sucking SSD and NVME as well as the industry move to lower-powered CPUs.

 

[blipmusic]

<...>

I still maintain that Tim would love macOS to go away eventually.
<...>

Perhaps. But would one then develop for this new (or old), closed OS on ... Windows? Linux? Academia would also cease to exist as a market for Apple if this were to happen (granted, I have no idea how profitable these contracts are).

If Apple takes my Mac away - my "main" device by far - I'd be more keen on getting non-Apple products elsewhere. Most open source maintainers will not get a paid dev account just to have Apple put their "stamp of quality" on their tool and may just stop supporting Apple altogether (unless of course it pays all CI/server bills) if users can no longer compile on their own. Which in turn may result in more users abandoning Apple. Lots of rings on the water. I'm probably not describing the most profitable demo-graphic so perhaps Apple won't care.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Perhaps. But would one then develop for this new (or old), closed OS on ... Windows? Linux? Academia would also cease to exist as a market for Apple if this were to happen (granted, I have no idea how profitable these contracts are).

If Apple takes my Mac away - my "main" device by far - I'd be more keen on getting non-Apple products elsewhere. Most open source maintainers will not get a paid dev account just to have Apple put their "stamp of quality" on their tool and may just stop supporting Apple altogether (unless of course it pays all CI/server bills). Which in turn may result in more users abandoning Apple. Lots of rings on the water. I'm probably not describing the most profitable demo-graphic so perhaps Apple won't care.

Very good points..
I suspect that if they ever get Xcode going on the closed platforms it could get interesting though.

I think long term there's a lot more money in being a "service provider" to a huge captive audience of "appliance users" (iOS/iPadOS) than there is in selling hardware to Mac users.

i.e. they may just bow out of catering to more general purpose open and flexible computing.

 

[Contact_Feanor]

Wouldn't an M1 be as cheap as an iPhone processor after all this time?

Maybe, but the multi-core performance of the A18 pro is the same as the M1, and the single core performance in higher on the A18 Pro. On top of that, it sips less power. So for technical reasons, they'd go with the A18 Pro.
For marketing reasons as well: it'd be difficult to explain to people why the 2021 MacBook Air M1 doesn't get updates anymore three years from now, but the 2025 Macbook M1 does for several years after that...

 

[Contact_Feanor]

Y’all think this is just going to be an A-series chip in a MBA body but it won’t. It will prob have a non-haptic trackpad, no touch id, super low res panel, and one port. It will basically be an iPad screen attached to a Magic Keyboard variant.

Everyone will complain even though it’s not for the average consumer to the point I hope Apple walls these behind purchasing accounts associated with education or similar.

That's not really how apple operates. The eMac in its days was available for everyone to purchase. And buying low-volume non-haptic trackpads might be more expensive than using the production lines they already have. Also, iPad screens aren't exactly "super low res" in my experience...

 

[blipmusic]

Very good points..
I suspect that if they ever get Xcode going on the closed platforms it could get interesting though.

I think long term there's a lot more money in being a "service provider" to a huge captive audience of "appliance users" (iOS/iPadOS) than there is in selling hardware to Mac users.

i.e. they may just bow out of catering to more general purpose open and flexible computing.

The weird thing is that if Apple were *only* a service and "appliance" provider (phones, watches, but no general purpose computers), there's less of an ecosystem to "maintain" from the user perspective as well, and the iPhone would more directly compete with Android. I realise this is the case today as well, but since the ecosystem would no longer be an incentive, not having a Mac would no longer be a reason to pick Android over iPhone. The profits from iOS devices certainly dwarf those from Macs, and for lots of people the only "computer" they own is a mobile phone... I'd be a bit sad if Macs disappeared though. :/

 

[turbineseaplane]

I'd be a bit sad if Macs disappeared though. :/

For me, it'd likely not be an Apple customer on much of anything anymore.
Maybe Airpods still .. and certainly my old Apple stuff (shuffles/nanos, etc)

I guess I'm getting old and am too nerdy, but I will always want my primary computing experience to be more open and flexible than just appliance computing (iOS/iPadOS style).

Once my primary OS being Apple (or not) is in question, everything is on the table.

 

[blipmusic]

For me, it'd likely not be an Apple customer on much of anything anymore.
Maybe Airpods still .. and certainly my old Apple stuff (shuffles/nanos, etc)

I guess I'm getting old and am too nerdy, but I will always want my primary computing experience to be more open and flexible than just appliance computing (iOS/iPadOS style).

Once my primary OS being Apple (or not) is in question, everything is on the table.

I've eyed Linux setups more than once and for many reasons whenever it has been time to upgrade.

 

[SDJim]

If they can use one of the 12GB RAM SoC's, then this will have a leg to stand on. Otherwise, 8GB is just a joke for a main CPU.

 

[coolkid93]

and how much you want to bet that it won’t receive nearly as the amount of support for years than the M chips even if it’s a “budget” friendly alternative

 

[gothicgeek]

This would make a great deal of sense and would bring parity to all the product lines. So there would be a MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro. The only thing that I think would confuse things is the use of an A-series chip. I think they should or would come out with a chip that sits between the A and M series that would be budget focused. This could even be use in a lower end Mac mini.

 

[Sirious]

I thought this new product will also be underpowered.

Agreed, but that one was overpriced which made it worse! haha
This one probably will be pricey too.. thats the thing