Apple's 2026 Low-Cost A18 Pro MacBook: What We Know So Far

[theluggage]

I’m honestly not sure where this fits into the MacBook/iPad ecosystem.

Right in place of the the “new” M1 Airs that Walmart have been (are still?) selling. It’s a proven market. Interesting question is whether this will even appear on the regular Apple Store…

What they are building is basically a more expensive Chromebook.

…running full MacOS not ChromeOS/Android, not dependent on Google and capable of doing almost anything that a M1 Mac could do - which is a lot more than a web-app client. So, not a Chromebook then.

As for “expensive” - no reason that it should cost Apple more to make than a half-decent Chromebook so - whatever it costs to consumers - they can offer deep, bulk discounts to education. Question is, though, can Apple make money by selling services to education? If so, they can afford to “give away the razors”.

 

[chmania]

You buy a Mac to use macOS and some applications that only work with macOS, which means macOS users have no other choice of computer or laptop apart from an Apple-made device. That’s what the Apple product EULA states, anyway. If macOS were a universal operating system like Debian, which can be installed on any device available in the world—including a Mac—we probably wouldn’t be discussing this "cheap" meaning low-cost MacBook, would we?

 

[sleep/to/dream]

You buy a Mac to use macOS and some applications that only work with macOS, which means macOS users have no other choice of computer or laptop apart from an Apple-made device. That’s what the Apple product EULA states, anyway. If macOS were a universal operating system like Debian, which can be installed on any device available in the world—including a Mac—we probably wouldn’t be discussing this "cheap" meaning low-cost MacBook, would we?

You buy a mac for the perfect integration of an Apple-designed OS and Apple-designed hardware. It’s luxurious, in a sense, how well everything works out of the box. 99% of Mac users don’t desire to run macOS on anything else

I like Linux and all, but it’s not as slick as macOS, and never will be unfortunately

 

[Warped9]

I guarantee this won’t be a revival of the wedge shaped 12 or 13in. MacBook. It’ll more likely be the same design language as the current MacBook Air and probably of similar thickness. I suspect the screen will be 12.9 to 13.3in.

The current iPad and iPad Air have displays that are way better than the vast majority of mainstream consumer PC laptops. Apple should have no problem putting out a lower priced MacBook with a screen that totally embarrasses the competition. They could use the same panel as the current iPad Air 13 (12.9) and call it a day. I’m typing this on my M2 iPad Air 13 and its display makes what is on most mainstream PC laptops look like garbage. Or they could use the 13.3 panel of the old M1 MacBook Air. It’s not impossible it could be a new panel in the 13in. range. Either way it’ll be better than what else is out there outside of the Apple lineup under $1000.

The A18 Pro, A19 or 19 Pro chip will be more than sufficient to outclass the Intel and AMD chips out there in the sub $1000 market. The expected battery life alone will be killer. The current RAMpocalypse is already driving up prices of poorly powered 8gb/512gb PC laptops to stupid levels. This new MacBook will make them look even worse particularly if it has at least 12gb RAM to accommodate Apple Intelligence. Apple could call this the M4e or M5e, but pretty much no one outside of some on sites like MR will care what the chip is called.

I’m reasonably sure it will have Magsafe charging. But even it doesn’t 2 USB-C ports will cover it. Ideally it would have Magsafe plus 2 USB-C ports (like the MacBook Air), but Magsafe plus 1 USB-C or simply 2 USB-C ports would work. USB-C laptop charging is becoming ever more common. Not having HDMI and USB ports on the MacBook Air isn’t hurting it so the new MacBook not having those likely won’t be a problem either.

$599-$699 US ($829-$949 CAN) for an Apple MacBook will be very attractive to potential buyers. Lots of students alone put off by the price of a MacBook Air will find this irresistible. If Apple does this right they couldn’t have released it at a better time when mediocre PC laptops are rising in price due to escalating RAM prices. If it does have appealing colour options that will be another plus in a sea of silver, grey and black PC laptops. Ideally this will be released in Jan-Mar 2026—the sooner the better.

Yes, it might have a plastic chassis, but if their entry level iPad can have a metal casing then I don’t see why this new MacBook doesn’t have one either. If so it’ll be another plus against a market of plastic bodied laptops that flex noticeably when you pick them up with one hand. Or Apple could simply use better plastic.

Knowing this is coming I’ve been floating this news out to customers who are starting to shop and expressing interest in the MacBook lineup. The interest and potential is out there. A faster, more stable, longer lasting and better built laptop priced $599-$699 should sell well particularly given Apple is a well established entity and not some obscure brand out of nowhere. I am looking forward to being able to offer this option to customers and I think it could sell like crazy.

 

[ChrisChaval]

with memory prices skyrocketing, planning to introduce a "low cost" product seems like bad timing

 

[azentropy]

My somewhat realistic hope is

• A18 Pro
• 12GB of RAM
• 256GB Storage
• ~ 2.2lbs (which is half a pound less than the MBA)
• Two USB-C Ports (one port would be okay if it also has MagSafe but would prefer 2 USB-C)
• Can drive an external 5K Display
• $749 (but like the MBA retailers will discount even lower)

 

[chmania]

I like Linux and all, but it’s not as slick as macOS, and never will be unfortunately

What does "slick" have to do with an operating system? 😉

 

[mike.coulter]

This would be the perfect portable device, if it was 12".

 

[rodpascoe]

Attractive machine for light use, I have an M2 13" Air with 16GB ram and despite paying more for the upgrade probably don't need that 16GB really.

With the price of ram absolutely soaring at the moment and with vendors reporting no sign of the costs slowing down then I cannot expect this to have more than 8GB if it's an entry level machine.

We forget on this forum that we probably use our machines more than most, this is a cheap Chromebook alternative and for emails, browsing etc then 8GB would be absolutely fine.

 

[roklanhavok]

I am so curious as to how this machine will change the landscape. I wonder if they will make as much profit on this as they do the base MacBook Air so they won't mind if a bunch of people choose this instead.

 

[Sinfonist]

It would be good to have at least two USB C ports. I use my current machine for presentations, so being able to both connect to a power supply and a projector at the same time would avoid some stress!

A hub that has PD solves the port problem at low cost. I did that with my MBA. It's not as convenient as multiple ports, but it is workable for a one-plug solution. If you could find a mains-powered one with HDMI that would probably be ideal

 

[litmag01]

I guess it is just semantics but out of curiosity is this device going to be a MacBook or a MacBook Pro? The article uses both terms. The pro seems weird. This h/w doesn't sound very pro-like to me.

 

[Sinfonist]

With the price of ram absolutely soaring at the moment and with vendors reporting no sign of the costs slowing down then I cannot expect this to have more than 8GB if it's an entry level machine.

The RAM is part of the SoC so Apple should be relatively isolated from memory cost increases. This can help them be more price competitive if they choose

 

[Sinfonist]

I am so curious as to how this machine will change the landscape. I wonder if they will make as much profit on this as they do the base MacBook Air so they won't mind if a bunch of people choose this instead.

I was also trying to work out the niche for this (as opposed to simply selling eg cheap M1 MBAs). Maybe as a low-cost "fun" system, complementing an iMac, as some people here have suggested. But the difference between this and the base MBA is then quite narrow. Perhaps dropping in a cellular modem to one or the other would differentiate the model lines and increase sales?

 

[Ceecephous]

The base m1 air barely works on MacOS Tahoe, let alone an 18pro.

 

[Populus]

I am betting a special 18 Pro version that supports 12 GB of RAM.

Well, the A19 Pro already carries 12GB of RAM. In my opinion, this SoC would offer the perfect value for this low-end laptop.

 

[yticolev]

The base m1 air barely works on MacOS Tahoe, let alone an 18pro.

You have issues, but they are not Tahoe.

 

[woolypants]

I think this is fascinating. Apple's creating a MacBook SE. Most of Apple's other product lines already have a budget offering – iPhone SE, Watch SE, basic iPad. For the first time in decades, this is now happening with the laptop range, too (the previous budget offering being the iBook). You could argue the Air's always been budget, but that's only budget by Apple's existing pricing. Compared to other brands, the Air was a mid-tier priced laptop.

 

[victorvictoria]

Going down market is not the way for Apple to move forward. There's just way too much competition at the $599 price range. Apple is a premium tech company and should focus on that.

 

[satchmo]

Wasn’t the rumour that Apple was moving back to ‘thin’ designs again?

Just as the iPhone Air is a precursor to the foldable iPhone, perhaps this low cost MacBook is sort of a test case for the future MacBook Pros.

 

[woolypants]

Wasn’t the rumour that Apple was moving back to ‘thin’ designs again?

Just as the iPhone Air is a precursor to the foldable iPhone, perhaps this low cost MacBook is sort of a test case for the future MacBook Pros.

The mainboard for this will be little larger than an iPhone. It might even be very similar to an existing iPhone board.

The rest of the space will be consumed by a fairly modest battery (<50kWh). They might even take that tech from the iPhone, too. So, there's no reason why Apple can't make this extremely thin with little engineering challenge.

There will be compromises. If there's no fan then there will be throttling at high loads. But very few people outside of YouTube reviewers will ever experience this because of their use cases.

 

[dgdosen]

How many times is this story going to get recycled? Daily until release?

 

[lapstags]

I don't think they're gonna make anything too exciting here. My bet is they just take the old previous gen Macbook Air design and put in the A-series chip. They already have the supply chain in place for it, and this is a low margin product for them. It will be primarily sold in Walmart and Amazon. Next to a Chromebook and other $700 laptops, those still look great. Why bother changing it? I think it's highly unlikely they make some new redesign.

The m1 air design was very nice I would not be made at that

 

[AND411]

How many times is this story going to get recycled? Daily until release?

a thousand times and they don‘t know anything! 🙈

 

[AND411]

The m1 air design was very nice I would not be made at that

Looks old and clunky! And too heavy!