Nobody has mentioned so far how much this is a services play.
Apple will be encouraging people to buy iCloud.
Apple will be encouraging people to buy iCloud.
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Apple's Cheap MacBook: What to Expect in 2026
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Just wait until Apple allow macOS apps to be installed on iPadOS exclusively via the Mac App Store - I mean iPadOS now has a menu bar, window management and a proper mouse cursor. Then they'll have a machine that runs Mac apps but kills the ability for 3rd party installs off the internet.
I still irrationally believe this is their preferred future.
Maybe they'll sell two versions of this machine, one with iPadOS for $599 and one with macOS for $799
The AppleBook
I still irrationally believe this is their preferred future.
Maybe they'll sell two versions of this machine, one with iPadOS for $599 and one with macOS for $799
The AppleBook
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I had this thought, too. 128 GB of storage and ‘iCloud will gladly provide you with as much space as you like for the low, low price of $9.99 per month!’ The subscription machine.
The 12" flopped because of:
- high price
- low(ish) performance
- bad PR around the butterfly KBD
Take the 12" reduce the bezels to 2025 level and your at 13", touchpad is big enough as it was and battery-space will be more then sufficient.
Screen would be big enough for something to be positioned below the MBA.
So the usual stuff…. First several reports on it being launched THIS Year, now quietly changed to NEXT year, next year will be delayed till the year after, and then this story will magically disappear as it turns out it was fake all along or Apple scrapped it ages ago.
Perhaps they could make the money back selling even more expensive and powerful OLED MacBook Pros. Seems like many with an iPad Pro and MKB eagerly paid more to upgrade to OLED M4 or M5.
There isn’t going to be a 12in. Macbook. Thats just too damn small in the mainstream laptop market. It’s possible there could be a 12.9 display similar to the iPad Pro and Air display, but I still think a 13-13.3 display is more likely.
If this is going to be $599-$699 US then it’ll be $899-$999 Canadian. At that price point it likely won’t much affect Chromebook sales. Chromebooks are generally a lot cheaper, although there are some exceptions, and cater to a different customer, primarily those wanting something cheap with basic functionality. Same with crappy laptops running Microsoft’s Windows S.
A new sub $1000 CA will cut into sales of mainstream $599-$999 CA laptops, those who find the current $1399 Macbook Air too steep. Lots of students in particular will like this, not having to settle for a Windows machine because the Air is too far out of their or their parent’s budget range.
If the new Macbook were priced at $899 CA it would be a killer value. Then again I think all Macbook Air models are priced $100 CA too much.
I wonder if Apple will offer it in optional colours or to keep it really budget and limit the options to just two like they do the iPhone 16e and the MacBook Pro. Or, like most if not all mainstream PC laptops offer it in only one colour like Silver, Space Grey or Space Blue.
I think Apple would do well to have 16gb RAM as standard with no less than 256gb storage (though 512 would definitely be better) given a lot of Windows machines are now offering 16 as base RAM particularly when to get into the $600+ CA range.
This could be quite popular much the same way the iPhone 16e has been popular especially with those who don’t obsess with specs the way many others do.
If this is going to be $599-$699 US then it’ll be $899-$999 Canadian. At that price point it likely won’t much affect Chromebook sales. Chromebooks are generally a lot cheaper, although there are some exceptions, and cater to a different customer, primarily those wanting something cheap with basic functionality. Same with crappy laptops running Microsoft’s Windows S.
A new sub $1000 CA will cut into sales of mainstream $599-$999 CA laptops, those who find the current $1399 Macbook Air too steep. Lots of students in particular will like this, not having to settle for a Windows machine because the Air is too far out of their or their parent’s budget range.
If the new Macbook were priced at $899 CA it would be a killer value. Then again I think all Macbook Air models are priced $100 CA too much.
I wonder if Apple will offer it in optional colours or to keep it really budget and limit the options to just two like they do the iPhone 16e and the MacBook Pro. Or, like most if not all mainstream PC laptops offer it in only one colour like Silver, Space Grey or Space Blue.
I think Apple would do well to have 16gb RAM as standard with no less than 256gb storage (though 512 would definitely be better) given a lot of Windows machines are now offering 16 as base RAM particularly when to get into the $600+ CA range.
This could be quite popular much the same way the iPhone 16e has been popular especially with those who don’t obsess with specs the way many others do.
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Rosetta is being removed next year in macOS 27 anyway. They’ve already said this.I have a bad feeling about this, I don’t think the “A” series is going to support Rosetta, which will affect the crossover app gaming.
It's got to be said that I would definitely considering kitting out family members with one of these, rather than the cheap Windows laptops they use. I've been telling them that Macs are better for literally decades. They won't care about the fact the screen isn't cutting edge, and they won't running Adobe CC. It'll just be browsing, media consumption and office tasks.
This MUST be part of Apple's plan.
Apple noticed a few years ago how iPhones never stopped being used. Dad would get one and then, when he wanted to upgrade 2-3 years later, he would do so and hand down the phone to one of the kids. The kids would be overjoyed just to have an iPhone and given that it still got updates, and app creators ensured even games continued to work on older hardware, it was a great arrangement for everybody concerned.
This does not happen with Macs, because Macs tend to be used until they die.
So Apple's filling this gap with a cheap and cheerful Macbook. Low-price is not a bracket that Apple likes to fill, although the iPhone SE has proved successful.
It's a different direction for them, to be blunt. But this is also a different world compared to even just five years ago.
In other words, I feel really strongly that the release of this laptop is sending us a message. I'm just not sure what. And in about two years, post-launch, it'll be really obvious.
This MUST be part of Apple's plan.
Apple noticed a few years ago how iPhones never stopped being used. Dad would get one and then, when he wanted to upgrade 2-3 years later, he would do so and hand down the phone to one of the kids. The kids would be overjoyed just to have an iPhone and given that it still got updates, and app creators ensured even games continued to work on older hardware, it was a great arrangement for everybody concerned.
This does not happen with Macs, because Macs tend to be used until they die.
So Apple's filling this gap with a cheap and cheerful Macbook. Low-price is not a bracket that Apple likes to fill, although the iPhone SE has proved successful.
It's a different direction for them, to be blunt. But this is also a different world compared to even just five years ago.
In other words, I feel really strongly that the release of this laptop is sending us a message. I'm just not sure what. And in about two years, post-launch, it'll be really obvious.
All about size for me and my use case as a secondary (or really tertiary system) for travel. If it is lighter and smaller than the MBA I might be interested. I'd be willing to give up some features for that and at a lesser price would be a bonus. However if it isn't I'll stick with MBAs.
People who buy Macbooks generally aren’t thinking about gaming on it. This would be even more true on an entry level Macbook. Same with mainstream Windows laptops also.I have a bad feeling about this, I don’t think the “A” series is going to support Rosetta, which will affect the crossover app gaming.
One of the most common things I hear day after day is, “I want something basic and I’m not gaming.” They don’t get how obvious that is right off given they’re looking at mainstream laptops. Those into gaming say so right off and ask to see the gaming machines.
A lot of people also say, “I don’t need all the bells and whistles.” They don’t get all mainstream Windows machines run the same Windows 11 Home and the only real difference is specs, and now a lot of machines are 12-16 RAM 512 storage standard anyway. 1TB SSD is even starting to become common again.
I usually don’t try to upsell people unless I know what they’re looking at likely won’t satisfy their needs as they’ve stated to me. Unless what they’re doing is largely basic I do try to steer them up from an i3 or a Ryzen 3. And anything less than that is basically throwing your money away.
How would you know? There are no 12-inch laptops available for purchase, so no one can really assess the demand. The old MacBook had enormous bezels, so a 13-inch display could be installed in a MacBook of this size.
Remember, Apple conducted a survey among MacBook owners about two years ago. If they weren't interested in a new version of the device, such a survey would be useless.
Not really their style though. If the OLED models are to be more expensive, they would likely keep the current non-OLED models around for a while as a rung in their pricing-ladder. This is why they sell a non-Pro-chipped MacBook "Pro" (which shouldn't exist IMO). They rather add to their pricing-ladder than focus their lineup.
With this in mind—given how Apple tends to operate—if an A-Pro-chip MacBook model does materialise they would likely use it to nudge the MacBook Air price higher, sliding the new potentially thinner model in around $999, and certainly above $900. My hope is if this is their intention it is because they are wanting to give MacBook Air more ports: SD Card and HDMI. Ports are far more important than power to most users. This is another reason I would like the base MBP models to not exist. MBP should have Pro or Max chips, with MBA being the base model there with some of those ports. MBA used have SD Card, the model I'm typing on does. Many so-called "pros" want more choice in terms of thin laptops, they don't want a pro machine, they want a thin device, but they do need ports and most people hate dongles. SD Card and HDMI are really handy "just in case" ports. Even if only used a few times IMO they are worth it.
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Given laptop bezels are constantly shrinking and all other devices keep getting bigger displays you can pretty much guarantee there won’t be a 12in. Macbook. It’s ridiculous. People have to stop thinking their niche interest somehow translates into mainstream market appeal.
Agreed. The smallest form factor with the biggest display.
Something like a 13" makes much more sense in 2026 given bezels keep getting thinner. I think the mid-sized machines are annoying in that MBA and MBP should have the same screen size to make buying a computer easier (~14.5"). And MBA should have more ports to un-gimp the machine. Thin or power should be the key buying question re MBA vs MBP.
Here's the bezel on the old 12" MacBook
At least two USB-C ports, please! A single port means that you can't charge and use any other peripheral at the same time. It's reminiscent of the iPhone dumping the headphone jack, leading to the annoying dongles with a lightning jack and a headphone jack for charging and listening.
I can practically see it now. The spec obsessed will rant nonstop about what the new Macbook doesn’t have while the mainstream consumers buy it in droves.
Apple have been forced to discount the Air significantly via third party resellers the last few years. Lately the M4 Air has been available from 749, that's a 25% discount from MSRP.
I suspect Apple will introduce this model so they won't have to discount the Air so much, and still retain or even grow their market share.
So if you want an Air it might be wise to buy before they launch this one.
I suspect Apple will introduce this model so they won't have to discount the Air so much, and still retain or even grow their market share.
So if you want an Air it might be wise to buy before they launch this one.
Not true with a dock, but two ports would be nice
One on each side while we’re wishing.
Not really, just look at how it went with the 12", when that was introduced the "Air" looked like a fat, ugly and outdated, but it still was sold as is. When the Air got it's last Intel based design refresh it was the 12" that looked stupid (and was discontinued soon after).
So if this MBC(heap) gets to be a thing I suspect MBA pricing to just stay unchanged till either the next spec bump or even a proper redesign (which might be a few years of).