DakotaGuy
macrumors 601
An iPad Air M3 with a Magic Keyboard would be a more powerful and useful device. If they really throw iPad OS on this it'll fail on day 1.
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Low-Price 12.9-Inch MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Reportedly Launching Early This Year
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AppliedMicro
macrumors 68040
My suspicion as well, been saying it for months.
Lower power and RAM being used to justify restrictions on app installation.
Hopefully.
Spock
Contributor
Just because it’s running the A series processor, doesn’t mean it will have a cellular modem. I can’t see Apple putting something like that in the very low end before it’s in the Pro models.
WarmWinterHat
Suspended
Chromebooks at our local school still have a few things going for them over this. For one, they are repairable on-site. Replacement keys, keyboards, batteries, etc. Usually kids will have it back by the end of the day or the next. They also are convertible..spin the screen all the way around they and they work as a tablet with a stylus or finger.
throAU
macrumors G4
the A18Pro is much faster in low thread count workload than your M1 Max - believe it or not.
iPhone 16 Pro (A18 Pro) - Geekbench
Benchmark results for an iPhone17,1 with an ARM processor.
browser.geekbench.com
vs
MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) - Geekbench
Benchmark results for a MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) with an Apple M1 Max processor.
browser.geekbench.com
its like 1.5x the speed in 1-2 core workloads.
M1 generation was and still is a great chip... but the Apple Silicon hasn't stopped improving. A18/A18Pro is faster than M1 base by a long shot in single thread and about line ball in multicore.
This product could work as an entry level Mac. The MacBook Air has crept up in features and spec in recent years and there's now room for a plain MacBook underneath it in the line up.
8 GB and an a18 (not even pro) is plenty of some people who just want the basics.
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When this comes out loads of people on this forum will hate it.
Too underpowered. Not enough ports (probably only one). No thunderbolt.
And it will sell like hotcakes.
Too underpowered. Not enough ports (probably only one). No thunderbolt.
And it will sell like hotcakes.
Won't help me if they don't fix the issue with temporal dithering. They need to provide a knob that disables ALL types of dithering. I don't care about billions of colors. I was 100% fine with the colors even 20 years ago, didn't care for more.
Otherwise, it would have been an instant buy since I'm not a power user at all.
I have high conviction this will actually be released unlike the iPhone Fold and the HomePod with screen.
Otherwise, it would have been an instant buy since I'm not a power user at all.
I have high conviction this will actually be released unlike the iPhone Fold and the HomePod with screen.
As I’ve posted before, this new MacBook sounds like a perfect replacement for my 13-inch iPad Air with Magic Keyboard (a rather clunky setup). It’s the possibility that it could be thinner and lighter than the current 13-inch MacBook Air that has my attention. I’d love at least 12 GB of RAM but would settle for 8 GB if necessary. But if the new machine is roughly the same size and weight as the $749/$799 MBA 13, there would be no contest.
ScooterComputer
macrumors 6502
This is what happens when hypocritical rich people deign to 'the poors'. "Here, you poor person… here's a shiny piece of crap! We care!"
And almost 100% assured Apple will also release this with some statement to the effect that it is better for the environment because "Chromebooks bad" (which IS true!), even though it is b.s. (any laptop in 2025 with 8GB of non-upgradeable RAM is destined for a landfill). (And yeah, come at me with the "but… but… but… recycling!" Whatever, fools. If you believe that, you're even dumber than most.)
And almost 100% assured Apple will also release this with some statement to the effect that it is better for the environment because "Chromebooks bad" (which IS true!), even though it is b.s. (any laptop in 2025 with 8GB of non-upgradeable RAM is destined for a landfill). (And yeah, come at me with the "but… but… but… recycling!" Whatever, fools. If you believe that, you're even dumber than most.)
I think you could be right.
Apple providing most things that most regular users would want to do with an Apple laptop for $599-699?
There has to be a catch right?
Especially if this is competing with mid range Chromebooks - which are very locked down.
It’ll be part of the reason why Apple will push you up the pricing ladder to getting an mba m5 - which (presumably…) won’t be locked down.
switz
Contributor
Would be a perfect travel device with small memory and storage space. Initialize it before the trip for TSA and destination scans. Reload operating system when at destination. Initialize at departure for departures scan and USA entry scan. Personal information some what protected.
If it is lighter, it would be worth a new model to me. There are so many options for 2 lb laptops with Windows. I'm typing on one that is 2.3 lb with a 14" screen. With a 13" screen, it would be 1.9 lb.
throAU
macrumors G4
target customer is Chromebook buyer. where you're competing with crappy tn panels from 2009
throAU
macrumors G4
I have an m4 max. I regularly take my iPad Pro and keyboard with me when I don't need the power. When I do take the m4 max I tend to take both.
My iPad replaces paper, and also provides a light duty laptop when I'm traveling light. A MacBook can't do all of that.
Some people don't sketch diagrams or take notes via handwriting, etc. and thats fine.
But to say this will kill the iPad is just nuts.
when this one will be on sale ? lets compare sales on sales, apples to apples
M4 Mba will never reach even on sale 499 but this one for sure
They are being deliberately obtuse.
You are correct.
The most discounted price the M4 Air has been is $699.
Meanwhile the Walmart M1 MBA has been sub-$550 at times. That is still a pretty big difference.
throAU
macrumors G4
The only reason you're seeng M1 MBAs for that price is due to Walmart overstocking them from when apple still had them on sale. Apple haven't made them for years.
what Walmart do with ancient EOL hardware prices is not really a competitor for a new device.
It will likely do fine at these types of tasks, it will be about equivalent to an M1 or M2.
People keep saying “iPhone CPU” as if it is a bad thing. It’s not. The M chips are literally just iPhone chips with higher clock speeds and more cores
throAU
macrumors G4
Per one of my posts above...
A18 Pro
iPhone 16 Pro (A18 Pro) - Geekbench
Benchmark results for an iPhone17,1 with an ARM processor.
browser.geekbench.com
M1
MacBook Air (Late 2020) - Geekbench
Benchmark results for a MacBook Air (Late 2020) with an Apple M1 processor.
browser.geekbench.com
Almost identical in Multi core CPU scores. A18 is so far ahead in single core response it's a joke. A18 Pro runs in like... 1/4 of the power or so?
The A18 Pro GPU is superior as it has RT support and more advanced GPU compute.
People with rose tinted glasses for the M1 really shouldn't be sleeping on the A18/A18 Pro machines. Because they're just faster. I've had this direct experience with my M1 iPad Air and iPhone 16 PM. the iPhone responsiveness leaves the m1 iPad for dead.
For some of us older folk, the weight will be key. As time goes by, the 3/4 lb. weight difference between the M! MBA and earlier MBA's becomes more significant.
This is incorrect, Apple have been special making them for Walmart since March 2024.
But also, are you suggesting that this new MacBook will never go on sale from third-party retailers? Because that’s just ridiculous.
I’d even take 256 GB of storage with an A19. I just don’t want to see Apple trying to pass off 128 GB on us. I don’t think that would be the case now that even most of their phones are coming with 256 gigs.