All iPads MacBook with iPhone chip rumor - what if it runs iPadOS

[Charka123]

I've been thinking this too. Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if this is actually a non-touchscreen laptop running a slightly modified iPadOS 26, basically defaulted to only the new multitasking windowed mode. Why else suddenly bring improved file management and a Preview app as well?


Exactly. The main selling point could be that you finally get an iPad in MacBook form at a decent screen size that doesn't break the bank. A 13" iPad Air is currently the cheapest route to this but still needs a Magic Keyboard, significantly increasing the cost. And the new "Mac-like" windowed interface is too cluttered for smaller screens.

And just for fun...what if this isn't even called a MacBook if it's not running macOS? We have the basic iPad...what if this is called the new iBook?

I agree, and actually from business standpoint it makes more sense for it to run iPadOS as well. If it actually runs macOS, it will definitely cannibalize MacBook Air since most people use it doing browsing and light productivity as well, but if it use iPadOS it won’t because it doesn’t run macOS. Such a product also won’t cannibalize iPad Air because it doesn’t have the flexibility of iPad and iPad Air has a much more powerful chip.

 

[Shirasaki]

All of this is supposition at this point, so take it with a grain of salt. But it sounds like Apple is not aiming this machine at people who need to do pro-level work with video, images, animation, etc.

I can guarantee you people will try to run professional apps on those supposedly budget MacBooks and complain how bad the experience is, forcing Apple to raise the price and offer better chips so they can run professional apps on par with lowest end of M chips that are being supported.

Who the heck is buying a $599 MacBook to run professional content creation apps? That's like complaining iPhone 16e can't be used to make a professional movie.

Not many I hope but there WILL be some buying $599 MacBook to run professional content creation apps, and then complain how bad it runs afterwards.

Then it's not a Mac.

Rather, it is a Mac running iPadOS. Who says iPadOS can’t be run on a Mac if Apple so choose?

 

[JPack]

See my post above. Bigger screen, built-in keyboard/trackpad. All the core apps - Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Safari, Files, Preview etc - now have proper windowing, menu bars, a dock, tiling and a proper mouse cursor. Also, A18 and 8Gb RAM aren't an issue for iPadOS. It even has proper background tasks now.

Also, have you used Samsung DeX? A touch-based OS with a non-touchscreen monitor and keyboard/mouse. It works just fine. Rough round the edges, but Apple would solve that.

That already exists. It's called iPad Air 13-inch which sells for $749.

To cut costs, Apple can replace the M3 with A18 Pro, delete the rear camera, and throw in a free Magic Keyboard. That package would have a touchscreen and optional Pencil.

A MacBook running iPadOS makes no sense. You get all the restrictions of a clamshell, but none of the benefits of iPadOS like touch and Pencil input.

 

[JPack]

I agree, and actually from business standpoint it makes more sense for it to run iPadOS as well. If it actually runs macOS, it will definitely cannibalize MacBook Air since most people use it doing browsing and light productivity as well, but if it use iPadOS it won’t because it doesn’t run macOS. Such a product also won’t cannibalize iPad Air because it doesn’t have the flexibility of iPad and iPad Air has a much more powerful chip.

That's like saying $349 iPad cannibalizes $599 iPad Air. There are enough limitations on the $349 product that make sense for many people to upgrade.

$599 MacBook running macOS has performance, display size, and I/O limitations to prevent cannibalization.

 

[JPack]

Not many I hope but there WILL be some buying $599 MacBook to run professional content creation apps, and then complain how bad it runs afterwards.

Reviewers will likely compare to a $599 notebook PC. I think we both know which chip will come out on top.

 

[The_Interloper]

That already exists. It's called iPad Air 13-inch which sells for $749.

To cut costs, Apple can replace the M3 with A18 Pro, delete the rear camera, and throw in a free Magic Keyboard. That package would have a touchscreen and optional Pencil.

So they would throw in a free Magic Keyboard but remove the rear camera which the cheaper A16 iPad has? Come on now...

A MacBook running iPadOS makes no sense. You get all the restrictions of a clamshell, but none of the benefits of iPadOS like touch and Pencil input.

I remember when people thought the first iPad made no sense. You got all the restrictions of a mobile OS, but none of the benefits of iPhone like, uh, making phone calls. Also none of the benefits of a "real" tablet OS, like loading proper desktop apps.

As Apple themselves once said..."What's a computer?" 😁

Anyway, you're probably right...it will most likely be just a lower-end macOS MacBook. Fun to speculate, though.

 

[Shirasaki]

Reviewers will likely compare to a $599 notebook PC. I think we both know which chip will come out on top.

Here is the thing. When people hear about $599 PC from any brand, they are unlikely expect those PCs are going to be super powerful. When they hear about a $599 MacBook however, they will likely have higher expectations, especially after the $999 MacBook Air blowing tons of reviewers and users expectations to a whole new height.

It’s going to be interesting to see how this “budget” MacBook holds up and the ramifications of introducing that to the MacBook lineup, possibly running iPadOS. macOS in 16GB RAM is already struggling (random freezes, system slowdown) on my M1 MacBook Pro let alone 8GB. We will see.

 

[subjonas]

Power consumption on iPad is mainly gated by the lack of a heatsink, unlike MacBook Air. This is why you see iPad Pro 12.9- and 13-inch being shipped with a 20W adapter, while MacBook Air with a 30W adapter.

I doubt iPadOS 26 will affect battery life because the chip throttles before it can make any dent in power consumption.

But even now pre-iPadOS 26, the iPad can burn through battery pretty quickly doing certain tasks. Drawing in Procreate, battery percentage goes down surprisingly fast. iPadOS seems to let it fly. Plus if 26 throttles during serious multitasking to make no dent in power consumption, then it would have to throttle rather quickly so I don't know how useful the new multitasking will be compared to what people may be expecting (macOS-like multitasking). But I think memory usage and swap also eats up battery.

 

[mandopicker101]

This rumor about a ~$600 MacBook has caught my attention. I think it’s fair to say that an A18 Pro chip is strong enough to run macOS but why would Apple make that? The chip would burn out from too much multitasking then.
That’s where iPadOS comes in. The software limits the user so it can’t burn out, the battery life would be huge, it’s a 12.9” screen which is iPad like and I think it would be lighter than the iPad and Magic Keyboard combo. Plus, Apple has been making iPadOS more Mac like for years now. It wouldn’t be a touch screen either, which keeps costs down. It could be a perfect competitor for the Chromebook??

I personally would buy this as I love iPadOS but I don’t like the iPad and Magic Keyboard combo. It would be at least double the battery life of a iPad now I think, which would be huge to me. Would anyone else want this though?

I would say Tim just ignored his entire marketing division, unveiled the iFridge with Magic Toaster accessory and cannibalised Apple’s base iPad sales.

 

[Slartibart]

The chip would burn out from too much multitasking then.

"burn out by too much multi-tasking" certainly a way to look at chip 🤓

Whatever too much could mean here in your opinion? 🥹🙃

To be clear: this is NOT a problem in the physical world.

 

[ViVi555]

I also think it's very likely to be an iPad with non-removable keyboard. The latest rumors suggests that it will have an 12.9 inch screen. That's exactly iPad screen size. And since A18 Pro chip only comes with 8GB RAM, it's more suitable for iPadOS than MacOS.