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More Lower-Cost MacBook Details Surface Ahead of 'Apple Experience' Next Week

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Apple is expected to unveil up to five new products next week, including a lower-cost MacBook, and a few more details about the laptop surfaced today.

Low-Cost-A18-Pro-MacBook-Feature-Pink.jpg

According to supply chain sources who spoke to DigiTimes, the entry-level MacBook will indeed be launching in March. The report said volume shipments of the laptop to Apple are projected to begin next month. Quanta Computer is expected to be the primary assembler of this new model, and Foxconn is expected to join in later.

Mass production was originally slated to begin in late 2025, but the timeframe was pushed back to the first quarter of 2026, the report said.

Due to rising component costs, including skyrocketing DRAM and NAND storage chip prices, DigiTimes believes that higher pricing may be unavoidable. Early estimates placed this MacBook's starting price as low as $599 in the U.S., but it is possible that the laptop will start at $699 or $799 instead. In any case, college students should receive $100 off the regular price through Apple's education store on the web.

The media will likely receive hands-on time with the lower-cost MacBook at the "Apple Experience" gatherings being held in New York, London, and Shanghai on Wednesday, March 4 at 9 a.m. Eastern Time. There is no Apple Event live stream for this launch, with the new MacBook expected to be announced in a press release.

The lower-cost MacBook will likely look more or less like a MacBook Air, but it will have some reduced specs. The laptop is expected to be powered by the A18 Pro chip from the iPhone 16 Pro, rather than an M-series chip, and it will reportedly have a slightly smaller 12.9-inch display. Based on the A18 Pro chip's specs, this MacBook will likely have just 8GB of RAM, as well as regular USB-C ports instead of faster Thunderbolt ports.

Like the iBook from the early 2000s, it has been rumored that this MacBook will come in fun color options, like yellow, green, blue, and/or pink.

Apple previously used the "MacBook" name (without "Air" or "Pro" branding) from 2006 to 2012, and again from 2015 to 2019, but all of those models used Intel processors. This would be the first time that there is an entry-level "MacBook" with Apple silicon, and we should finally learn all about it in less than a week.

Article Link: More Lower-Cost MacBook Details Surface Ahead of 'Apple Experience' Next Week
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/02/25/lower-cost-macbook-rumors/
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I know Apple is a premium brand, but a lower-cost MacBook makes a lot of sense.

(So does a lower cost iPhone, etc.)

Will be interesting to see the path forward, especially with a new Apple chief when Tim steps down
 
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DavidLeblond said:
I feel like the naming is off... in my brain, MacBook Air would be the less powerful lightweight, the MacBook the middle of the line, and MacBook Pro the more powerful one. In fact, wasn't that how it originally was set at when the MacBook Air originally came out? It was the ultra portable with like one USB port?
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No, when the MacBook Air came out, it was positioned as a middle-ground between the MacBook ($1099) and MacBook Pro ($1999), costing more than the plastic MacBook at the time, and less than the MacBook Pro at the time, at $1799. Later on, the MacBook Air replaced the white MacBook at the lower end, and then in 2015 the MacBook name came back at the middle-ground model again, costing more than the Air and less than the Pro this time around.

But I can see both ways of naming these models at this point. The issue is that the MacBook Air has become such a household name that any model meant to replace its position in the lineup, that any change to that model would probably be confusing for many people.
 
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The iPhone 16 was hyped to run AI that never showed up. So 8GB of memory in the new toy will run the basic Apple apps like pages, keynote, numbers and photos. The size of the screen will be fine for the younger folks, but seniors may have issues with the smaller screen letter size. I expect one port like before that charges and is able to support data devices.

Big question is what operating system will be used: iOS, iPadOS or MacOS since it is reported to have the A18 iPhone chip of the iPhone 16.
 
oceptis said:
I have to agree. For context, why would anyone reasonably buy and base iPad when they can get an iPad Pro for $200 (20%) more.
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Because they want iPadOS. There’s FAR more people in the world familiar with that than macOS. Although, Apple’s trying to help those folks out by making macOS look as much like iPadOS as possible.
 
It would be a real shame if they do have to raise the price. Even if they could introduce it at $599, then raise the price next year, that would still help a lot of people. At the moment, at the higher price, a used M1 Air are still really cheap, so they would offer a better cheapest option for anyone willing to buy used, but at at $599, it’s really hard to recommend a used M1.

Also, I like the name MacBook SE, but plain MacBook is fine.
 
If they sell it at Walmart for $599 I am in.

With my employee discount it be like 593 and change out the door.

My 2014 Air does everything I need it to do.

However, since it is stuck in Big Sir some of the apps I use no loger work at all or are stuck in older versions.
 
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MacRumors said:
Early estimates placed this MacBook's starting price as low as $599 in the U.S., but it is possible that the laptop will start at $699 or $799 instead.
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It was always going to start higher.

Let's be real. The megacorps love having the excuses right now to run as cover for their desired price hikes. Even if their costs go down in the future, the new price points will be entrenched and the gravy consumption will commence.
 
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Slix said:
No, when the MacBook Air came out, it was positioned as a middle-ground between the MacBook ($1099) and MacBook Pro ($1999), costing more than the plastic MacBook at the time, and less than the MacBook Pro at the time, at $1799. Later on, the MacBook Air replaced the white MacBook at the lower end, and then in 2015 the MacBook name came back at the middle-ground model again, costing more than the Air and less than the Pro this time around.

But I can see both ways of naming these models at this point. The issue is that the MacBook Air has become such a household name that any model meant to replace its position in the lineup, that any change to that model would probably be confusing for many people.
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Oh. Huh, interesting. Still seems odd to me, I guess I assumed the Air was the cheaper of them since it WAS the least capable of the three, right?
 
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abatabia said:
DOA at $799, with the air frequently on sale. Let’s hope it’s not that expensive.
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...and, after a month or two, this new MacBook will probably be "frequently on sale" at lower prices too. There's no point comparing the rumoured list price of one machine with sale prices on another.

There's also the unfortunate possibility that the prices of MacBook Air and other Macs will also rise due to the RAM/SSD bubble.
 
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abatabia said:
DOA at $799, with the air frequently on sale. Let’s hope it’s not that expensive.
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Yes, because only the MacBook Air can go on sale, not this new one. Nope, it will never, ever go on sale, not ever.
You know, just like how the base iPad, the clear analog to this device, also never goes on sale. Oh wait…
/S

Obviously this device will go on sale. If it’s $699 directly from Apple, it will very likely be $599 from the education store and from third-party retailers, and as far as I know other than the (no longer available) Walmart M1 MacBook Air, there isn’t a brand new MacBook being sold anywhere at this moment for under $700.
And even disregarding all of that, anyone purchasing an Apple laptop from the Apple Store currently doesn’t have an option under $999 or $899 EDU, now they will.
 
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I find that any observation I have is just going to repeat the DRAM and NAND constraints. I just want to see what's going to happen to the MacBook Air refurbished market.
 
$799 is Macbook Air territory - which just means I'll need to wait a few weeks for it to go on sale at $599, instead of just buying it when it was announced.
 
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£699 or £799 is a ridiculous price for this product. If a student is spending that money then why wouldn't they just get a MacBook Air?

This needs to be £499. If Apple cant pull off that price point then they should not be launching this product and attempting to muscle in on Chromebooks etc
 
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