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New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

jarman92 said:
This is just a bizarre rumor/product. Estimates are that the M1 costs Apple ~$40/chip, and the A18 costs...~$40/chip. So what's the point?
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Efficiency :) Which I hope implies that we are getting a return to something like the 2015 MacBook which really focuses on thin/light.
 
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n-evo said:
Jacking up the prices once the MacBook Pro & Air get OLED screens and this can take the $999 spot is probably what will happen eventually.
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Yeah since oled is more or less right around the corner, no?….looking back to 2020 when I got my first MacBook, a 13” pro with intel, 1TB and 16 RAM….if I perused macrumors back then, I would’ve known about new mac airs with m1s releasing soon and would’ve waited for that to hold me over until OLEDS…ah well.

I’m cool with it…going from my 2020 intel Macbook pro to like a 2027/28 MacBook Air OLED will be a massive upgrade lol

Yeah, just no phone chip, please, ok? Thanks, Tim : )


Besides, the waiting game is cool sometimes…you gain patience /character and sometimes get unreal
Deals…I’ve had the same 44” samsung led (lcd? Whatever one is the worse quality lol) from like 2011 and recently upgraded to a 55” OLED 120 hz LG blah blah blah …but it’s not enough, so I’m going for the 65” AND found it less than 1k (cheapa than the 55”) so getting a lil refund when the exchange crew arrives.

Very nice.
 
ProbablyDylan said:
You guys know they can move the lineup around and change prices, right?
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They just lowered the newest MacBook Air price from $1099 to $999 this year, though. If they were going to release a new MacBook at $999 later in the year, why lower the standard base MacBook Air price this year?
 
Think about it: aside from iPhones, only the entry-level iPad still uses iPhone chips instead of M-series chips. So this is most likely a Chromebook competitor running iPadOS. That’s why Apple added so many computer-like features to iPadOS in version 26. Maybe it will be called SafariBook.
 
djc6 said:
I hope its polycarbonite plastic like the iBook G3/G4 and not metal. My kids have bent metal chromebooks in their overstuffed bookbags - polycarbonate chromebooks have proven themselves to much far sturdier !
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With Apples focus on its green credentials, I can't see them going back to plastic MacBook.
 
Great idea. The chips have gotten so good, and they are already produced at incredible economies of scale.
Also, it's the perfect chip for all the folks who come here and whine "whyyyy are the chips are so powerfulllll" when all they do is surf the net. They've successfully lowered the standards for everyone. Good job!

A perfect computer designed for widest possible audience. Education as well?
 
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Lounge vibes 05 said:
f Apple was making some computer completely dedicated at the education market as low cost as possible, I don’t think color options would be on the list of important factors and selling points.
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They did with the iPad entry-level model
 
Lounge vibes 05 said:
I have been hearing budget MacBook rumors as long as I have been an Apple fan, I don’t think it’s going to happen.
It especially does not make sense today when you can get an M3 iPad for under $600.
assuming this Mac does exist, it’s obviously not gonna be any cheaper than $600. Apple making a Mac the same price as a Chromebook is something that will never happen.
Apple just made a big splash about 16 GB of RAM becoming the new default, the A18 has 8 GB of RAM.
and if they were trying to shoot for the ultra portable angle, they’ve already put an M4 in the iPad Pro at 5 MM thick. and from description, this is clearly not the return of the ultra portable 12 inch MacBook.

So… it’s a MacBook Air that comes in colors, that has an iPhone chip, half the RAM but is more expensive than an iPad.

Who is this for!
someone who wants macOS is just going to get the already quite affordable M4 or even M3/M2 MacBook Air, all which have came with 16 GB of RAM by default for the last nine months and could be found for as cheap as $650.
The people who don’t care are just going to get the iPad.
so who is this for?
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This is for me, I still own my 2017 12” MacBook and would LOVE to replace it with a current model that supports the current version of macOS. The 12” MacBook is the most portable and lightest laptop I’ve ever seen, it’s so much more enjoyable to use even more so than the M1 MacBook Air. If this rumor does come true and it is a revival of the 12” MacBook then I would absolutely get one. iPadOS will never replace macOS for me, not even with the new ‘26 updates coming. All I want is a super thin portable modern MacBook to take around with me, with my more powerful macOS desktop at home for when I need more performance.
 
Parowdy said:
Considering the A18 Pro only has 8GB RAM it would be silly to assume it had more…
You wouldn’t expect Apple to manufacture a different model for this would you.
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It was just the pattern I observed over the history of Apple releases. However there was one time they include more RAM than the initial release. It was A12Z on the development kit with 16GB of RAM.
 
cnnyy20p said:
It was just the pattern I observed over the history of Apple releases. However there was one time they include more RAM than the initial release. It was A12Z on the development kit with 16GB of RAM.
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I still remember the pre Apple Intelligence conversations around here….when Apple RAM was Magic RAM and 8GB was enough for almost everyone!
 
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mzeb said:
I still miss my 11" MacBook Air. If they made another tiny Mac laptop I'd be down! 13" doesn't quite get small enough though...
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11’ would be great, but 11’6 would work too.

kwikdeth said:
Yeah anybody thinking this is going to result in a lower cost product is fooling themselves. This is just about thermals so they can make an even thinner laptop.
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Low cost, Apple and Tim? Highly doubt it. But smaller MacBook would still be very interesting.

foggygray said:
Give it an 11 or 12 inch Retina display and I’d consider it in the future.
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Me too, I might sell off my MBA 13’6 if 11 or 12 comes.
Even though I started to like it more and more, especially for its lightness.
But a smaller and an even lighter - max 11’6 💥
 
glindon said:
Sounds to me like some EDU option where they can dump off some unused iPhone chips. Oherwise whats the point? The basic iPad air has an m3 for $600.
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Now there we go .... this is some Tim Cook thinking.

e52ozvce9dxa1.gif


Great post ..
I'm tracking right along with ya'.
 
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MacRumors said:


Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors.

A18-Pro-Chip.jpg

Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options that include silver, blue, pink, and yellow.

MacRumors can now reveal that it first spotted evidence of such a device in backend code related to Apple Intelligence last summer, and subsequently confirmed its use of the A18 Pro chip. The machine features the identifier "Mac17,1."

This would be the first Mac powered by an ‌iPhone‌ chip. To date, all Apple silicon Macs have contained M-series chips, which offer higher core counts, support for larger amounts of memory, and better external display support. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year.

According to Kuo, the new MacBook is expected to enter mass production late in the fourth quarter of 2025 or early in the first quarter of 2026, which situates launch in the first half of next year.

Article Link: New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code
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iPad can't have professional apps with an M chip but a Mac with an iPhone chip will come out next year

Ngl this **** seems like a ripoff already, you're going to get less performance than a, by then, 6 year old MacBook Air, if this aint like $499 it'd be a **** deal.
Let's hope Kuo is wrong about that, give it an M1 or M2
 
Slix said:
They just lowered the newest MacBook Air price from $1099 to $999 this year, though. If they were going to release a new MacBook at $999 later in the year, why lower the standard base MacBook Air price this year?
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Apple follows a predictable pattern with the MacBook Air of increasing the price when there's a redesign and gradually lowering it. Here's an example:

2010: $1299 (Redesign)
2012: $1199
2013: $1099
2014: $999
2018: $1199 (Redesign)
2019: $1099
2020: $999
2022: $1199 (Redesign)
2023: $1099
2024: $999

If Apple redesigns the Air in the next year or two then a price hike is likely to go with it if history is an indicator. A cheaper MacBook/MacBook SE/MacBook-e would allow Apple to still offer a sub $1,000 laptop at $999 and potentially reduce the price in step with the air.
 
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jarman92 said:
This is just a bizarre rumor/product. Estimates are that the M1 costs Apple ~$40/chip, and the A18 costs...~$40/chip. So what's the point?
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Now calculate die size.

A18/Pro is at least 20% smaller than M1 and about 50% smaller than M4. Smaller heatsink. Half the memory modules needed due to 64-bit interface.

Not bizarre at all.
 
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