Will the Rumored Lower-Cost MacBook Use an A18 Pro or A19 Pro Chip?

[awshucks]

On a related front, are more of the standard apps deletable under Tahoe? Things I never use like Stickies, Photo Booth, Reminders, Home, Voice Memos, et al.

I saw a guy do a Terminal command to remove them. Just don't tamper with anything in the Utilities folder. They're core tools macOS relies on.
I don't remember what command, so I asked ChatGPT. This is what it said:

On macOS, Apple’s system apps (like Photo Booth, Safari, Mail, etc.) are protected by SIP (System Integrity Protection). That means you cannot delete them normally — even with sudo rm in Terminal — unless you disable SIP, which is not recommended since it lowers security and can break macOS updates.

1. Boot into Recovery Mode (⌘ + R at startup).
2. Open Terminal from the Utilities menu.
3. Run:

csrutil disable
reboot

1. This disables SIP.
2. After reboot, in Terminal:

sudo rm -rf /Applications/Photo\ Booth.app

(Optional but strongly advised) Re-enable SIP afterward by repeating steps 1–3 but using:

csrutil enable
reboot

 

[ThailandToo]

The answer to this most certainly relies on two things.

1. Supply chain of existing A18 Pro SoCs - as economies of scale would dictate unless there seems to exist a massive surplus of those SoCs, it would certainly cost less to just ship with A19 Pro.

2. Does Apple need it to have 12GB of Unified Memory for purposes of MacOs.

 

[jimimac71]

You can install the Chrome browser on a MacBook. Lots of people do.

I get that.
It would take a while to kiss my other devices goodbye.
Chrome doesn't have ad-block on mobile devices.
Some of the new Chrome Android features annoy me.
I could do okay with either an iPad or affordable MacBook.
Entry level iPad with keyboard at least equal this pending MacBook.

 

[menist]

This means iPad can run MacOS 😒

 

[GuruZac]

The A19 Pro is matching M2 performance so this should be a powerful little laptop. I'd love to have one.

 

[jimimac71]

This means iPad can run MacOS 😒

By George, you're right. Tim and company are going to cotton to that idea.
The whole idea of a computer running off a wall outlet is growing more slim.
A laptop is still common place but so is the iPhone.
The iPad with optional keyboard is the future.
What really is the difference between a 13 inch iPad Air and a MacBook Air?
Add the iPad Air keyboard and you're there.

 

[jimimac71]

deleted duplicate. BooBoo with forum.

 

[Spindrift_21]

This means iPad can run MacOS 😒

As mentioned earlier, would be great to have a MacOS interface when docked and an iPad/iPhone interface when my phone/iPad is unplugged.

 

[ttyRazor]

As a display of my own ignorance:

could Apple be making an A19 Pro+ (or whatever name they come up with) which has 16 GB of RAM? Or more GPU’s? Or a faster clock speed?

What’s easily changeable in making variant chips and what’s not?

RAM chips are attached to the SoC, not built in directly, so unless a bigger RAM chip would need more pins or surface area it's most likely to be swapped out. 12 GB might be a good compromise for a low end macbook, though.

 

[Eric_WVGG]

Apple put A16/6 into iPad when everyone was expecting 8GB.

This low cost MacBook is the equivalent of that level of product.

good point.

 

[Eric_WVGG]

If it’s as lightweight as the 12” MacBook it could be my next Mac.

dude if it's like the 12" MacBook I'm gonna buy one as a spare/travel-book and six more to stack up underneath my Studio Display

 

[Mousse]

On a related front, are more of the standard apps deletable under Tahoe? Things I never use like Stickies, Photo Booth, Reminders, Home, Voice Memos, et al.

Ugh, bloatware. Gawd I miss the days when they kept the OS separate from the apps. 8GB RAM is more than enough if the system wasn't straddled with a ton of bloat.
If I could run Mac apps in Linux...🤗 I wouldn't mind the less than polished UI, if I can get a performance boost on older machines.

Edit: I hope it runs a barebones version of MacOS.

 

[svish]

Possible for it to have A19 Pro if it enters production in early 2026. Think right now all the new chips are being used for iPhone 17 lineup. So A18 Pro might be more likely if it is already in production.

 

[sevoneone]

The reason I think it will be A19/A19 Pro is the iPad mini. The iPad mini 7 got A17 Pro despite A18 Pro being available. A18

 

[DanneP]

If it has 8GB of RAM a lot of us are going to be disappointed

 

[Elusi]

The things this laptop supposedly lacks compared to Air are things I think the majority of MBA users don't care about. Most people don't ever plug in a thunderbolt-device. Wonder how many it will take from their ~$1000 segment.

 

[DanneP]

The A19 Pro is matching M2 performance so this should be a powerful little laptop. I'd love to have one.

It's not only matching, it far exceeds the performance of the M2. It's about 50% faster single-core than the M2, and single-core is what matters to most people doing office work, browsing and such.

And it's 10-20 % faster in multi-core as well.

 

[yuda398]

Rumours said it’s going to have 12.9” display which sounds a lot like the 12.9” inch iPad Air which is marketed as 13”. Then I thought about it. 13” 16:10 display isn’t going to be tall enough to cover the bottom half of the laptop with Apple’s current keyboard layout (full size function keys) unless it has a gigantic bezels top and bottom. So maybe it will be 4:3 like the iPads?

 

[theluggage]

Ugh, bloatware. Gawd I miss the days when they kept the OS separate from the apps. 8GB RAM is more than enough if the system wasn't straddled with a ton of bloat.

Most of these "bloat" apps are only a few megabytes apiece (maybe excluding libraries/frameworks - which are needed by other apps). Even on a pitiful 256GB drive (which shouldn't exist in 2025) that's a drop in the ocean... and, yeah, I remember the good old days when "a few megabytes" was a stack of floppies big enough to hold a whole development kit or office suite, but things move on.

 

[theluggage]

I suspect you may be making the mistake of assuming that way you think is the way everybody thinks. Clearly, the processor won’t matter for a good chunk of those who buy a laptop like this - particularly the Chromebook crowd and educators.

...but that is the target audience for a product like this. If you need more then Apple would very much like you to pay for a M-series Air or MBP.

Apple's problem at the moment is that the M4 is overkill for a low-end MacBook. I think Apple's Plan A for the low end customers was that they'd get iPads - but although tablets have carved out a niche for themselves, everybody is finding out that they're not ticking all the boxes as laptop replacements (particularly in education).

Also, this A18/19 Air is probably only happening because the "Walmart Air" has established that there is demand for it.

What RAM it will get is anybody's guess - you can't tell from the iPhone - but the days of Apple being able to convince people that 16GB of RAM is somehow a premium feature worth $400 must surely be coming to a middle.

 

[StuBeck]

But would it save on costs? Using the A19 Pro would increase economies of scale for that chip. Keeping a line running for the A18 might well cost more. TSMC would set their price on what else they could do with the A18 production line.

Yes. They have a lot of A18's already made, and there is no way they are stopping production of them, nor are they limited to making one chip at a time either.

 

[jlc1978]

I believe that a $599-799 laptop would cannibalize sales too much for the Macbook line

The question is will incremental revenue from the low cost models exceed that lost from lost higher priced units.

and I do believe they'd eat into their own margins by making this a mainstream product.
Could be wrong, though.

No reason to have a lower margin on an entry level item. It could even have a higher margin.

 

[East India Company]

Don’t forget that the only reason to be for a low cost model in the line is to raise the price of the rest of the line up. SAD!

 

[theluggage]

I believe that a $599-799 laptop would cannibalize sales too much for the Macbook line and I do believe they'd eat into their own margins by making this a mainstream product.

There are already $600 M1 MBAs being sold via Walmart (and presumably Walmart are still getting a slice of that) so this "cannibalisation" is already a fact of life. Better to cannibalize your own sales than let Chromebooks and cheap PC laptops do it for you.

1. I'm sure Apple have a spreadsheet modelling the good old "is it more profitable to sell n units at $x profit or m units at $y profit question.

2. Someone sees a MBA at $1000 in a shop window (literally or, figuratively, online) and walks on by because they don't theink they can afford a Mac. They see a $600 MBA and walk in - a golden opportunity to upsell them to the $1000 model.

3. Even if they do get the $600 model, Apple now have another customer to target for accessories and services, iPhones, iPads, watches and - a year or two down the line - a new Mac.

I recall this was part of the reasoning behind the launch of the original Mac Mini - to avoid "sticker shock". Once they're seriously looking at a "cheap" Mac they're susceptible to being upsold.

I think Apple have had a nice spell where they could just rely on Macs and iPhones selling themselves. Now, between the rising cost of living and diminishing returns from advancing technology (Macs and phones passed "good enough for most mass-market uses" a while back) they might have to re-discover the art of selling.

I've got a feeling this thing won't be available for general purpose and will be restricted to bulk purchases by schools and companies that are using Chromebooks

Possibly - that's certainly part of the target market and ISTR they did it before with the eMac, and possibly with the M1 "Walmart" Air. Or maybe it will be on the Apple Store at a not-too-attractive price, but widely discounted in big stores and box-shifters. Still, I think Apple are a *long* way from a $600 MacBook becoming a "loss leader".

The MacBook Air then becomes the prosumer option with a higher starting price, not the budget option.

This is an "eye of the beholder" thing. If you see the MBA as a MacBook then it's entry-level. If you see it as a laptop computer then it's already the "prosumer option". I know it's hard to believe, but the majority of laptop users in this world somehow manage to use PCs and are put off buying Macs by the price. If Apple only worry about selling Macs to existing Mac converts then they will see a slow decline in users...

 

[jlc1978]

There are already $600 M1 MBAs being sold via Walmart (and presumably Walmart are still getting a slice of that) so this "cannibalisation" is already a fact of life. Better to cannibalize your own sales than let Chromebooks and cheap PC laptops do it for you.

In addition, those numbers give Apple some insight ito the cannibalization effect as well as demand for a cheaper MacBook.

1. I'm sure Apple have a spreadsheet modelling the good old "is it more profitable to sell n units at $x profit or m units at $y profit question.

Or, assuming the same margin, what generates more revenue:

n units at $x/unit or

n-(percentage of sales lost due to cannibalization)n units at $x/unit + m units at $y

Or maybe it will be on the Apple Store at a not-too-attractive price, but widely discounted in big stores and box-shifters. Still, I think Apple are a *long* way from a $600 MacBook becoming a "loss leader".

Apple doesn't seem to be selling loss leaders, just happy to make great margins on all products; avoiding the need to pressure people to buy more and upsell. They also avoid price wars with their resellers, keeping them happy as well.

If Apple releases such a machine I'm pretty confident they've run the numbers and decided they will be better than not introducing it.