Apple's Cheap MacBook: What to Expect in 2026

Apple is going to merchandise a low-cost MacBook successful 2026, with the instrumentality acceptable to beryllium much affordable than the $999 MacBook Air. With the affordable notebook, Apple is aiming to amended vie with inexpensive Chromebooks and Windows PCs.


If you're reasoning astir picking up a machine for lightweight tasks similar papers editing, web browsing, watching videos, and doing homework, you mightiness privation to hold to spot what Apple has successful store earlier making a purchase. Below, we item what we cognize astir the caller Mac truthful far.

Size

Apple expert Ming-Chi Kuo believes the low-cost MacBook volition person a show that's astir 13 inches successful size. The ‌MacBook Air‌ has a 13.6-inch display, truthful the much affordable MacBook could beryllium somewhat smaller. It's sounding similar it won't beryllium excessively acold disconnected from the 13-inch ‌MacBook Air‌, though.

There are nary details connected however heavy it mightiness be, but Apple astir apt won't prioritize a bladed plan for a instrumentality optimized for a debased price. Since the ‌MacBook Air‌ tin tally good with an M-series spot and nary instrumentality successful an enclosure that's 0.44 inches thick, there's nary crushed for the MacBook to beryllium immoderate thicker than that.

Design and Display

The low-cost MacBook volition person a modular LCD show with nary mini-LED exertion oregon ProMotion refresh rate. It could travel successful agleam colors similar the iMac, with Kuo suggesting Apple volition connection it successful silver, blue, pink, and yellow.

A-Series Chip

Apple is readying to usage its A18 Pro spot successful the MacBook. We archetypal saw the A18 Pro successful the iPhone 16 Pro models. The spot is built connected Apple's second-generation 3-nanometer process, featuring 8GB RAM and enactment for Apple Intelligence.

It's accelerated and efficient, and much than susceptible of handling day-to-day tasks. In Geekbench 6 benchmarks, the A18 Pro offers single-core CPU show scores astatine the level of the M3 Ultra, and multi-core show scores higher than the M1 spot that Apple utilized successful the archetypal Apple silicon ‌MacBook Air‌. Metal scores that measurement GPU show are besides akin to the ‌M1‌ spot Metal scores.

The A18 Pro volition beryllium equivalent to the ‌M1‌ for immoderate tasks, and faster for different tasks. Apple nary longer sells the ‌M1‌ ‌MacBook Air‌ from its ain store, but it has offered the instrumentality done Walmart at a $599 terms point.

Capabilities

With the A18 Pro chip, the low-cost MacBook would beryllium capable to bash thing that tin beryllium done connected an ‌iPhone 16‌ Pro. It would beryllium a suitable replacement for the low-cost iPad paired with a keyboard, and it would besides enactment ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features.

Right now, an ‌iPad‌ is fundamentally the lone enactment for a low-cost portable instrumentality that tin service arsenic a computer, but the low-cost MacBook volition adhd a solution that runs macOS alternatively of iPadOS.

Tasks similar browsing the web, watching videos, creating documents, editing photos, and adjacent airy video editing would beryllium nary problem. A low-cost MacBook with A18 Pro spot could play each of Apple's ‌iPad‌ and iPhone games, including Apple Arcade titles, but it would not enactment good with high-end strategy intensive games.

It would besides tally apps similar Final Cut Pro, but speeds for things similar exporting video would not beryllium arsenic speedy arsenic with a much almighty Mac.

Apple astir apt won't spell each retired connected ports, and the MacBook is apt to get conscionable a azygous USB-C port, though 2 similar the ‌MacBook Air‌ is besides possible.

The A18 Pro spot is efficient, and there's a batch of abstraction wrong a 13-inch enclosure for a battery, truthful we could beryllium looking astatine MacBook Air-level artillery beingness oregon better. The ‌MacBook Air‌'s artillery lasts for up to 18 hours erstwhile watching videos, oregon 15 hours erstwhile browsing the web.

Price

There are nary circumstantial details connected terms arsenic of yet, but Bloomberg claims it volition outgo "well nether $1,000." The ‌MacBook Air‌ is priced starting astatine $999, truthful it would request to travel successful nether that.

Apple has a 13-inch iPad Air that has a show successful the aforesaid scope rumored for the low-cost MacBook, and it's priced astatine $799. The ‌iPad Air‌ has a higher-end M-series processor though, truthful the low-cost MacBook could beryllium little than the ‌iPad Air‌.

The closest ‌iPad‌ approximation for the spot is the iPad mini, which has an A17 Pro. The ‌iPad mini‌ is priced starting astatine $499. A terms determination betwixt $499 and $799 could marque consciousness looking astatine Apple's existing merchandise lineup. The older ‌M1‌ MacBook that sells for $599 astatine Walmart besides gives america a hint astatine what Apple mightiness charge.

Launch Timing

Apple could motorboat the low-cost MacBook successful the first fractional of 2026. Updates are planned for the ‌MacBook Air‌ successful aboriginal 2026, truthful the low-cost exemplary could motorboat sometime successful that aforesaid timeframe.

Read More

For much accusation connected Apple's fund MacBook, we person a dedicated guide.
This article, "Apple's Cheap MacBook: What to Expect successful 2026" archetypal appeared connected MacRumors.com

Discuss this article successful our forums