Apple’s rumored cheaper MacBook powered by an iPhone processor is back in the news. A new report corroborates a separate claim that Apple is planning to release a more affordable MacBook. This is the machine rumored to run on an A-series chip.
Most affordable Mac laptop
We first got wind of the rumored low-end MacBook over the summer. Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said a MacBook running on an A18 Pro chip was in the works. According to Kuo, it would enter production in late 2025 or early 2026.
Now Mark Gurman at Bloomberg is reporting on the cheaper notebook for the first time. Gurman specifically adds that the notebook is code-named J700 and will cost well under $1000.
Code-named J700, the machine is currently in active testing at Apple and in early production with overseas suppliers. The Cupertino, California-based company plans to launch it in the first half of next year, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the product hasn’t been announced. […]
Apple plans to sell the new machine for well under $1,000 by using less-advanced components. The laptop will rely on an iPhone processor and a lower-end LCD display. The screen will also be the smallest of any current Mac, coming in at slightly below the 13.6-inch one used in the MacBook Air.
With the M4 Mac mini priced from $599, Apple has an affordable Mac desktop solution. However, the Mac notebook line generally starts at $1000.
The one major exception is the M1 MacBook Air that Apple continues to sell exclusively through Walmart for $649. The laptop is regularly on sale for under $600. It sports a 13.3-inch display.
Meanwhile, Apple prices the M4 MacBook Air at $999, or $899 for education customers. Amazon and other retailers regularly sell the current M4 MacBook Air model for $799.
If Apple sells this cheaper MacBook through its website and retail stores, that will be a big shift. Apple doesn’t discount its hardware through its own stores. Only refurbished hardware carries a lower price tag.
Gurman frames the cheaper MacBook as an alternative to an iPad. Many iPad tablets can already rival the MacBook Air in price, especially when combined with keyboard and trackpad accessories. He also says Apple will use the A-series chip MacBook to compete with cheaper Windows and Chromebook laptops.
The Bloomberg report doesn’t specify which iPhone processor will power the cheaper MacBook. The original rumor claimed it would use the A18 Pro chip. That’s what powers the iPhone 16 Pro. In September, Apple introduced the A19 Pro, which powers the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air.
We also don’t know what design the new laptop will use. The current MacBook Air design was introduced with the M2 hardware revision. The M1 MacBook Air uses the same design as the first Retina display resolution MacBook Air from 2018.
Kuo said “potential casing colors include silver, blue, pink, and yellow,” but the Bloomberg report doesn’t mention color. Apple currently uses these four colors in the $349 iPad.
First A-series Mac
Since switching from Intel to Apple silicon, Apple has used M-series chips in all of its updated Mac hardware. Apple also uses M-series chips inside iPad Air and iPad Pro tablets. Apple’s A-series chips continue to power all iPhone models as well as iPad and iPad mini tablets.
Apple technically released an A-series Mac mini in the form of a Developer Transition Kit. However, that hardware wasn’t a consumer product. Instead, it was only released to registered developers. It was designed to help prepare Mac apps that ran on Intel to run on Apple silicon. Apple later collected Developer Transition Kit hardware.
Last month, Apple released the first M5-powered hardware. This includes the M5 14-inch MacBook Pro, M5 11- and 13-inch iPad Pro, and M5 Apple Vision Pro. Apple is expected to release an M5 MacBook Air in early 2026. We can also expect to see the first M6 Pro and M6 Max hardware then. The high-end 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro line is expected to be revised early next year.
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