Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman studies that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook for “luring away clients from Chromebooks and entry-level Home windows PCs” throughout the first half of 2026. The unnamed laptop computer is actively being examined at Apple, and abroad manufacturing has reportedly begun.
Apple has been rumored to be engaged on an inexpensive MacBook that’s decrease in worth than the $999 M4 MacBook Air. Apple has by no means actually competed within the “low cost” laptop computer market, as a substitute selling iPads or older fashions as reasonably priced choices. For instance, Apple struck a cope with Walmart in 2024 to promote the M1 MacBook Air for $699, and the value has subsequently been minimize to $649 and now $599. Nevertheless, that mannequin, which was initially launched in November 2020 and has simply 8GB of RAM, doesn’t run Apple Intelligence, and isn’t promoted by Apple.
This new low cost MacBook will reportedly be powered by an A-series iPhone chip as a substitute of an M-series Mac chip. Early studies acknowledged that the chip can be an A18 Professional, however Apple has since launched the A19 Professional within the iPhone 17 Professional. Gurman’s report doesn’t state which A-series chip is getting used. Apple’s M-series chips are based mostly on the A-series, however they’re larger and quicker, which suggests they run at larger temperatures than the A-series chips designed for cell use. Nevertheless, as Gurman factors out, whichever chip is used within the new MacBook will carry out higher than the M1.
Gurman additionally states that the brand new MacBook could have “much less superior” parts in comparison with these within the present MacBook lineup, and the show shall be a low-end LCD that’s “barely smaller” than the 13.6-inch MacBook Air. He additionally says the brand new machine could have “a completely new design.”
It has been reported that Apple has a objective of accelerating its Mac gross sales. In its latest This fall 2025 monetary report, Apple introduced an enormous quarter for the Mac with a double-digit improve in year-over-year gross sales. The introduction of this new, low cost MacBook can be Apple’s first entry within the low-cost market. The client for this laptop computer can be a general-purpose person whose major duties contain productiveness apps, web entry, and primary content material creation.
