Apple is planning a spring launch of a low-cost MacBook running on a 2024 iPhone chip, according to new information from researchers in Taiwan.
The research firm TrendForce claims Apple is planning a 12.9-inch MacBook that’ll run off the iPhone 16 Pro’s A18 Pro silicon. In a press release, TrendForce says the laptop will be “competitively priced” at between $599 and $899 and arrive in March or April.
“Amid a tough market environment, Apple aims to introduce a 12.9-inch model in spring 2026 targeting the entry-to-mid-range segment,” the research firm writes. Other well-connected Apple watchers like the analyst Ming-Chi Kuo have previously reported on the plans for a lower-cost MacBook for 2026
It’s not clear how Apple would brand this laptop. Would it be an entry-level MacBook Air, or might Apple reintroduce the standalone MacBook branding that lived during the 2010s. It was even thinner than the MacBook Air and had only a single USB-C port. I had one and liked it well enough, but the keyboard was inherently flawed and I really missed the MagSafe connector from my previous MacBook Air.
As for the A18 Pro chop, well it’s around as powerful as the M1 chip that appears in the MacBook Air that’s still sold by Apple in a limited capacity at stores like Walmart. As MacRumors points out, this model is available for as low as $549, so any replacement is unlikely to be priced too much higher than that. Especially considering the current MacBook Air M4 is available for $999.
My money’s on a $699-$799 asking price for this device, which might help Apple acquire some new customers in a different segment of the market.
