Apple has long been rumored to be working on a new MacBook with the A18 Pro in an attempt to gain market share with a cheaper product offering. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is reporting today that the company will announce the device at an “event” in March, and that it should come in a number of unique color options.
While recent Mac-related rumors have mostly surrounded the upcoming M5 Pro/Max MacBook Pro and redesigned OLED MacBook Pros, Apple’s first budget MacBook is also a really interesting new product.
Instead of using Apple’s Mac-optimized silicon, the company is reportedly going to use the A18 Pro chip from the iPhone 16 lineup. While that’s certainly less than what you’d get in a MacBook Air, it’s no slouch either. After all, the A18 Pro chip was the first iPhone chipset to compete with the original M1 chip that debuted in Macs.
As for the hardware, Gurman says it will have a screen slightly under 13 inches. Previous reports named it as a 12.9-inch display. The new MacBook also won’t be plastic, though that may have been a cost-cutting measure.
Rather than going for plastic, Apple has apparently created a new process to manufacture the aluminum casing. This new process is faster and more cost-effective than the one used in the current MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models.
Finally, Gurman reports that Apple will be experimenting with more unique color options with this new MacBook. He didn’t name the final options, although he says Apple tested light yellow, light green, blue, pink, classic silver and dark gray.
Wrap
All in all, if you’re someone who loves the Apple ecosystem but previously found Macs too expensive for your computing needs, this upcoming MacBook might be able to convince you. Previous reports suggest that it should come in around $699.
That’s significantly cheaper than the $999 MacBook Air, though Amazon often offers the laptop at a discount, with it currently available for $849.
Will you be someone who ends up buying one of these new A18 Pro MacBooks? Let us know in the comments.
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