Apple’s low-cost MacBook may lack these key features – 9to5Mac

Apple’s new low-cost MacBook will have a number of compromises to help keep the cost of the computer down. Today’s new rumor details at least some of the compromised…

MacBook A18 Pro specs and trade-offs

The rumor originated on Weibo today and appears to be based on a code leak from an unreleased build of macOS Tahoe. Since the source is unproven, we would take it with skepticism for now. Still, the claim is worth noting for future generations.

Here are the alleged limitations of the upcoming entry-level MacBook powered by the A18 Pro chip:

• Does not support high impedance headphones
• It doesn’t have a True Tone display (a separate source also claims that the P3 won’t have a wide color gamut)
• Lower maximum display brightness than the MacBook Air’s 500-nit display
• It does not support any fast charging
• It uses a MediaTek Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip (the same chip found in the base model iPad) rather than Apple’s N1 chip
• It doesn’t have to have a backlit keyboard
• Storage options include 256GB and 512GB … but a special 128GB tier may be reserved for education buyers
• Lower SSD speeds compared to MacBook Air and MacBook Pro

The Weibo post also suggests that the MacBook will have 8GB of RAM. It is unclear whether or not additional upgrade options will be available.

This all makes sense to me. None of these restrictions seem too arbitrary, with the possible exception of no backlit keyboard. However, this mirrors the Magic Keyboard, the base model of Apple’s iPad keyboard.

The question, of course, is how much this MacBook will cost. A report from Digitimes this morning suggested a starting price of between $699 and $749.

Apple usually offers a $100 discount for students and educators. If Apple is also exclusively offering the lower 128GB storage configuration for education buyers with this MacBook, then perhaps the “starting” price for the EDU could be $200 less than the starting price for everyone else.

Apple is expected to announce its new entry-level MacBook model next week. On Wednesday, I’ll be on site in New York for a special Apple “experience” giving hands-on coverage.

What do you think of the rumored compromises of the MacBook A18 Pro? Does this sound like a compelling package? Let us know down in the comments.

h/t MacRumors

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