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Apple prepares to enter the low-cost laptop market for the first time (Bloomberg)

RetroGamingUK

RetroGamingUK

Banned
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Apple is reportedly working on a cheaper Mac laptop with an iPhone chip

Return of the MacBook?
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Apple is working on a low-cost Mac laptop powered by an iPhone chip that it plans to launch in the first half of 2026, according to Bloomberg. The laptop will also have a "a lower-end LCD display" and a screen size that's "slightly below" the 13.6-inch screen on the current MacBook Air. The laptop will be sold for "well under $1,000," Bloomberg reports, and the laptop's price will "fall in a similar range" as the approximately $600 cost for an entry-level iPad and a Magic Keyboard Folio.

So far, laptops with Apple Silicon have used M-series chips. But Apple's tests have found that the iPhone chip "can perform better than the Mac-optimized M1 used in laptops as recently as a few years ago," Bloomberg says. The new laptop will have an "entirely new design" and will be aimed at more casual users, students, and businesses.

Earlier this year, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo similarly reported thatApple was developing a more affordable MacBook with an A-series chip. Kuo said that the laptop would be powered by the A18 Pro chip found in the iPhone 16 Pro lineup and would come in a range of colors including silver, blue, pink, and yellow.

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Makes sense if they can make an Apple margin on it.

Apple's Chromebook.
 
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RetroGamingUK said:
A18 Pro, but yes it would be the laptop equivalent of the base iPad.

A low cost entry point to MacOS that isn't the Mac Mini.
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Ah yes, that's what I meant. My brain went to the 16 (phone model) and not the 18 chip in it. Derp.

Not too shabby if the price is right.
 
Last edited:
DeepEnigma said:
Ah yes, that's what I meant. My brain went to the 16 (phone model) and not the 18 chip in it. Derp.

Not too shabby if the price is right.
Click to expand...
They are afraid of cannibalising the MacBook Air… I fear for the compromises they will do for this design…

A18 better choice for this than M series SoC's… sure… better for whom? ;)…
 
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RetroGamingUK said:
So far, laptops with Apple Silicon have used M-series chips. But Apple's tests have found that the iPhone chip "can perform better than the Mac-optimized M1 used in laptops as recently as a few years ago," Bloomberg says. The new laptop will have an "entirely new design" and will be aimed at more casual users, students, and businesses.
Click to expand...
I swear, if iPhones get Mac OS before iPad Pros I'll scream. 😡
 
This is exactly what I have with my iPad and Logitech keyboard/case. After the last iOS update, it pretty much turned the iPad into a Mac. I like the convenience of separating the keyboard from the tablet and keeping my iPad charged. When I had a MacBook, it sat unused most of the time and was dead whenever I needed it.
 
I'd probably still find a way to pay the $1K for an M-series MacBook Air over a laptop powered by an A-series chip. But I can also see how the APU from an iPhone 17 Pro could make for a serviceable entry level laptop for basic productivity and video streaming.
 
Quasicat said:
This is exactly what I have with my iPad and Logitech keyboard/case. After the last iOS update, it pretty much turned the iPad into a Mac. I like the convenience of separating the keyboard from the tablet and keeping my iPad charged. When I had a MacBook, it sat unused most of the time and was dead whenever I needed it.
Click to expand...
You can't run MacOS apps that way. I'd rather they allow running those apps, either within ios, or as a function of dual boot. They just make excuses as to why that would be "a bad experience", when really they want people to buy multiple devices.
 
daffyduck said:
You can't run MacOS apps that way. I'd rather they allow running those apps, either within ios, or as a function of dual boot. They just make excuses as to why that would be "a bad experience", when really they want people to buy multiple devices.
Click to expand...
I see what you're saying. It would be nice, but the only thing I really run on my Mac is Handbrake and Plex. The rest are small productivity apps which are mostly cloud based.
 
Lower end LCD display in the year of our Lord 2025 almost 2026? Crazy thing is Apple fans will eat this up at least the ones with the cracked screen iPhone 13 that they're still paying off. 🤣
 
the most impressive part of this is how powerful the cellphone processors are. Being even close to an m1, boggles the mind. Phones are so powerful now.
 
Quasicat said:
This is exactly what I have with my iPad and Logitech keyboard/case. After the last iOS update, it pretty much turned the iPad into a Mac. I like the convenience of separating the keyboard from the tablet and keeping my iPad charged. When I had a MacBook, it sat unused most of the time and was dead whenever I needed it.
Click to expand...

Same, I got a Logitech combo touch for my M1 iPad Pro (I got it cheap when the M2 version came out). Only problem was it has been disconnecting a lot since iOS 18.4 (not quite so bad with the latest 18.7.1). Waiting for another update or two before i jump ship to iOS 26 and hope it fixes my keyboard issues.
 
Pimpbaa said:
Same, I got a Logitech combo touch for my M1 iPad Pro (I got it cheap when the M2 version came out). Only problem was it has been disconnecting a lot since iOS 18.4 (not quite so bad with the latest 18.7.1). Waiting for another update or two before i jump ship to iOS 26 and hope it fixes my keyboard issues.
Click to expand...

I had the same disconnection issues until I jumped into iOS 26. The only problem I have is that I need to go into settings whenever I use the keyboard and switch to windowed mode since they got rid of being able to split the screen which I used in my meetings. Full screen mode works great when I'm reading in my chair or I'm sending emails with my keyboard. Its a small adjustment and I've gotten used the new Mac setup.
 
Apple silicon is the best thing Apple has done in a long time. They can make a powerful low cost chip that will destroy any low end pc/chrome book.
 
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