Will We See Apple Break This MacBook Taboo?
Inside The Budget MacBook
This new MacBook has one significant difference that we currently know about. Rather than one of the M-seres Apple Silicon chipsets—which every ARM-based MacBook has used since Apple Silicon launched in 2020—Tim Cook and his team will launch this MacBook with the A18 Pro chipset.
This is expected to debut in the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max smartphones set for a September release. Someone looking for a MacBoko that can run all of the developer tools, edit 4K video, and work in hefty multimedia will already be invested in a more powerful MacBook. Still, the goal here is not to capture that market. The goal is to take on the mid-range Windows laptops and Chromebooks.
As the iPad market shows, the A17 Pro is more than capable of lighter computing, and certainly the email answering, web browsing, and office working that is comfortable on a laptop or Chromebook will be just as comfortable running on an Axx MacBook rather than an Mxx model.
The Budget MacBook Price
The biggest attraction to consumers is going to be the price. Details from the supply chain suggest the entry-level model will be priced between $599 and $699. That's significantly below the $999 that the Apple Store has set out as the baseline MacBook price in the recent past.
Note that this is the Apple Store price. Apple is not averse to offering discounts, it just doesn't push them on the ront page. The educational discount is a long-running offer across a wide range of products. In the case of the MacBook Air it cuts $100 off the price, giving a headline $899 price for students picking up a new macOS laptop.
Then you have the curious case of Walmart. The retail chain has been selling new M1-powered MacBook Airs at a hefty discount. The MacBooks arrived in March 2024 for $699, with a subsequent cut to $649 in March 2024. These aren't available through the Apple Store or Apple.com; this is a Walmart exclusive. Yet they are new laptops, manufactured and supported by Apple.
What does Apple get out of the deal? Rather a lot of consumer data on what people use low-specced MacBooks for in 2025, and how much impact the price has on the profile of the buyers. All of which have surely fed back into the Axx MacBook project.
The Budget MacBook Launch Date
The key component to consider when discussing any potential release date is the chipset. The Apple silicon A18 Pro is going to be in high demand as it will be powering both the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Apple will want to focus on that inventory in the short term as production lines come up to speed to feed the initial demand.
As that calms down, the capacity for an A18 Pro MacBook will become available. The supply chain points to a late 2025 release date, although Apple may choose to build up inventory and hold until early 2026. The latter would give this new MacBook a clear run at the market, and those looking to buy a MacBook as a holiday gift would likely stick with the current $999 options.
Apple will also look to balance out the next M5-powered MacBook laptops. It's becoming more apparent that the MacBook Air is being left to the end of a chip release cycle, so an M5 MacBook Air may not arrive until late 2026, a delay that will be minimized in the eyes of consumers by the cheaper MacBook.
The M5 MacBook Pro models will capture the high ground in 2025, the new budget MacBook will cover the lower steps of the portfolio, and the MacBook Air can run shortstop and pick up anything left at the end of the year.
If Apple is ready to drop below the $999 sticker in the Apple Store.
Now read the latest budget MacBook thoughts, iPhone leaks, and macOS changes in Forbes' weekly Apple news digest...
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Engadget
13 minutes ago
- Engadget
Substack turns on iOS in-app payment option for all paid newsletters
Substack now lets users subscribe to any paid publication via an in-app purchase from the official iOS app. The news comes after the company tested the feature with 30,000 creators. This makes subscribing to something a much speedier affair, with the entire process taking just a few taps on the old smartphone screen. Prior to this, it wasn't always possible to upgrade to a paid subscription directly in the app. Showing off that it's more expensive to use iOS. (Substack) However, there's a fairly major caveat. It's likely that subscriptions paid for by in-app purchases will be more expensive than usual. That's to accommodate Apple's cut of the revenue. Substack says it "automatically sets" iOS app prices higher so creators take home approximately the same amount. These creators can dive into the settings to lower the price. There's another way to subscribe to your favorite Substack creators without burning too much time. Apple now allows iOS apps in the US to include external payment links, which stems from a legal ruling following a lawsuit from Epic Games . This isn't quite as speedy as an iOS sub, but the prices are right.
CNET
13 minutes ago
- CNET
iPhone 18 Reportedly Won't Launch until 2027 Because of Foldable iPhone
The yearly iPhone launch schedule reportedly is going to become very confusing -- or exciting -- depending on how you look at it. According to a report from ET News, the premium versions of the iPhone 18 series -- but not the base model -- will be released in September 2026, along with the first foldable iPhone. The base iPhone 18 will be launched in the first half of 2027, the report said. Read more: Best iPhone in 2025: Here's Which Apple Phone You Should Buy This decision would have no bearing on the release of iPhone 17, iPhone Pro, iPhone Pro Max and iPhone Air this September. There's no exact date for those releases yet. If the rumors and reports become reality, this would be the launch schedule over the next couple of years: September 2025: iPhone 17, iPhone Pro, iPhone Pro Max, iPhone Air First half of 2026: iPhone 17e (entry-level version, ala the iPhone 16e) September 2026: First foldable iPhone, iPhone 18 Air, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max First half of 2027: iPhone 18 base model, iPhone 18e A representative for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kumar Priyadarshi, founder of training and consulting firm TechoVedas, said having two launches per year "could work -- if Apple does it right. By splitting the release, Apple stays in the news for a longer time, which could help keep sales steady all year." Apple saw a 2% decline in shipments of its iPhones in the second quarter of this year. Priyadarshi said the new launch schedule could also be smart from a customer perspective. "People who want the newest, most advanced models will buy in the fall, while the spring release can attract buyers looking for a more affordable upgrade," Priyadarshi said. "But Apple needs to clearly explain things so that buyers of the regular model don't feel like they're just waiting for a 'lesser' iPhone."
TechCrunch
13 minutes ago
- TechCrunch
Substack writers can now direct U.S. readers to (often cheaper) web-based subscriptions on iOS
Newsletter subscription platform Substack will begin taking advantage of an option on the U.S. App Store that allows users to make purchases outside of Apple's in-app purchasing system. This functionality is permitted by a change to the App Store's rules in May, as a result of Epic Games' antitrust lawsuit against the tech giant. Since then, a number of top apps have moved to offer in-app purchase links that point to their own websites, including Spotify, Patreon, and the Amazon Kindle app, among others. In Substack's case, support for external payments will benefit both the company, which no longer has to pay the App Store a commission on those web sales, and consumers, who will have access to reduced pricing. Meanwhile, Substack creators will be able to offer their readers the option of whether they want the convenience of Apple's in-app payments system (IAP) or the web payment option, which is now accessible without having to leave the app. Image Credits:Substack Substack explains it will automatically adjust its customers' iOS app price higher to account for Apple's fees, allowing creators to take home the same amount of money as a web subscription. However, Substack writers can disable this feature if they choose. (Substack will continue to take its own 10% fee based on the web subscription price, as before.) The company said it's also offering its writers migration tools to help them move their subscribers off Apple's payments system and onto its web-based system. Currently, more than 30,000 publications on the platform have in-app purchases enabled; Substack says early tests of the expanded set of payment options have driven a boost in paid sign-ups. It did not, however, share specific numbers related to this. Image Credits:Substack The public launch of the external payments option will only impact new Substack subscriptions. Substack writers don't have to take any action unless they want to lower the prices for those using Apple's payments system. Per Apple's App Store rules, fully opting out of offering IAP is not allowed. While the changes impact the Substack app in the U.S., the company says it's still evaluating if it makes sense to switch to the more complex rules Apple offers in the EU and U.K. for developers who want to forgo IAP.
