Apple reviving “MacBook’ with a18 processor?

[Vincent Hannah]

If I were to guess, it'll only be single display with a single USB-C with no thunderbolt. But I expect a MagSafe and wonder if that means the headphone jack will be gone.

Either way there are so many USB-C hubs and monitors so I don't think it's a big problem anymore.

The kind of people that would buy a $799 A18 Pro MacBook don’t use USB hubs or even monitors.

 

[Cmaier]

The kind of people that would buy a $799 A18 Pro MacBook don’t use USB hubs or even monitors.

headphone jack will be gone. Everybody who this is for has airpods or equivalent.

 

[swk9]

The kind of people that would buy a $799 A18 Pro MacBook don’t use USB hubs or even monitors.

I agree. But I think it'll still support a monitor output for sure. I think a MagSafe would make sense alongside a single USB-C port.

headphone jack will be gone. Everybody who this is for has airpods or equivalent.

Even with the old 12" I really hoped for an extra USB-C port instead of the headphone jack. That would've made things so much easier for charging.

 

[Vincent Hannah]

Of course the USB-C port will support monitors, and hubs, and monitors with built-in hubs. It’s just that most of the buyers won’t utilize them.

I fully expect MagSafe to be present, which will make the single USB-C port much more palatable than it was on the old 12” MacBook.

I could see the headphone jack being gone for no reason other than product differentiation with the MacBook Air.

 

[swk9]

Of course the USB-C port will support monitors, and hubs, and monitors with built-in hubs.

Somebody tell Nintendo about this!

In the old wedge design I don't think there's enough room for both headphone jack and a port on one side. I'd love to have that design back with an updated keyboard but I suspect it'll be a slightly thinner version of the current Air.

This is an unpopular opinion but I preferred the older wedge design over the new one. The older MacBook 12" design with less bezel would be awesome.

 

[Cmaier]

Somebody tell Nintendo about this!

In the old wedge design I don't think there's enough room for both headphone jack and a port on one side. I'd love to have that design back with an updated keyboard but I suspect it'll be a slightly thinner version of the current Air.

This is an unpopular opinion but I preferred the older wedge design over the new one. The older MacBook 12" design with less bezel would be awesome.

I don’t know that it will be thinner. I think this is a replacement for that Walmart-exclusive M1 MBA that goes for $699. They’re probably selling a lot of those, and sticking an A-series chip in there gives them something they can sell everywhere that doesn’t cannibalize the rest of the lineup, but is 40% faster than the M1 and has better AI support, etc. Not sure if they call it an MBA, or an MB, or whatever. But if it is just “macbook” would make sense for it to be thicker than MBA (the old 12” MB never quite made sense with its name).

I had a friend ask me what macbook to get for her son who is going to college in a non-STEM major. I would have suggested this new thing if it existed, probably. The M1 MBA is a little too long-in-the-tooth for me to recommend , at least at $699.

 

[swk9]

Yeah I think it's just some of us still fondly remember the old 12" MacBook as a highly flawed but special product that could've been so much better with a more efficient processor, and wish this new MacBook could be the successor. But realistically the 12" MacBook was a premium product with a high price tag whereas this new MacBook will likely be a low cost alternative to the Air like you said.

If I were to name it, this new thing would be the MacBook SE. But we all know how Apple is with their naming schemes.

 

[Cmaier]

Yeah I think it's just some of us still fondly remember the old 12" MacBook as a highly flawed but special product that could've been so much better with a more efficient processor, and wish this new MacBook could be the successor. But realistically the 12" MacBook was a premium product with a high price tag whereas this new MacBook will likely be a low cost alternative to the Air like you said.

If I were to name it, this new thing would be the MacBook SE. But we all know how Apple is with their naming schemes.

wouldn’t surprise me if the product that eventually fills the 12” MB niche ends up being something running iPadOS. The 12” MB was great, but we retired ours after the keyboard broke for the third time and the battery was getting ready to die for the second.

 

[Yoused]

iBook 26

 

[swk9]

wouldn’t surprise me if the product that eventually fills the 12” MB niche ends up being something running iPadOS. The 12” MB was great, but we retired ours after the keyboard broke for the third time and the battery was getting ready to die for the second.

iBook 26

That's where things still seem unclear. Looks like Apple themselves are having trouble deciding how to proceed with the hybrid iPad if the recent report is true that they paused the foldable hybrid project.

Apple Pauses Work on Foldable iPad

Apple is well into development on the foldable iPhone, but it has decided to pause work on a larger-screened foldable iPad, reports Digitimes. ...

www.macrumors.com

I have a Surface Pro and it's an interesting but frustrating product. Yet I think a lot of Apple users would be highly interested in a Mac Surface Pro simply because a lot of them would love to use Apple Pencil for productivity and drawing while having access to full Finder and desktop apps.

The iPad Pro is still far too limited. There are instances where it's even worse than Chromebook because of iPad Safari.

 

[Cmaier]

The iPad Pro is still far too limited. There are instances where it's even worse than Chromebook because of iPad Safari.

Gotta say, I’ve been using the beta for several weeks, and it’s really made a difference. Yeah, the apps have to catch up still. But being able to freely window, put folders in the dock, etc. has made quite a difference in my day to day use. Another couple years, and they may get there.

 

[Vincent Hannah]

Thinking about this some more, the A18 Pro is 40% faster in single core than the M1, and nearly the same in multi-core and GPU, so it will feel faster for general single threaded tasks than the $699 M1 MBA Apple is still selling through Walmart.

And after this year’s surprise price drop on the entry-level M4 MBA with 16/256 to $999, this new MacBook (nothing?) MacBook (SE?) could come in at $799 and let the MBA go back upmarket a little bit.

I see it like this for next spring:

$799 13” MacBook SE A18 Pro 16/256
$999 13” MacBook SE A18 Pro 16/512
$1199 13” MacBook Air M5 16/512
$1399 15” MacBook Air M5 16/512

By ceding the $999 price point to the new A18 Pro MacBook SE, Apple can make a 512GB drive available at that price, while allowing the MacBook Air line to start at $1199, but now at 512GB, so effectively without a price hike.

The $799 model gets stuck with the last remaining 256GB storage tier, but that’s still fine for many buyers at that price/performance level, while providing nice $200 upsells to the 512 MacBook SE and then again to the 512 MBA

 

[throAU]

iPhone 16 Pro starts at the same price as a MacBook Air. They have different features, but it is hard to see Apple gaining from using an Axx in a MacBook. The only possibility would be a notebook that has a GSM/CDMA transceiver in it, which some people do want, but that would only make sense if the cell signal circuitry was integrated into the A-series SoC in a way that would make it not-cost-effective to have a separate radio chip for M-series processors – which creates issues for the iPad Air/Pro.

This idea is just not making sense.

I think there's a category of people out there who just want a traditional form factor laptop but do not need the horsepower of the M series and do not want a tablet with expensive peripheral keyboard, etc.

iPhone 16 SOC is plenty performance wise. It will easily fit in the thermal envelope. Will get killer battery life.

I can see it being a popular niche device for people who want an ultraportable that runs macOS.

 

[Roller]

I think there's a category of people out there who just want a traditional form factor laptop but do not need the horsepower of the M series and do not want a tablet with expensive peripheral keyboard, etc.

iPhone 16 SOC is plenty performance wise. It will easily fit in the thermal envelope. Will get killer battery life.

I can see it being a popular niche device for people who want an ultraportable that runs macOS.

As capable as iPadOS has become (and I haven't tried version 26 yet), I think there's still a need for a 12-13" Mac laptop that's less expensive than the lowest-end MacBook Air. I currently have an M1 MBA that easily meets my wife's needs and serves me well while traveling, and I once had an 11" MBA that was great for updating and practicing presentations and doing other work on-the-go. An MBA with an A-series processor might fit the bill for these use cases. The question is whether the market is large enough.

 

[Vincent Hannah]

Will the market be large enough? Are you joking? $799 *IS* the mainstream laptop market.

Apple is going to sell a Metric Kajillion of these.

 

[Roller]

Will the market be large enough? Are you joking? $799 *IS* the mainstream laptop market.

Apple is going to sell a Metric Kajillion of these.

I assume your question was rhetorical, but no, I wasn’t joking. The new MacBook will sell well if it’s priced sufficiently less than the MBA, which means the tiers in your previous post would have to be accurate. I’m not saying you’re wrong, but Apple sometimes makes odd choices.

 

[Vincent Hannah]

MacRumors has a report on the supposed compromises necessary on the new A18 Pro MacBook to hit the lower price point.

• Lower max display brightness: The leaker said the lower-cost MacBook's maximum display brightness may fall below the MacBook Air's 500 nits.
• No True Tone: The lower-cost MacBook will apparently lack True Tone, a feature that can adjust the color and intensity of the display to match the ambient light.
• No 1TB or 2TB storage capacities: The leaker expects the lower-cost MacBook to be available in 256GB and 512GB storage capacities, and they mentioned a potential 128GB capacity for educational institutions. Unlike the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, the new MacBook would lack 1TB and higher storage options.
• Slower SSD speeds: The flash storage in the new MacBook base model will apparently have slower read and write speeds compared to the latest MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models, potentially due to Apple using a single NAND chip.
• No fast charging: The new MacBook might not be "fast-charge capable."
• No backlit keyboard: The keyboard may lack backlit keys.
• No high-impedance headphones support: You can connect high-impedance headphones directly to compatible Mac computers introduced in 2021 or later, but the lower-cost MacBook will apparently not be one of them.
• No N1 chip: All of the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air models feature Apple's custom N1 chipfor Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. Apple says the chip also improves the overall performance and reliability of features like Personal Hotspot and AirDrop. However, the lower-cost MacBook will not use the N1 chip, the leaker said. Instead, the laptop will likely have a MediaTek chip for wireless connectivity.

The 512GB storage max is what jumped out at me, and is consistent with my pricing projections.

Just two configurations: 16/256 for $799, and 16/512 for $999. No RAM upgrades, no build-to-order for Apple to manage, just two SKUs in four colors that they ship out "as is" to all the stores. If one color is less popular, Apple makes a little less of them until the channel equalizes.

Want a 1TB hard drive? That'll be in a $1399 MacBook Air. Just as before, no price increase.

 

[Cmaier]

MacRumors has a report on the supposed compromises necessary on the new A18 Pro MacBook to hit the lower price point.

The 512GB storage max is what jumped out at me, and is consistent with my pricing projections.

Just two configurations: 16/256 for $799, and 16/512 for $999. No RAM upgrades, no build-to-order for Apple to manage, just two SKUs in four colors that they ship out "as is" to all the stores. If one color is less popular, Apple makes a little less of them until the channel equalizes.

Want a 1TB hard drive? That'll be in a $1399 MacBook Air. Just as before, no price increase.

I’m most interested in the form factor. If it’s similar to the prior MacBook, that would be pretty compelling to me as a “travel” computer. If it’s MBA-sized, then it’s not for me.

 

[NotEntirelyConfused]

Yeah, I've been thinking about getting a Studio to play with local AI more. Then one of these as a travel device would make sense, and I can give my M2 to a relative.

I suspect we're not going to see 16GB on the base model, and maybe not at all. However 12GB would be easy, and probably get them over the local AI hump that 8GB wasn't enough for (which is why we finally got 16GB base units, remember?).

I'm probably dumb enough to splurge for 18/24GB if they do make that available though. Nothing like running a couple of VMs on your iphone processor laptop so you can answer dumb windows questions from your relatives while you're trying to take a vacation...

 

[Vincent Hannah]

I’m most interested in the form factor. If it’s similar to the prior MacBook, that would be pretty compelling to me as a “travel” computer. If it’s MBA-sized, then it’s not for me.

The form factor on this new MacBook will be just like a slightly smaller version of the current Air. Thin enough, light enough, fits a little better on an airline tray, but with no intention of being an ultra portable or recreating the old MB12.

The main reason it exists is to create the $799 price point and take over the $999 price point so that the MacBook Air can get its big redesign next year: going ultra thin and upmarket, just like the iPhone Air did this year.

This is only phase one of the plan.