The iPhone, Apple Watch and Airpods Pro now have their legitimate moment, and the new products are very exciting. However, we, Mac fans, wait patiently our turn – sure, we have just received a series of new Macs last March with the M4 MacBook Air and the Mac Studio – but it was six months ago! Mac aficionados are a voracious group!
There is a glimmer of hope on the horizon. Apple often makes a final release of product for the year within October / November before the holiday shopping season (sometimes with an event, sometimes not). This often includes new Macs, and this year, we have heard a lot of rumors on a new low -cost MacBook based on iPhone components. Now that we know the details of new iPhones, we can use this information to reconstruct what this new MacBook could be. To satisfy our mac desires a little, here are some ideas on the new cheap MacBook.
The CPU: A18 Pro or A19 Pro?
With the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro, Apple introduced the A19 and A19 Pro fleas. Apple said that the A19 is “faster and more efficient”, probably compared to the A18 it replaces – the application has not specified this. Apple also said that the A19 PRO has a large cache and more memory than the A18 Pro, and that the A19 Pro iPhone 17 with its “best thermal design” offers a “40% better sustained performance” than the iPhone 16 Pro and its A18 PRO chip and its old thermal design.
The A19 or A19 Pro seems to be an enticing chip for the heart of the cheap MacBook, right? Hold this thought. Rumors reported that the cheap MacBook will have an A18 Pro, the old chip that has just been replaced in the Apple iPhone range, but these are early reports, and it is likely that Apple will go with the most recent A19 or A19 Pro.
Apple
However, there is a line of reasoning in support of the A18 Pro. The A19 is a brand new chip that is more expensive to produce, and Apple’s main objective with the cheap MacBook is to make it as affordable as possible, even if it means sacrificing a little performance. The A18 is not as expensive – it is also likely that Apple has a supply of A18 “binned” (older chips which are missing an kernel or otherwise not until the A18 specifications) that it could use.
The way this could work is that Apple uses an A18 type chip for the initial version of the cheap MacBook. Then, during the next year, after the A19 has been in production for some time, it becomes cheaper to do and that bace versions are collected. Apple then upgrades the cheap MacBook next year with the A19, after the introduction of the A20 in the iPhone 18 range. Then the cycle is repeated for the A20, the A21, etc.
It may seem disappointing for MacBook customers, but this is not the case! The A18 PRO offers multi-core performance similar to the M1, and its monocoeur speed is actually faster than the M3. It is a large chip and has the performance for great general use, the type of tasks that people who buy at this price are.
Efficiency in the N1 chip
Apple presented the new N1 chip in the iPhone 17 range. The N1 is a wireless networking chip for Bluetooth 6, Wi-Fi 7 and Thread, and Apple will probably use the N1 in the cheap MacBook. Since it is a new chip, the cost of recovery of development costs is probably high, but as a local chip, it will be cheaper in the long term.
Apple
In addition, using its own wireless networking chip, Apple wins engineering control not only in the chip itself, but also how it is integrated into a device. This helps performance and energy efficiency.
5g finally
The C1X in iPhone air is the successor of the C1, the first Apple cellular modem which was introduced into the iPhone 16th. The cheap MacBook (as well as future MacBook Airs and MacBook Pros) would have offered cellular connectivity, which would be provided by the C1X. (Apple could offer cell connectivity not as standard functionality, but as an additional customer option.)
Now it is possible that Apple adopts the old approach of the chip it could do with the CPU and apply it here: use old C1 chips instead of the new C1X. However, given that C1 is a first generation chip, Apple may be interested in passing there – the C1X is faster and more economical in power. In addition, the iPhone 17th could be published in the spring of 2026, and this phone would have the C1X. If a C1 is used in a cheap MacBook, C1 production should be extended until the next MacBook upgrade.
Battery life
The iPhone 17, Apple Watches and the AirPods Pro 3 were introduced during the flood suppression event, all improved battery life authorities. This is due to a combination of software optimizations and hardware improvements. Is there anything we can get from it that could apply to the cheap MacBook?
The battery improvements paired by Apple with the iPhone Air and the iPhone 17 will make their way in MacBooks.
Apple
We can start by watching the 13 -inch MacBook Air, which, according to Apple, offers up to 18 hours of video streaming. Apple will probably use it as a reference for the cheap MacBook, which would have a 12.9 inch screen, slightly smaller than the 13.3 inch screen of the MacBook Air.
Apple will at least want to correspond to the battery life of its new Macbook to the current MacBook Air, and I would like to say that it’s longer. The efficiency introduced in just announced products could allow Apple to do exactly this.
The camera of the iPhone 17 occupies the front of the stage
The best functionality (or at least that which will be used the most) new feature introduced in the iPhone 17 range is the front camera oriented towards the 18MP scene. It solves a lot of problems to use this particular camera, but these problems are not the same as those of MacBook users. I do not expect Apple to use this camera in this or any other MacBook, although Apple can use the new iPhone camera as its functionality of its new MacBook.
Since Apple likes to promote the management of the continuity camera in MacOS, Apple could decide not to include a camera at all on the cheap MacBook in order to reduce costs. Instead, he could announce the camera of the iPhone as a functionality of the new MacBook, perhaps even by providing an integrated way to attach it to the macbook screen
Do not expect the 18mp central camera to come on a MacBook.
Foundry
A new palette of colors
Apple offers the iPhone 17 in five different colors, but Apple is more likely to follow the example of the iPhone 16th, which is available in two colors, white and black. But what will Apple choose for its new MacBook? Black and sage? Deep blue and silver? Sky blue and light gold like iPhone air? Maybe Space Gray returns alongside Cosmic Orange? NOW that It would be something to see.
More to come
We are forced to learn more about this new entry into the Apple laptop range. We keep a trace of the latest reports and developments in our Rumor A18 Pro MacBook Roundup, so be sure to check it to follow all the latest news.
