Key Takeaways
- Apple plans to launch a compact and budget-friendly laptop in spring 2026, alongside the MacBook Air priced at $799.
- The new model will feature a 12.9-inch display with thinner bezels, making it slightly smaller than the current MacBook Air.
- It aims to improve performance with the Apple A18 Pro chip, significantly outperforming the older Intel Core processors.
- The new MacBook is expected to capture more market share as laptop prices are projected to rise over 20% due to a DRAM shortage.
- The lightweight design, reminiscent of the 2015 12-inch MacBook, will appeal to travelers, weighing only 2 lbs.
Previous speculation has hinted that Apple is planning to unveil a more compact and, notably, a more budget-friendly laptop alongside the MacBook Air (starting at $799 on Amazon). Analysts from TrendForce have now validated these speculations, suggesting that this cost-effective MacBook is set to be released in the spring of 2026.
Specifications and Display
The analysts shared additional insights regarding the technical features, highlighting a 12.9-inch display. This would make the upcoming MacBook a bit smaller than the 13.6-inch MacBook Air. With thinner bezels, the laptop is expected to be about the width of a standard laptop keyboard. This dimension was previously established by the 12-inch MacBook from 2015, which was particularly attractive to travelers due to its lightweight design of only 2 lbs, and it included a 39.7Wh battery. However, its performance was notably limited owing to the slow dual-core Intel Core M processors.
Performance Expectations
The anticipated new model aims to rectify this limitation, as Apple is likely to equip it with the Apple A18 Pro, a chip that was earlier introduced in the iPhone 16 Pro. Geekbench 6 benchmarks suggest that the Apple A18 Pro outperforms the Intel Core i5-7Y54 by more than four times, the processor used in the last version of the 12-inch MacBook from 2017. Additionally, its multi-thread performance is nearly on par with the Apple M1. TrendForce believes that this 12.9-inch MacBook could assist Apple in capturing more market share, especially considering that laptop prices are predicted to rise by over 20% this year, largely due to a significant DRAM shortage.
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