Apple is reportedly working on a cheaper MacBook model which will be powered by the same chip found in the iPhone – the A18 Pro.
Cheaper MacBook Powered by A18 Pro Chip Launching in 2026, Performance Comparable to M1 Model
The M-series lineup of chips power the Mac lineup, and the cheapest model in the Mac lineup is the MacBook Air, with a starting price of $999.
However, according to Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple wants to set the price bar even lower, and it plans to do that by launching a MacBook model that will be powered by the chip found in the iPhone – the A18 Pro.
According to the details shared, this MacBook will have a 13-inch display, will go into production either later this year or earlier in 2026. Ming-Chi Kuo also says that the notebook will be potentially offered in these color options: silver, blue, pink, and yellow.
And while the price of this model hasn’t been shared or speculated on, Apple is planning to produce 5 to 7 million of these notebooks in 2026, which suggests that this MacBook may be aggressively priced compared to the MacBook Air.
It’s unclear what this notebook will actually look like. Either it will look like the current MacBook Air, notch and all, or Apple can do the funniest thing and rehash the M1 MacBook Air design, which I believe is still a great-looking notebook.
If Apple brings back the 12-inch MacBook design, it will be game over for the industry.
While a lot of people may think the A18 Pro is a weak choice for a MacBook, but if you look at the benchmarks, the single-core performance offered by the A18 Pro is way better than the M1 chip, and the iPhone chip does slightly better in multi-core performance.
If you still want to get nerdy, the A18 Pro managed a single-core score of 3,452, multi-core score of 8,573, and Metal score of 32,715 in Geekbench.
The M1 chip, on the other hand, has a single-core score of 2,347, a multi-core score of 8,438, and a Metal score of 33,125.
In short, Apple’s decision to put the A18 Pro chip inside a Mac is a pretty interesting one, and I’m sure it will work out just fine, especially if the pricing is on point.
