Apple could finally reintroduce a cheap MacBook — thanks to the iPhone

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A18 Pro could come to a Macbook

MacBook Air M4
(Image credit: Future)

There are plenty of reasons to buy a MacBook, but saving money certainly isn't one of them. The best MacBooks give you a lot for your money, but they're not budget devices by any definition of the word.

The good news is that analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims Apple will be releasing a cheaper Macbook next year — and it'll apparently be powered by iPhone chips.

According to Kuo, this will help Apple get shipment figures back to their pre-COVID shipment peak of 25 million units — up from 20 million in 2025.

How will iPhone chips affect a Mac?

It's no secret that Apple's M Series chips came about because of the success of the iPhone's A-series. Compared to old Intel Macs, this offered far better performance and efficiency — boosting the capabilities and battery life. So bringing the A-series into the MacBook lineup brings that whole idea full circle.

The main question I have is, how much of a hit would this rumored machine take in both those areas? The A-series may be able to perform well on iPhones, but there's a reason why the best iPads have been using M-series chips for the past few years.

I'm also curious as to how cheap this "cheap" Macbook might actually be. The M4 MacBook Air models start at $999, but is discounted to $849 right now.

A cheaper model would have to be at least $200-$300 cheaper to make it worthwhile and that kind of price point could come with some other sacrifices like worse cameras, fewer ports and a less impressive screen.

Of course we won't know for sure until Apple actually announces the laptop, which isn't likely to happen until it's ready to go on sale. Meaning we've got almost a year of waiting ahead of us.

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Tom Pritchard
Tom Pritchard
UK Phones Editor

Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.

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