Apple reportedly preparing to launch $600 MacBook

Reports of a budget MacBook first surfaced in June, when analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revealed the company was developing an affordable 13-inch laptop to compete with Chromebooks and boost MacBook sales, Macrumors said. He did not mention prices then.

He said the device would be first Mac to use an iPhone processor instead of the M-series chips found in the current Mac lineup. M-series chips have more cores, higher memory capacity and better external display support.

Kuo predicted mass production would start in late Q4 2025 or early Q1 2026. Taiwanese publication DigiTimes has now backed his forecast, adding that the new MacBook would cost between $599 and $699.

A MacBook Pro M3. Photo from Instagram

The entry-level 13-inch MacBook Air currently starts at $999 -- and $899 for students -- in the U.S. It features an M4 chip, 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.

The report also claimed the laptop would have a 12.9-inch display, slightly smaller than the MacBook Air’s 13.6-inch screen. Some components could enter production by late Q3 2025. Final assembly could start at Quanta’s facilities in Q4 before a launch in late 2025 or early 2026.

Analysts expect Apple to ship five to seven million low-cost MacBooks per year, potentially boosting total MacBook sales by 30–40% from the current 17–18 million. The device is expected to feature an ultra-thin, lightweight design and come in silver, blue, pink, and yellow colors.

Apple’s current budget smartphone, the iPhone 16e, lacks features like dynamic island and MagSafe charging, and a low-cost MacBook would likely follow the same approach, tech blog Gizmodo speculated.

The A18 Pro chip does not support Thunderbolt, so the new MacBook will likely use standard USB-C ports.