Rumored $599-$699 MacBook could be in the works — 12.9-inch model with iPhone 16 Pro SoC tipped for Q3 2025 production

Apple’s manufacturing partners in Taiwan are reportedly preparing a MacBook deluge propelled by a new level of affordability, according to loose-lipped supply chain sources talking to Digitimes. The industry rumors, which are of course not confirmed by Apple, suggest that components for a new MacBook with a $599 to $699 price point will enter mass production in Q3 this year.

Tipped to use an iPhone chip

The source report offers a surprising amount of detail about potential hardware changes that will allegedly enable the creation of the ‘$599 MacBook.’ At first glance of the rumor, we thought perhaps Apple would use new-old-stock of M1 or M2 chips. However, Digitimes sources suggest the new entry-level MacBook will use the same processor as the contemporary iPhone 16 Pro, the A18 Pro.

Though not as powerful as the Apple Silicon M-series SoCs, the A18 Pro was made to strike back against Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 parts. With macOS already well optimized for Arm over several generations, the phone chip should still provide perky enough performance, but we'll reserve judgment for any upcoming hands-on or review.

From a hardware standpoint, the A18 Pro offers 2x Everest cores at 4.05 GHz and 4x Sawtooth efficiency cores at 2.42 GHz. An integrated hexa-core GPU with 768 shaders and running up to nearly 1.5 GHz is also present. The A18 Pro is fabbed on the TSMC N3E process.

Display gets smaller, and there will be other spec cuts

Another noted change in the affordable new Apple MacBooks concerns the display. This cheaper MacBook will apparently use a 12.9-inch diagonal screen, harkening back to the popular but short-lived 12-inch MacBook of 2015-2017. That would make it smaller than the mainstream MacBook Air, with its 13.6-inch display. We wouldn't be surprised if the cheaper laptop had some other screen-related spec cuts to achieve its price. In other words, don’t just expect the physical size of the display panel to be reduced; look for spec changes in max brightness, gamut, and so on.

We expect Apple to remain stingy with RAM and storage and limit the cheapest MacBooks with lowball system resources. Such a move will help upsell customers to existing models like the MacBook Air or its notoriously pricey spec-upgraded configurations.

Elsewhere in the Digitimes report, we get a hint that some of this information comes from a source close to Quanta. Regular readers will be aware that Quanta is a major Taiwanese ODM that makes products for Apple, Dell, HP, and others.

Apple laptop shipments could be boosted “by 30% to 40%”

If all goes to plan, it is estimated that Apple’s new cheap laptop could be launched in late 2025 to early 2026. MacBook sales are currently reported to be quite healthy, propelled by the firm’s successful pivot to Apple Silicon and the attractive mix of performance and efficiency (battery life) that its machines deliver.

Digitimes analysts reckon Apple could boost its current 17 to 18 million per annum units shipped stats by an astonishing 30 to 40% off the back of the affordable new MacBooks. Apple’s ASPs are currently quite a lot higher than its rivals, suggesting room for maneuver here. The move will surely cannibalize some sales of the Air line, though, presenting a tricky balancing act to optimize the range for overall profitability.

Lastly, Digitimes analysts don’t see the rumored cheaper MacBook being aimed at the Chromebook-dominated education market. Apple seems happy to compete here with its iPads.

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