Apple’s rumored cheap MacBook could be powered by an iPhone chip – here are 6 things to expect

• Apple is working on a budget laptop, a new report claims
• The device will be powered by an iPhone chip and use a smaller display
• It could be priced around $600, making it Apple’s cheapest laptop

Apple’s best MacBooks are known for their premium price tags – you’re going to pay at least $999 / £999 / AU$1,699 for one, with the understanding that you get a high-quality device in almost every regard. Apple has long stuck to that formula, but a new report claims it’s about to rip up the script with a budget laptop that could compete against all the best budget laptops.

In a recently published article, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman claims this low-cost MacBook could arrive as soon as “the first half of next year.” That anticipated arrival date means it will likely be on sale at the same time as Apple’s latest range of M5 Macs.

But don’t expect the budget MacBook to come outfitted with that same M5 chip. The second thing to expect, according to Gurman, is that the device will “rely on an iPhone processor.”

We don’t yet know exactly which chip that will be, but Gurman says that Apple’s “internal tests have shown that the smartphone chip can perform better than the Mac-optimized M1 used in laptops as recently as a few years ago.”

That could reassure users who might be put off by seeing an iPhone chip inside a Mac.

Cost-cutting moves

Thirdly, another cost-cutting move will allegedly come to the screen. Here, Gurman asserts that Apple will use a “lower-end LCD display.”

This will be “the smallest of any current Mac, coming in at slightly below the 13.6-inch one used in the MacBook Air.” Fourthly, Gurman also alludes to the product’s “entirely new design,” although he doesn’t share any more details on what that might look like.

Apple’s mobile chips are incredibly performant and easily outclass their Android rivals every year, but they still fall short of the output produced by Mac-grade chips. For that reason, you shouldn’t expect the affordable MacBook to be able to run complex workloads or play the best Mac games at high frame rates. Yet that’s not really the goal anyway, as Gurman says the device is “aimed at luring away customers from Chromebooks and entry-level Windows PCs.”

Lastly, to that end, we might see the laptop priced around $600 – a rumor that we’ve seen before. Gurman gives the example of an iPad with Magic Keyboard Folio, which costs about $600 all in. The reporter then adds that “The new Mac would fall in a similar range but offer better battery life, the greater flexibility that comes with the macOS software and an integrated keyboard.”

Despite these changes, I wouldn’t expect Apple to compromise on the design quality that has made its MacBook range so well regarded. Using a smaller display and iPhone chip would hopefully allow the company to retain the laptop’s metal chassis, for example, ensuring you get the same high-end feel that MacBooks are known for. And if Apple can offer that kind of quality at a lower price point, the new device should definitely be one to watch in 2026.

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