Apple’s Low-Cost MacBook With A18 Chip, 8GB RAM to Launch at a Competitive Price: Report

Apple has long been rumoured to be developing a low-cost MacBook to compete in the non-premium laptop market. While such plans are yet to be made official, a recent report suggests that the Cupertino-based tech giant is confident that the purported laptop will be received well in terms of sales and expects to ship about 8 million units, owing to its relatively low price. The company has reportedly finalised the memory supply of the low-cost MacBook, which may be powered by the A18 Pro chip.

Apple's Affordable MacBook Could Be Equipped With an A18 Chip

According to a report by Mirror Daily (in Korean), the rise in memory prices has not impacted Apple's plan of introducing a low-cost MacBook. It is still said to launch priced between $699 (roughly Rs. 63,000) and $799 (roughly Rs. 72,000), potentially undercutting the entry-level MacBook Air by up to $300 (roughly Rs. 27,000).

The estimated 8 million units that the company expects to sell are said to be equivalent to up to 30 percent of the company's total MacBook sales in 2025. Taiwanese contract manufacturer Quanta is reported to contribute to more than half of the total supply chain, with Foxconn coming in second. The first batch of orders may comprise around 2.3 million units, as per the publication.

Powering the purported low-cost MacBook is reported to be the A18 Pro chipset, which the tech giant introduced with the iPhone 16 Pro models in 2024. While the SoC has never been tried on a phone before, it has a similar architecture to the company's proprietary Arm-based M1 processor. The Apple A18 Pro chip comprises a hexa-core CPU, a hexa-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine, which is identical to the M1 MacBook Air.

Apart from this, the MacBook could feature 8GB of RAM and strong battery life, too. However, it may come at a cost. The low-cost MacBook is said lack several standardised Apple features, like a Thunderbolt port. Instead, it is rumoured to feature simple USB Type-C ports, supporting slower data transfer speeds and external display limitations.

According to previous reports, Apple is expected to launch the low-cost MacBook in Spring 2026, between March, April, and May. It may target the entry-to-mid-range segment of laptops. The laptop's components were previously expected to enter mass production by Q3 2025, with full ecosystem assembly commencing before the end of the year.

With a reported 12.9-inch screen, the purported laptop may position itself as the MacBook with the smallest display in Apple's lineup. Supply chain efficiencies, scale benefits, and competitive pricing could help the low-cost MacBook attract buyers and maintain a sustained shipment performance, reports suggest.