Apple to release cheaper MacBook soon
The new products are fast approaching.
Recently, Mark Gurman detailed many of the products that are expected to be released during Apple's spring event. This list includes some products that are almost certainly arriving, with a handful of others that are still up in the air, including the cheaper MacBook model.
This cheaper MacBook is expected to arrive some time "in the first half of the year," according to Mark Gurman. This puts it in line with the March 2nd event that is rumored to happen. Jeff Pu also confirms this by stating that it could be released within the next month, roughly. This is good, as it has been rumored for years and hoped for, especially with the rising RAM prices and the unattainability of computers now.
As for its chip, the cheaper MacBook is expected to come with an A18 Pro chip, not an M-series Chip. While an iPhone chip in a MacBook may seem like a bad idea, this chip is roughly the same or faster than the M1 chip, which still blazes on macOS to this day, so it should not be a big issue. The optimization will be interesting, since Apple hasn't put a mobile chip in a device running macOS before. However, they do have experience with similar products, since the iPad Pro and iPad Air both use M-series chips and have been for years now.
The device is expected to come in a variety of colors, reflecting its cheaper, possibly toy-like image. It is positioned to be in line with the new colorful iMac and iPad, coming in with blue, pink, yellow, and silver. This brings back some character to the MacBook line, like the original iBook from 1999.
It is also expected to have a 12.9-inch display, like the iPad Pro. This may not seem like a large difference from the 13.6-inch MacBook Air, but since the bezels should be relatively small and be a noticeable difference, given that it scales non-linearly. This should give enough room for typing without feeling cramped. The display will probably be n0thing to write home about, with most likely good color accuracy and viewing angles, along with good brightness like we have seen on Apple's LCD displays recently.
The new MacBook should come in around $599 to $699, but with RAM prices rising more than ever, it may lean on the costlier side of that range. This is still cheap enough, especially for a MacBook. Hopefully this can bring a new price point to Apple's lineup while also bringing solid performance to aid in the RAM crisis.
Apple's new cheaper MacBook looks to be promising and a great budget-friendly MacBook. We will have to wait and see what Apple does soon.
