A new MacBook Adorable? I wish

There have been several rumors lately and lots of discussion online about the possibility of Apple introducing a new MacBook powered by the A18 Pro chip. This would be the first time Apple has released a Mac powered by an iPhone chip, but they couldn't be doing it at a better time. The A18 Pro powers the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models and is extremely powerful. This new MacBook is reported to come with a 13-inch screen and will presumably replace the M1 MacBook Air that's currently being sold exclusively through Walmart.

To me, the most interesting part of the report by supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is that the more affordable MacBook is projected to sell 5-7 million of the projected 25 million MacBook units sold in 2026. That's 20-28% and far more than I expect the M1 MacBook Air to be selling at Walmart. If this figure is to be believed, this tells me two things.

First, this new MacBook model will probably be sold everywhere Apple sells computers. The M1 MacBook Air is exclusively sold at Walmart and is the only Apple product that isn't sold on their website. If Apple is expecting to sell this computer to more than 5 million people in 2026, they better sell it everywhere.

Second, I highly doubt it will look like the M1 MacBook Air, which follows the wedge-shaped design of the Intel days. This made a lot of sense for the first computer of Apple's transition to Apple Silicon, but they quickly redesigned all of their laptops, and I don't expect them to release a new product with a design that old unless the new design is extremely expensive. But Apple debuted the new MacBook Air design with the M2 MacBook Air in July 2022, 3 years ago, so it makes more sense to me that Apple sticking with the new design is probably more cost-efficient from an operations and future-proofing standpoint. If Apple wants to sell this computer in volume, using the new MacBook Air design will help a ton.

What I don't know but would love to speculate about is the name, which tells us a lot more about this product than just what's on the box. The M4 MacBook Air starts at $999, and with the looming threat of tariffs Apple might be looking for ways to keep that a reality. If this thing is branded as a MacBook Air, I predict it will start at $899 or $999. Another option would be to borrow the naming convention that Apple recently stopped with the iPhone: MacBook SE. This would make the most sense if Apple did decide to use the M1 MacBook Air design after all and kept the price at $699^[1]. Given that Apple just released the iPhone 16e instead of an updated iPhone SE and dramatically increased the price, I doubt this will happen.

This leaves us with one obvious option. A computer that was so adorable that everyone called it so... MacBook. This computer was overpriced, underpowered, would overheat easily, and only had one port, but it was kind of awesome. It had a 12-inch screen, weighed only 2 pounds, and it grew a passionate (but small) fan base. Since the advent of Apple Silicon, many of us have wondered: will the MacBook return? I think this is the most likely option, and I think it'll be priced at $799. It may only be a MacBook in name only because it will come with a 13-inch screen and will surely be more than 2 pounds, but I think this is the name they should use. With an A18 Pro, it probably won't have any customization options except for storage and color, and the colors will probably suck (as they usually do 🙄). I expect the storage to range from 256 GB to 1 TB, with no possibility of changing the RAM. Please Apple... I'm begging you... Don't sell another computer with 8 GB of RAM. Lastly, I expect Apple's education pricing to only give a $50 discount, unlike the $100 discount you can currently get with the M4 MacBook Air, but in line with the education pricing of the iPad Air.

There are still a lot of unknowns, but for the sake of the people who will buy this computer, I hope it's a good one, and I hope it's not more than $800.