Apple may be on the verge of doing something it hasn’t done in a long time: introduce a genuinely lower-cost MacBook designed to compete with entry-level Windows laptops and Chromebooks. Two supply-chain-facing reports published this week — one from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and an independent corroboration from DigiTimes — sketch the same broad picture: a slimmer, colorful, 12.9-inch MacBook powered by an A-series chip and priced far below today’s MacBook Air lineup, possibly as low as $599.

Until now, Apple’s Macs have used the M-series family, chips explicitly designed for laptops and desktops (more memory, more I/O, broader external display and Thunderbolt support). The A18 Pro is a high-end phone SoC that debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro and brings strong single-thread performance and Apple’s latest neural engines — but it’s not identical to the M chips in features or connectivity expectations. If Apple ships a Mac with the A18 Pro, it’s a strategic trade-off: better unit economics and lower cost by using a chip already in mass production for iPhones, at the expense of some pro-grade features Mac users expect.

Notably, writeups aggregating the rumor point out that the A18 Pro — as implemented in iPhones — does not expose Thunderbolt. That suggests the new MacBook would use standard USB-C ports (physically identical to Thunderbolt ports) with USB-level bandwidth (likely up to ~10Gbps) rather than full Thunderbolt/USB4 performance and multi-display support. For students and buyers who only need basic external drive and display connectivity, that’s acceptable; for pro users who rely on Thunderbolt docks and multiple external monitors, it’s a clear limitation.

The DigiTimes piece says some components could enter mass production by the end of Q3 2025, and final assembly would take place at Quanta in Q4 — a schedule that would allow commercial availability before the end of the year or in early 2026. Ming-Chi Kuo’s earlier expectations match that rough timeline: mass production late Q4 2025 or early Q1 2026. Those two independent supply-chain signals — an analyst with long Apple contacts and a Taiwan-supply-chain publication — are the reason this rumor surfaced back into the mainstream this week.

Kuo suggested Apple is aiming for an ultra-thin, ultra-light design with a palette that echoes the playful iMacs and older 12-inch MacBook lines — Silver, Blue, Pink, Yellow. Expect base RAM and storage to be conservative to hit the $599 price: A-series iPhones typically ship with 8GB of RAM in their Pro variants, which is lower than the 16GB floor on newer Macs, so Apple will likely optimize macOS configurations accordingly. Rumor coverage also notes the new machine will be physically a bit smaller than the 13-inch Air, likely to position it as a true budget portable.

Analysts in the coverage estimate annual shipments of this low-cost MacBook could hit 5–7 million units, potentially boosting Apple’s Mac volumes by 30–40% over current levels. The logic is straightforward: at a $599 entry price, Apple could reach students, schools, and first-time laptop buyers who might otherwise choose a Chromebook or low-end Windows laptop. The current 13-inch MacBook Air starts at $999 (or $899 with the student discount in many regions), so a $599 MacBook would be a material expansion of Apple’s accessible price points.

The trade-offs (what buyers should know)

• Performance vs. expectations. The A18 Pro is fast for a phone chip and capable of everyday tasks and many creative workflows, but it won’t match higher-core M-series chips in sustained multi-core workloads or wide RAM configurations.
• Ports and external displays. Without Thunderbolt/USB4, external storage and displays will be more limited than on current M-series Macs; users who depend on docks or multiple 4K displays may find it restrictive.
• Upgrade paths. Expect base RAM and storage to be modest to preserve the low price — upgradability will likely be limited and pricier as with other recent Apple portables.

If this device arrives as described, Apple would be pursuing the same playbook that helped iPad and iPhone expand market penetration: offer a compelling, well-integrated product at a price point that converts a different class of buyer into an Apple ecosystem customer. Chromebooks captured education and budget markets by being cheap and simple; Apple’s potential response is cheaper hardware that still sells the macOS experience and services (and locks buyers into Apple’s ecosystem long term). Whether Apple can make enough margin while lowering price and preserving brand expectations is the central question.

What to watch next

• Supply chain signals (component orders, Quanta scheduling) in Q3/Q4 2025 — these are the clearest indicators before an Apple announcement.
• Apple software tweaks: if Apple plans to ship macOS configurations that run well on an A-series SoC, we may see macOS builds or features optimized to the chip’s strengths.
• Pricing and configuration leak details (RAM, SSD tiers) — the devil is in the options, and Apple could ship a $599 base with expensive up-levels that push the average selling price higher.