Monday, June 30th 2025

Apple Prepares Affordable 13-Inch Laptop Powered by iPhone's A18 Pro SoC

by
AleksandarK
 Discuss (24 Comments)
An Apple-first attempt at making an affordable computer is underway. The company is working on a new 13-inch laptop that promises to bring the power of its latest iPhone chip to a more budget-friendly computer. Rather than using one of its custom M‑series processors, this model will run on the A18 Pro, which currently powers the top iPhone lineup. By tapping into existing smartphone-grade CPUs, Apple aims to reduce manufacturing costs without compromising everyday performance for students and casual users. According to Ming-Chi Kuo, mass production could start as early as the late fourth quarter of 2025 or the early first quarter of 2026. The design will resemble a slim MacBook Air, with a screen measuring approximately 13 inches across, a unibody case, revised vents (possibly none), and ports, in smartphones the A18 Pro is passively cooled.

To add some flair, Apple plans to offer the laptop in several colors, like silver, blue, pink, and yellow, similar to its earlier iMac palette. This affordable MacBook is a key component of Apple's strategy to boost desktop and laptop shipments back to their pre-pandemic peak of roughly 25 million units, now projected for 2026. Following a slowdown this year, the company anticipates shipping approximately 20 million MacBooks in 2025. The new 13‑inch model alone is forecast to account for five to seven million of those sales, making it one of Apple's most important products next year. How well the A18 Pro SoC handles the desktop load remains to be seen, but for basic office and everyday tasks, it could be a very usable device. The single-core A18 Pro performance is comparable to the latest M4, but the multi-core performance lags behind, so incorporating a mobile-grade chip will be an interesting addition to Apple's Mac product stack.
Source: Ming-Chi Kuo on X

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24 Comments on Apple Prepares Affordable 13-Inch Laptop Powered by iPhone's A18 Pro SoC

#1
Daven
It's much more likely that the next Macbook Air will be increased in price from $999 to $1099 and this smartphone based Macbook will be priced at $999. So no, I don't believe Apple will release anything cheaper than what they have today.

One only has to look at the discontinuance of their cheapest smartphone, the iPhone SE at $429 and the release of their new 'cheapest' smartphone, the iPhone 16e at $599 for proof of these kinds of business maneuvers.

Edit: By the way, below is what amounts to Apple innovation these days:

www.macrumors.com/2025/06/30/apple-planning-to-change-iphone-17-logo-placement/
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#2
Fourstaff
DavenIt's much more likely that the next Macbook Air will be increased in price from $999 to $1099 and this smartphone based Macbook will be priced at $999. So no, I don't believe Apple will release anything cheaper than what they have today.

One only has to look at the discontinuance of their cheapest smartphone, the iPhone SE at $429 and the release of their new 'cheapest' smartphone, the iPhone 16e at $699 for proof of these kinds of business maneuvers.

Edit: By the way, below is what amounts to Apple innovation these days:

www.macrumors.com/2025/06/30/apple-planning-to-change-iphone-17-logo-placement/
You get a lot of laptop for current MBA at $999 though. Moving it to $1099 will massively decrease its value proposition but this is Apple we are talking about.
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#3
dgianstefani
TPU Proofreader
FourstaffYou get a lot of laptop for current MBA at $999 though. Moving it to $1099 will massively decrease its value proposition but this is Apple we are talking about.
It's arguably THE $1k laptop to buy. Especially for uni students looking for a notetaking and research machine, who get a further 10-15% education discount. ST performance which is literally chart topping, very good build quality (bad ports and no cooling) and excellent battery life. It's the best option at that price for 90% of consumers, who use it for basic laptop stuff like movies, web browsing and light office work. But likewise it's an extremely capable machine for working on, despite the lack of sustained CPU MT performance, and the lack of ports.
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#4
Daven
FourstaffYou get a lot of laptop for current MBA at $999 though. Moving it to $1099 will massively decrease its value proposition but this is Apple we are talking about.
Apple prices are not bad for what you get. That's especially true now that the rest of the computer market stopped racing to the bottom like in the Netbook days. But with tariffs, inflation, fab costs and other related costs going up, companies are playing pricing and spec games to try and preserve their margins. Elevating smartphone chips into laptops is one of these games.
Posted on Reply
#5
Fourstaff
DavenApple prices are not bad for what you get. That's especially true now that the rest of the computer market stopped racing to the bottom like in the Netbook days. But with tariffs, inflation, fab costs and other related costs going up, companies are playing pricing and spec games to try and preserve their margins. Elevating smartphone chips into laptops is one of these games.
Apple will still skin you alive if you pick anything with more memory though. Funny how Apple snuck in and became king of midrange.
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#6
Daven
FourstaffApple will still skin you alive if you pick anything with more memory though. Funny how Apple snuck in and became king of midrange.
I will say this for AI, it pushed a lot of manufacturers to include a decent amount of memory in base configurations. Apple now ships all smartphones/tablets with at least 8 GB of RAM and all Macs with at least 16 GB of RAM. That helps a little when it comes to the exorbitant pricing of the higher memory and storage options.
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#7
Guwapo77
Now that is downright impressive. I knew the APUs in the iPhone were overpowered, but I didn't think to that level.
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#8
Daven
Guwapo77Now that is downright impressive. I knew the APUs in the iPhone were overpowered, but I didn't think to that level.
Maybe we should wait for some reviews before making any assumptions.
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#9
dyonoctis
DavenIt's much more likely that the next Macbook Air will be increased in price from $999 to $1099 and this smartphone based Macbook will be priced at $999. So no, I don't believe Apple will release anything cheaper than what they have today.

One only has to look at the discontinuance of their cheapest smartphone, the iPhone SE at $429 and the release of their new 'cheapest' smartphone, the iPhone 16e at $599 for proof of these kinds of business maneuvers.

Edit: By the way, below is what amounts to Apple innovation these days:

www.macrumors.com/2025/06/30/apple-planning-to-change-iphone-17-logo-placement/
That would make the 999$ A18 macbook air a very hard sale compared to a 1099$ macbook Air.

It's not the first time that Apple tried to sell a SKU below the air in the Cook era. They relaunched the classic macbook line in 2015, but the CPU were so underpowered that they killed the line again. Now they have CPUs that can actually make that segment work
arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/04/the-2015-macbook-previews-a-future-thats-not-quite-here/
Posted on Reply
#10
TheinsanegamerN
DavenMaybe we should wait for some reviews before making any assumptions.
Umm.....we already know how powerful the A series has become. We've seen ipads running Resident Evil FFS. It'd be foolish to think that the same chip, with a laptop for cooling, would somehow be slower.
dgianstefaniIt's arguably THE $1k laptop to buy. Especially for uni students looking for a notetaking and research machine, who get a further 10-15% education discount. ST performance which is literally chart topping, very good build quality (bad ports and no cooling) and excellent battery life. It's the best option at that price for 90% of consumers, who use it for basic laptop stuff like movies, web browsing and light office work. But likewise it's an extremely capable machine for working on, despite the lack of sustained CPU MT performance, and the lack of ports.
I cant imagine spending $1k to do basic tasks that you could easily do on a $400 netbook without issue, or more likely spend $3-400 on an off lease business notebook that blows the netbooks build quality out of the water.

But then again, most college kids are blowing tens of thousands on toilet paper with "degree" written on it, so I guess that tracks.
Posted on Reply
#11
Guwapo77
DavenMaybe we should wait for some reviews before making any assumptions.
Nothing wrong with that. I'm guessing a step above Chromebooks. I mean, look what they have done to the iPads and they are rocking laptop like functionality. Might even get a week's worth of battery life...ok that's extreme. LoL
Posted on Reply
#12
Daven
TheinsanegamerNUmm.....we already know how powerful the A series has become. We've seen ipads running Resident Evil FFS. It'd be foolish to think that the same chip, with a laptop for cooling, would somehow be slower.
The biggest difference is MacOS versus iPadOS. I feel like a full desktop OS would require a lot more resources than a paired down mobile OS but I could be wrong. Some of this could be the reason that Apple doesn't just combine both into one. This was actually discussed recently after the most recent WWDC:

www.techradar.com/computing/apple-says-its-not-merging-ipados-and-macos-but-i-reckon-it-might-soon-have-to-change-its-tune
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#13
dgianstefani
TPU Proofreader
DavenThe biggest difference is MacOS versus iPadOS. I feel like a full desktop OS would require a lot more resources than a paired down mobile OS but I could be wrong. Some of this could be the reason that Apple doesn't just combine both into one. This was actually discussed recently after the most recent WWDC:

www.techradar.com/computing/apple-says-its-not-merging-ipados-and-macos-but-i-reckon-it-might-soon-have-to-change-its-tune
The reason is simply that they want to sell both ipads and laptops. Same reason they refuse to give macbooks touchscreens.
Posted on Reply
#14
Ruru
S.T.A.R.S.
How does that iPhone SoC compare to the most recent M series SoC:s? To be honest, I thought that modern iPhones already use the M series ones.
Posted on Reply
#15
dgianstefani
TPU Proofreader
RuruHow does that iPhone SoC compare to the most recent M series SoC:s? To be honest, I thought that modern iPhones already use the M series ones.
Similar ST, worse MT, weaker GPU.
Posted on Reply
#16
Ando
TheinsanegamerNUmm.....we already know how powerful the A series has become. We've seen ipads running Resident Evil FFS. It'd be foolish to think that the same chip, with a laptop for cooling, would somehow be slower.


I cant imagine spending $1k to do basic tasks that you could easily do on a $400 netbook without issue, or more likely spend $3-400 on an off lease business notebook that blows the netbooks build quality out of the water.

But then again, most college kids are blowing tens of thousands on toilet paper with "degree" written on it, so I guess that tracks.
In an absolute sense you don't "need" a lot of things. All that really matters is spending within your means.
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#17
Guwapo77
TheinsanegamerNUmm.....we already know how powerful the A series has become. We've seen ipads running Resident Evil FFS. It'd be foolish to think that the same chip, with a laptop for cooling, would somehow be slower.


I cant imagine spending $1k to do basic tasks that you could easily do on a $400 netbook without issue, or more likely spend $3-400 on an off lease business notebook that blows the netbooks build quality out of the water.

But then again, most college kids are blowing tens of thousands on toilet paper with "degree" written on it, so I guess that tracks.
That $400 netbook is not remotely in the same realm as a Macbook Air.
Posted on Reply
#18
Hecate91
DavenThe biggest difference is MacOS versus iPadOS. I feel like a full desktop OS would require a lot more resources than a paired down mobile OS but I could be wrong. Some of this could be the reason that Apple doesn't just combine both into one. This was actually discussed recently after the most recent WWDC:

www.techradar.com/computing/apple-says-its-not-merging-ipados-and-macos-but-i-reckon-it-might-soon-have-to-change-its-tune
It would be interesting to see if the "affordable" laptop runs iPad OS or MacOS, though a laptop running iPad OS would be too redundant compared to an iPad with a keyboard.
Guwapo77That $400 netbook is not remotely in the same realm as a Macbook Air.
A $400 netbook or used business grade laptop would do all the same basic school work as a $999 Macbook air.
Posted on Reply
#19
Guwapo77
Hecate91It would be interesting to see if the "affordable" laptop runs iPad OS or MacOS, though a laptop running iPad OS would be too redundant compared to an iPad with a keyboard.

A $400 netbook or used business grade laptop would do all the same basic school work as a $999 Macbook air.
If all you want to do is type an email...OK, I'll agree. My daughter had one of those basic netbooks, while my son had as a Macbook Air with an M chip in it. Yeah...night and day. You can tell yourself they are the same all you want. Performance, features, and build quality are NOT in the same ballpark.
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#20
Daven
Hecate91It would be interesting to see if the "affordable" laptop runs iPad OS or MacOS, though a laptop running iPad OS would be too redundant compared to an iPad with a keyboard.

A $400 netbook or used business grade laptop would do all the same basic school work as a $999 Macbook air.
I'll have to disagree with you on the netbook era. Netbooks were horrible and couldn't run basic things like email very well. I'm not talking about just being able to open a webbrowser, go to gmail.com and send an email. I'm talking about the whole experience from slow booting, to horrible trackpads, to cramped keyboard layouts, to terrible WIFI reception, to the terribly small screens with horrible image quality, to being so so so so slow doing every little thing. God I'm glad that era is over.

I hated every minute of the Netbook that I used and we can all thank Intel's Atom and the race to the bottom that seemed to dominate every PC manufacturer board room for that ill conceived idea. Eww. I just made myself throw up in my mouth just thinking about those things. I mean look at this crap:

Posted on Reply
#21
Hecate91
DavenI'll have to disagree with you on the netbook era. Netbooks were horrible and couldn't run basic things like email very well. I'm not talking about just being able to open a webbrowser, go to gmail.com and send an email. I'm talking about the whole experience from slow booting, to horrible trackpads, to cramped keyboard layouts, to terrible WIFI reception, to the terribly small screens with horrible image quality, to being so so so so slow doing every little thing. God I'm glad that era is over.

I hated every minute of the Netbook that I used and we can all thank Intel's Atom and the race to the bottom that seemed to dominate every PC manufacturer board room for that ill conceived idea. Eww. I just made myself throw up in my mouth just thinking about those things. I mean look at this crap:

I completely agree, those old netbooks were almost useless for anything. I'm assuming they mean the compact laptops around a 12" or 13" size, small enough to easily carry around all day but enough for basic school or office work.
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#22
kondamin
so an ipad with an attached keyboard and OSX as OS in stead of IOS
Posted on Reply
#23
wNotyarD
Hecate91I completely agree, those old netbooks were almost useless for anything. I'm assuming they mean the compact laptops around a 12" or 13" size, small enough to easily carry around all day but enough for basic school or office work.
I had an 11" Acer Atom-powered netbook. Not even the lightest of (DE-enabled) Linuxes could save that thing.
Posted on Reply
#24
Daven
Hecate91I completely agree, those old netbooks were almost useless for anything. I'm assuming they mean the compact laptops around a 12" or 13" size, small enough to easily carry around all day but enough for basic school or office work.
I think some of the screens were even smaller like 8.5 to 10.9". Portability was about the only selling feature that I liked. At the end of the day, the main reason why Netbooks don't exist today is because they ultimately were not usable enough to stay around.
wNotyarDI had an 11" Acer Atom-powered netbook. Not even the lightest of Linuxes could save that thing.
There is this idea that if something actually turns on and does a task then its fine. I get these comments a lot when it comes to Intel N processors. Computers are not just about getting a task done. Computers are now an extension of our lives whether we like it or not. If you lose a tooth and could save a few bucks and get a wooden replacement tooth over titanium, zirconia or a polymer one, would you do it? Hell no. I want something that lasts and makes my life just as good if not better than before. Netbooks never ever did that. Not a single one. I hope this A series SoC Macbook if it ever comes to market, brings a great user experience not a passable one.
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