- Apple’s affordable MacBook is again rumored
- This time we are told that the price could be as cheap as $ 599
- The apparent idea is that Apple should ‘shake up the notebook market’ and also equalize any price increase for MacBook Air (caused by inflation)
Apple’s affordable MacBook, which was recently rumored to be in pipeline, is again the subject of chatting on the vines – and this time we have heard that it could be priced as cheap as $ 599.
WCCFTECH marked a post from Leaker Jukan on X (see below), which is sent out a report from Digitimes that taps sources in the supply chain into Asia, wasting some fresh information about the said MacBook.
Report: Exclusive: Apple, allegedly preparing the USD 599 MacBook to capture more portable market market ShareApple is preparing to shake the notebook market with a brand new ultra-low cost MacBook, according to Supply Chain sources. Some components are expected to enter mass production of … pic.twitter.com/utic94kjsbAugust 11, 2025
We are told that MacBook is set to be priced between $ 599 and $ 699 in the United States, and some components will be made in 3rd quarter this year – potentially more or less immediately – ahead of notebooks that will be put together at the end of 2025.
This is in front of a rumored launch in (early) 2026, although this new report even mentions the chance of a commercial launch late in 2025 – but it doesn’t look to me (unless it refers to a first reveal maybe).
As we have been told in the past, one of the most important ways in which Apple will keep the price of this alleged MacBook down is by using an iPhone chip as a processor. Digitime’s reminds us that the CPU is supposed to be the A18 -PRO and the laptop will be a compact affair, less than MacBook Air, actually with a 12.9-inch screen.
Analysis: Laptop Quake
The report makes it clear that Apple intends to “shake up the notebook market” with this “Ultra-Lave cost MacBook” and if the price lands as low as $ 599, it will certainly be a seismic shift in terms of the portable landscape.
Of course, remember that this is only a rumor and further consider that the pricing we have is an interval ($ 599 to $ 699), indicating that Apple has not decided itself yet, which is undoubtedly the case. If this affordable MacBook even happens in the first place, even if we hear about it again, it seems much more likely. If the rumors of the Q3 production of components are correct, there will probably be a lot more supply chain-based waste in the near future to support all this.
Digitimes make it clear that the education sector – and Chromebooks – is not the goal of this theoretical MacBook, and rather it is the wider market, with Apple who wants to equalize MacBook Air, which potentially increases in price (due to inflation) with this cheaper offer.
With Mac sales suffering from remarkable Wobbles last year, Apple is definitely looking to make sure the trend is not coming again and instead the company wants to keep the tide to turn. (Apple’s fiscal Q3 experienced a turnaround with Mac sales, although compared to weak sales in the same quarter 2024).
Whatever the reason Apple produces this low cost MacBook, if it is really priced at $ 599, it will be a severe tempting product. In fact, such a laptop might just tempt me to finally buy a macOS device -something I’ve mulled in recent times, despite a lifetime of buying Windows -PCs and laptops.
It’s either that or an entry -level Mac Mini, but so far the cost of MacBooks has dismissed me – though it may be next year it will change. I’m eager to give Apple’s computer world a spin if the price is right, considering that an MSRP of $ 599 will lead to some very enticing discounts in sales (or with refurbs, even).
