Rumoured low-cost MacBook launching in 2026 will have an iPhone 16 Pro processor
Rumours suggest a new low-cost MacBook in 2026 will feature the powerful iPhone 16 Pro A18 Pro processor. Picture: Michael Sherman/IOL
Image: Michael Sherman/IOL
With the rumours intensifying that a new low-cost MacBook will be coming in 2026, it's now been revealed that the laptop will feature an iPhone 16 Pro processor.
It's mind-boggling to think that an phone processor will be powerful enough to run a laptop OS, but that's exactly the case with the A18 Pro chip.
MacBooks have never been known to be easy on the wallet, as they cater mostly to the high end of the market, but that could change with the launch of their new ultra-book for under R13,000.
The current cheapest laptop in the Apple lineup is the M1 Air which came out in 2020, which is currently being sold for R12,999. This laptop will likely be discontinued next year, making way for the new low cost MacBook in its place.
Revamped MacBook with A18/A19 Pro Chips: A New Era of Performance
The new MacBook would be a reintroduction of the model launched in 2015. Back then, the laptop featured a 12” screen, the awful butterfly keyboard, and a severely underpowered Intel processor.
The design was way ahead of its time, and the hardware could not keep up as it was prone to overheating and would freeze if you tried to do basically anything on the device. Now, it’s a different story as the processor that would be used for a new MacBook would either be an A18 Pro or less likely an A19 Pro chip, which are the same ones used in the iPhone 16 Pro and new iPhone 17 Pro models.
The processing power of these chips is roughly the equivalent of the 2020 M1 MacBook Air. The M1 Air was the first MacBook to use the new Apple silicon chip after the company moved away from the underpowered and battery-sapping Intel processors.
The rumours are that the new MacBook could retail between 500 and 600 dollars in the US, which works out to R10,368. Adding in import costs to South Africa and the Maximus price should therefore not be more than R13,000.