As you may know, last Thursday, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook officially announced that the company would introduce a plethora of new products this coming week. While most of those products are expected to be rather spec bumps of existing products, only one product will be that exception. I’m talking about the MacBook, not “Air” or “Pro”, just the MacBook with no designation.
The “MacBook” branding has had an interesting history over the past two decades, as it was used for laptops that had different form factors and positions in the lineup.
- First, the branding was used for Apple’s entry-level polycarbonate Intel-based laptops, introduced in May 2006. Those plastic laptops, along with the branding, were discontinued in July 2011.
- Second, the branding was also used for Apple’s 13-inch aluminum unibody MacBook (introduced in October 2008) on top of the white plastic MacBook. It was later rebranded as the 13-inch MacBook Pro in June 2009.
- Third, the branding was revived in March 2015 for Apple’s thinnest and lightest 12-inch Retina MacBook, which was positioned as a higher-end premium laptop between the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro. This laptop, along with the branding, was discontinued in July 2019
We expect Apple to revive the “MacBook” branding once again, but this time, it will take on an entirely different form factor, rather than being a spec refresh of an existing product. So that leaves me with several questions on what features and specs this MacBook is going to have, since we’ve never seen leaked photos of its prototypes online.
The first thing I’m uncertain about is the RAM. The entry-level MacBook is expected to feature the A18 Pro chip, the same chip found in the iPhone 16 Pro. Since that chip has 8GB of RAM, I’m a bit skeptical since Apple previously faced backlight on sticking with 8GB of RAM for its entry-level Macs from the early 2020s, especially the 14-inch MacBook Pro (M3). Apple finally made 16GB of RAM the default in October 2024. So bringing back 8GB on the Mac seems like a strange move, even if it means bringing the cost down. One rumor suggests that the MacBook may have the “M5e” chip that would have 12GB RAM, but the source currently doesn’t have a good track record. But 12GB would still be acceptable for 2026.
The second thing I’m uncertain about is how external display support would work. Currently, iPad models with A-series chips only support video mirroring, and all MacBook models to this day have supported extended display mode for years. Keep in mind that the A18 Pro supports only USB 3 speeds (no Thunderbolt support), so it would be interesting to see how this MacBook will handle such display support.
The third thing I’m interested in knowing is what display specs this MacBook will have. Rumors suggested that the laptop would feature a smaller 12.9-inch display, but they didn’t specify more details regarding the display, such as resolution and aspect ratio. I’d guess that the MacBook will use the same display as that of the 13-inch iPad Air because, if you think about it, it would be more cost-efficient to reuse older components.
Other things I’m curious about are:
- Will it have MagSafe 3?
- What I/O is it going to have (one or two USB-C ports)?
- Will it have Touch ID?
- What memory/storage configurations is it going to have?
A recent rumor suggested that the MacBook may have these limitations. Since this MacBook will be Apple’s entirely new product with no existing iterations to base my predictions on, the list of these questions above could go on, as there are many possibilities on what features Apple may skimp on to reduce costs. The price is the most important question. In light of the ongoing price hikes for RAM/SSDs, recent rumors suggest that the higher pricing may be unavoidable. I hope Apple will be able to price this MacBook starting at $599 so that it will still be a great value for an entry-level product. Even Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman pointed out in his today’s “Power On” edition that Apple believes this MacBook will be an “incredible value” that may attract more people to switch from PCs and Chromebooks.
As we’re getting closer to the launch of this MacBook, it won’t be long before we find out all the details for this interesting product. Make sure you bookmark this site, and stay tuned as we cover everything that Apple is going to announce!
