A $599 MacBook could actually be coming – and even as a hardened Windows fan, I’d be tempted to take the plunge

• Apple’s affordable MacBook has again been rumored
• This time we’re told the price could be as cheap as $599
• The apparent idea is for Apple to ‘shake up the notebook market’ and also offset any price increase for the MacBook Air (caused by inflation)

Apple’s affordable MacBook, which was recently rumored to be in the pipeline, is again the subject of chatter on the grapevine – and this time we’ve heard it could be priced as cheaply as $599.

Wccftech flagged a post from leaker Jukan on X (see below), which airs a report from DigiTimes that taps sources in the supply chain over in Asia, spilling some fresh info on said MacBook.

We’re told that the MacBook is set to be priced between $599 and $699 in the US, and some components will be made in Q3 of this year – potentially more or less right away – ahead of notebooks being put together towards the end of 2025.

This is ahead of a rumored launch in (early) 2026, although this new report even mentions the chance of a commercial launch late in 2025 – but that doesn’t seem likely to me (unless it’s referring to an initial reveal, perhaps).

As we’ve previously been told, one of the main ways in which Apple will keep the price of this purported MacBook down is by using an iPhone chip as the processor. DigiTimes reminds us that the CPU will supposedly be the A18 Pro, and the laptop will be a compact affair, smaller than the MacBook Air, in fact, 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-low-cost MacBook,” and if the price does land as low as $599, that’ll certainly be a seismic shift in terms of the laptop landscape.

Obviously, bear in mind that this is just a rumor, and further consider that the pricing we have is a range ($599 to $699), indicating Apple hasn’t decided itself yet, which is doubtless the case. If this affordable MacBook is even happening in the first place, although given that we’re hearing about it once again, that seems a fair bit more likely. If the rumors around Q3 production of components are correct, there will likely be a good deal more supply chain-based spillage in the near future to back all this up.

DigiTimes makes it clear that the education sector – and Chromebooks – are not the target of this theoretical MacBook, and rather, it’s the broader market, with Apple looking to offset the MacBook Air potentially going up in price (due to inflation) with this cheaper offering.

With Mac sales suffering notable wobbles last year, Apple is surely looking to ensure that trend doesn’t reemerge, and instead, the company will want to keep the tide turning. (Apple’s fiscal Q3 saw a turnaround with Mac sales, although that was compared to weak sales in the same quarter of 2024).

Whatever the reason for Apple producing this low-cost MacBook, if it is indeed priced at $599, it’s going to be a seriously tempting product. Indeed, 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 until now, the cost of MacBooks has put me off, frankly – although maybe next year, that will change. I’m keen to give Apple’s computing world a spin, if the price is right, bearing in mind that an MSRP of $599 is going to lead to some highly enticing discounts in sales (or with refurbs, even).

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