Apple’s affordable MacBook could drop high-end features to cut costs

New Delhi: Now, there are not many days left for Apple’s upcoming “Special Experience” event, which is on March 4 in New York. In some early reports, it has indicated that Apple might unveil its multiple products at this event.

Unlike those existing Macs powered by Apple’s M-series chips, this model is expected to use an A-series chip that is used in iPhones, and it might come with scaled-back hardware to keep costs down. In other words, Apple is going to introduce its first-ever budget MacBook. From display and charging speeds to connectivity and storage, the latest entry-level MacBook could stack up against the existing MacBooks.

This upcoming budget-friendly MacBook might run on the A18 Pro chip, the same processor that powered the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. The currently available generation MacBook Air is powered by the M4 processor. The budget MacBook might come with the smaller 12.9-inch display, if we compare it to the 13.6-inch screen on the current MacBook Air.

The anticipated low-cost MacBook is expected to have a lower peak brightness than the MacBook Air’s 500-nit display.

This latest entry-level MacBook will not support fast charging. The MacBook Air 13-inch variant offers fast-charge capability with a 70W USB-C power adapter. The low-cost model will likely be powered by MediaTek’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip rather than Apple’s N1 chip. Entry-level MacBook is expected to provide 256GB and 512GB storage, with a possible 128GB education-only version.

Flash storage in the latest MacBook base model is reported to have slower read and write speeds compared to the latest MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models.

Apple is now exploring the broader range of colour options for its upcoming entry-level MacBook, which includes: Yellow, Green, Blue, and Pink.

The classic finishes, like silver and dark grey, are also reported to be considered. These brighter variants would represent a departure from the typically understated palette associated with the entry-level MacBook and the existing MacBook Air and MacBook Pro series.