Cheap MacBook with iPhone processor to launch this spring as analysts reveal display size

Previous rumors have already claimed that Apple will soon release a more compact and, above all, more affordable laptop alongside the MacBook Air (from $799 on Amazon). Analysts at TrendForce have now confirmed these rumors and purported that this budget MacBook is expected to launch in spring 2026.

The analysts also provide a new detail about the technical specifications, namely a 12.9-inch display, which would make this MacBook slightly smaller than the MacBook Air 13 with its 13.6-inch screen. With correspondingly narrow bezels, the laptop would be about as wide as a regular laptop keyboard. This keyboard width was already defined by the 12-inch MacBook from 2015, which was a device that was particularly appealing for frequent travelers, as it weighed only 2 lbs and still featured a 39.7Wh battery. However, its performance was heavily limited by slow dual-core Intel Core M processors.

The new model is expected to address this issue, as Apple could equip it with the Apple A18 Pro, which was previously used in the iPhone 16 Pro. According to Geekbench 6, the Apple A18 Pro is more than four times faster than the Intel Core i5-7Y54, which was found inside the final version of the 12-inch MacBook from 2017. Moreover, its multi-thread performance is almost on par with the Apple M1. TrendForce asserts that this 12.9-inch MacBook could help Apple gain market share, especially in a year when laptop prices are expected to surge by more than 20% due to the massive DRAM shortage.