Why You Shouldn’t Expect Apple’s ‘Affordable’ MacBook
Apple products have a (deserved) reputation for being expensive. You’re often paying more than you would for a seemingly identical device from another company. That price tag has its benefits, but when you can get a Chromebook for $200, it can be hard for some to justify buying a $1,000 MacBook.
This ongoing price shock may be fueling rumors that Apple is working on an “affordable” MacBook that could cost as little as $599 (the cheapest MacBook Air currently starts at $999 directly from Apple). According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo , this Chromebook competitor will be powered by the A18 Pro chip, the same one used in Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro. It would be the first time Apple has built a MacBook with an A-series chip from the iPhone, and it would be a departure from the M-series chips that critics have praised so much in the current Mac era.
The point of this device isn’t to be powerful, but to deliver the simplest macOS experience possible at a lower price than a regular MacBook. That also means a smaller footprint: Kuo suggests the new MacBook will feature a 12.9-inch display, which is 0.7 inches smaller than the 13.6-inch display on the existing MacBook Air. DigiTimes also backs up Kuo’s claim , publishing a story about a $599 price tag — the lowest suggested retail price for a MacBook to my knowledge.
The as-yet-unnamed device is rumored to be coming in late 2025 or early 2026, so if you’re price-sensitive and aren’t happy with your current machine, this new, cheaper MacBook could be the option for you.
If you ask me, you don’t have to wait to buy a great $600 MacBook.
You Can Now Buy a Great MacBook for Under $600
The thing is, you don’t have to wait for an “affordable” MacBook to come out to buy a great MacBook at a reasonable price. You can buy one today. You wouldn’t believe it if you visited Apple’s website: the company will happily sell you a MacBook Air M4 for $999 ($899 on the Education Store ), and while that’s a decent price for a great laptop, it’s still objectively too high. If $599 is your budget, you’ll never buy a new Apple computer.
So don’t buy it from Apple. Instead, buy an older (but still new in the box) M-series Mac from a third-party retailer like Amazon, Best Buy, or Walmart. The M4 chip is great, but honestly, all M-series Macs are great. Apple has really found a goldmine with the current generation of Macs, so much so that buying a nearly five-year-old laptop could still be a great deal in 2025.
If you’re tempted by rumors of an “affordable” MacBook, I highly recommend checking out the M1 MacBook Air. It’s one of Apple’s first M-series laptops, and it’s still going strong. If you’re looking for a MacBook that can handle basic tasks like web browsing, email, messaging, and running productivity apps, this is it. Apple still supports all versions of the M1, and it will be compatible with macOS 26 Tahoe , which will be released this fall.
Right now, Walmart is selling the M1 new for the same $599 . If you’re open to buying refurbished, you can get even more: Walmart is selling the same M1 Air with double the RAM (16GB instead of 8GB) for $550. The 8GB machine will be fine for most people, but if you can find a refurbished model with 16GB for a comparable price, go for it, since the more RAM you have , the more processes you can run at once, meaning the 16GB models will let you do more at once. Plus, as programs and software become more demanding, that extra RAM will come in handy. Someday, 8GB of RAM will hold you back, but no one knows when that day will come.
More great deals on MacBook right now
If you can afford a little more, check out these two other great Mac deals. The M2 MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM is now just $699 at Best Buy. I’ve written before about how this might be the best value MacBook on the market : It has extra RAM, sure, but it also has the M2 chip, which is a generation newer than the M1. Plus, you’re getting Apple’s newest MacBook Air, with a larger display and a notch that makes it look a little more modern than the M1 Air.
Finally, if you can actually afford it, you can find a refurbished M1 MacBook Pro on Amazon right now for under $750. Not only does this machine come with 16GB of RAM, but it also has an M1 Pro processor, which is significantly more powerful than the M1 (and M2, for that matter). Plus, you get other MacBook Pro perks like a larger miniLED display, HDMI and SD card ports, and a dedicated fan for cooling. Apple’s new budget laptop may be worth the price, but unless you’re buying new from an Apple Store, you have a lot more options.