Here come Apple’s color-powered MacBooks
We’ve been reading claims Apple intends introduction of new Macs powered by A-series Apple Silicon processors for some time, but now it looks as if the company plans to make speculation realty with a special event in March.
In his latest Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman said Apple intends to host a hardware event in March to introduce these new Macs. They will be priced to take a deep chunk out of the mid-range notebook market at “well under $1,000).
Could we be looking at a $699 Apple laptop?
These will be powered by the A-series iPhone chip rather than the more powerful M-series Apple Silicon processors. The Macs will boast a smaller 13-inch display and an aluminium case manufactured using a new lower-cost manufacturing process.
Part of that process means Apple can sell these new Macs in a multitude of new colors. During the development of these machines Apple has allegedly tested light yellow, light green, blue, pink, silver, and dark grey models, though Gurman says Apple is unlikely to introduce all these colors.
While the use of an A series processor may sound like a slow Mac, even if the new entry-level MacBook uses the A18 Pro chip, (as used in iPhone 16 Pro), that chip still features a 6-core CPU, 6-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine, making it quite capable of handling AI and everyday computing tasks.
Benchmarks show single-core performance on par with the original M1 MacBook Air, making it suitable for web browsing, document editing, streaming, and light creative work. In other words, these affordable Macs will be quite capable of a multitude of frequently transacted tasks.
For many, these mid-range machines will deliver all the power they need. Think web browsing, casual Mac use, access to web services, writing, reading, Apple Music and iCloud all boosted by access to AI and Apple Intelligence.
Bad news for mid-range PC makers
The predicted price point also widens Apple’s reach in the PC sector, and is likely to further accelerate the switch to Mac from Windows that is going on this year.
Further out, Apple also intends to introduce us to new MacBook Pros, MacBook Airs, iPad Airs, and an entry-level iPad also coming very soon.
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