What would a cheap, Apple A18-powered MacBook actually be good at?
Some Apple rumors just don't go away, hanging around in perpetuity either because they reflect things that Apple is actually testing in its labs or because hope springs eternal. A HomePod-like device with a screen? A replacement for the dear, departed 27-inch iMac? Touchscreen MacBooks? The return of TouchID fingerprint scanning via a sensor located beneath a screen? Maybe these things are coming, but they ain't here yet.
However, few rumors have had the longevity or staying power of "Apple is planning a low-cost MacBook," versions of which have been circulating since at least the late-2000s netbook craze. And yet, despite seismic shifts in just about everything-three distinct processor instruction sets, two CEOs, innumerable design changes, and global trade upheaval-Apple's cheapest modern laptops have started around $1,000 for more than two decades.
Last week, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (whose Apple predictions aren't always correct but whose track record is better than your garden variety broken-clock prognosticators) kicked up another round of these rumors, claiming that Apple was preparing to manufacture a new low-cost MacBook based on the iPhone's A18 Pro chip. Kuo claims it will come in multiple colors, similar to Apple's lower-cost A16 iPad, and will use a 13-inch screen.