Apple has been rumoured to be working on a budget MacBook for a while now, and Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reckons it’s nearly here. The laptop — codenamed J700 — is expected to launch in March at under $1,000, which would make it the cheapest Mac laptop Apple has sold in years.
Inside, it’s supposedly running the A18 Pro chip with an LCD screen rather than OLED. Not the flashiest spec sheet, but for a sub-thousand-dollar MacBook, that’s perfectly reasonable.
The interesting bit is the build. Gurman says Apple isn’t cutting corners on materials despite the lower price — the chassis is still aluminium, though apparently made using a new manufacturing process that’s faster and cheaper to produce. So you’re getting the same premium feel without paying premium money, at least in theory.
Colours are the other talking point. Apple has reportedly tested blue, silver, dark grey, light green, pink, and light yellow finishes, though not all of those will necessarily ship. Expect a handful rather than the full rainbow. It’s a clear play to make the thing stand out on a shop shelf next to the more serious-looking Pro and Air models.
Speaking of which, Gurman also mentions updated MacBook Pro models and an OLED MacBook Air are both expected later this year. So if the budget option doesn’t grab you, there’s more coming down the line.
