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Apple’s New 13-Inch A18 Pro Chip-Powered MacBook Spotted Ahead of Launch

Prime Highlights:

  • Apple code leak reveals a new MacBook model powered by an A18 Pro chip.
  • Speculated as a colorful, budget-friendly 13-inch MacBook to arrive in 2026.

Key Facts:

  • The new model, “Mac17,1,” features the A18 Pro chip of the iPhone 16 Pro series.
  • The very first MacBook to use an A-series chip instead of the M-series.
  • Mass production begins in late 2025 or early 2026 in silver, pink, blue, and yellow colors.

Key Background

Apple is set to release a new, more affordable 13-inch MacBook that departs from its standard M-series chip design. The new model will run on the A18 Pro chip—Apple’s flagship chip that is currently used in the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. The device is codenamed “Mac17,1” in Apple’s backend code, clear indication that the company is going all out to expand chip diversity across device types.

This transition is significant because every MacBook since 2020 has utilized the proprietary M-series chips, starting with the M1. These were designed for the Mac in particular and feature high performance, excellent memory management, as well as multitasking and external display capability. The A18 Pro, in contrast, is a six-core mobile chip but with more efficient single-core performance and a 16-core Neural Engine for optimal AI tasks. It’s fabricated on a 3nm process, which means that it is very power-efficient.

The new MacBook will not substitute the existing MacBook Air or Pro lineup but instead serve as a lower-cost alternative to students, general users, and those who primarily use web-based applications or light productivity software. The device will reportedly come in an array of vibrant colors, in recognition of the playful design trend of the iMac and iPhone XR of the last several years.

Respected industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has pointed out that this latest MacBook will go into mass production sometime between Q4 2025 and Q1 2026. Apple’s move would likely aim for the bottom of the laptop segment tactically at the cost of neither performance nor for ordinary users, and also embed iPhone-class chipsets deeper into its wider ecosystem.

The A18-based MacBook is also a leap in philosophy: combining mobile and desktop power under a single chip family. If successful, it could lead to even more Apple devices that are powerful, inexpensive, and efficient when it comes to energy but with all enjoying seamless Apple Intelligence capabilities.