If you want an affordable laptop, your choices are narrow. You can get a $600-something machine that crawls through tasks and runs into hardware issues over time, or you can pick a Chromebook. Yes, Chromebooks can handle web browsing fine, but they fail at real productivity. Luckily, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman shares some budget Mac leaks, and we might finally get a model everyone has been waiting for.

A budget Mac could change the entry-level laptop scene, and if it sells well, it might reset what we expect from this category. A phone chip? Slim and light design? Apple-level build? Here’s everything we know so far.

Design and display

The upcoming budget Mac packs an entry-level LCD screen that’s smaller than any Mac out now. Its size falls just under the 13.6-inch display you’ll find on the MacBook Air.

I use the 13.6-inch M3 MacBook Air, and for me, that’s the limit if you want a real work machine. But the soon-to-launch Mac aims at students, business people, and casual users who surf, type, or edit light media. For them, something smaller makes sense since it’s easier to carry around.

A compact laptop has its perks. I toss my MacBook Air into my bag with no fuss when I travel. Sure, at times I want a bigger screen, but that’s easy to fix with an extra monitor.

Performance

When I read that the budget Mac runs on an iPhone chip, I thought, “Wait, what?” Then I felt better learning that Apple’s tests show the chip can outperform the M1 that powered Macs just a few years ago.

Even in 2025, lots of developers and business people still use M1 MacBooks, and it works for them. If you compare it to a Windows laptop with 8 GB of RAM, the M1 wins hands down. So with the A18 Pro chip inside, the budget Mac should handle your workflow with no sweat.

This is the first time Apple puts an iPhone chip in a Mac instead of a computer-specific processor. That means we’ll soon get an affordable laptop with solid battery life and all the flexibility macOS brings.

Release date and price

Apple’s J700 budget Mac is moving through testing and early production with overseas suppliers, according to Gurman. The Cupertino company plans to launch it in the first half of 2026.

Apple is also changing up where it makes its devices. Some production now happens in India, Thailand, Malaysia, and the US to dodge tariffs and keep China happy. Tim Cook even said back in May that Vietnam will eventually handle almost all iPads, MacBooks, watches, and AirPods for the US market.

Today, Apple’s cheapest Mac sits at $999 with the M4 MacBook Air, which can drop to $899 with student discounts. Chromebooks and other budget laptops sell for a few hundred bucks, while higher-end models go up to around $600. By pricing the new Mac under $1,000, Apple wants to tap into the US market’s growing love for thin, lightweight laptops that run long on a single charge.

Parting thoughts

I remember having a tough time writing the best laptops under $500 article. Most cheap laptops I came across just didn’t cut it. Yeah, the budget Mac still targets light users, not anyone planning to store tons of files or run heavy tasks. But I’ve to say, Apple’s efficiency should soon let students and business people get their work done with ease.

Grigor Baklajyan is a copywriter covering technology at Gadget Flow. His contributions include product reviews, buying guides, how-to articles, and more.