Apple to Sell Low-Cost 12-Inch and 13-inch MacBooks for $700 or Less

Apple is actively developing new 12-inch and 13-inch MacBook models for sale at a planned price point of around $700 or less, claims a rumor out of Korea.

Low Cost MacBook Feature
According to the operator of news aggregator account "yeux1122" on the Naver blog, supply chain sources have "consistently" seen evidence that Apple has low-cost MacBooks in two different sizes in ongoing development.

The account's sources suggest that while Apple has yet to fully commit to mass producing the low-cost Macs, they are now "more likely than ever" to make it to market because of a sharp fall in iPad and MacBook sales.

The latest rumor comes after Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo this week claimed that Apple is considering launching a low-cost MacBook series next year to boost ailing MacBook shipments, with a target of 8-10+ million units per year.

A DigiTimes report last month also said Apple could launch a more affordable MacBook series in late 2024 to differentiate from the company's existing MacBook Air and Pro lines, and to help the company compete with Google's popular Chromebook models.

The number of educational institutions that have adopted Chromebooks over the last few years has seen rapid growth, especially when compared to Apple's iPads, sales of which have declined in the education market.

Apple's attention is said to be increasingly focused on the sector as a possible avenue to boosting flagging MacBook sales, and is considering offering cheaper and more compact student-friendly machines to claw back its market share. Higher-performance Chromebooks can be picked up for around $700, hence the ~$700 figure Apple is targeting, according to the latest rumor.

The Naver blog account has a mixed track record for forecasting Apple's plans, but some of its claims last year proved to be significant. For example, in March 2022 it accurately revealed some details about the third-generation iPhone SE ahead of Apple launching the model. In October of the same year it also accurately predicted that Apple would delay the release of new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models until early 2023.

Tag: Naver
Related Forum: MacBook

Popular Stories

streaming black friday 2025

Black Friday Streaming Deals Include Big Savings on Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV, and More

Monday November 24, 2025 8:03 am PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone to Debut These Three Breakthrough Features

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include three standout features that could set it apart from the competition. The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
General Black Friday Deals 25 Red

Apple Black Friday Deals Available Now on AirPods, iPads, Accessories, and More

Friday November 21, 2025 8:48 am PST by
We're only a few days away from Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
General Apps Messages Redux

Singapore Orders Changes to iMessage by December

Tuesday November 25, 2025 6:39 am PST by
Singapore has ordered Apple to block or filter messages on iMessage that impersonate government agencies, requiring the company to implement new anti-spoofing protections by December as part of efforts to curb rising online scams, the Straits Times reports. Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that it had issued an Implementation Directive to Apple under the Online Criminal Harms...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: iPhone 18 Pro Looks Like a Huge Upgrade

Friday November 21, 2025 9:10 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the new features and improvements expected to come to next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Apple's next-generation iPhones are less than ten months away and we already have a good idea about what to expect based on corroborated leaks, rumors,...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These New Features to Your iPhone

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:50 am PST by
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date. Keep reading...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 27 Will Reportedly Have Two Key Upgrades

Sunday November 23, 2025 8:48 am PST by
iOS 27 will reportedly have two major elements: quality improvements and new AI features. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that Apple is focused on improving "quality and underlying performance" over adding new features. Gurman said there is one exception to this rule, though, as he expects...
apple news banner

Apple News Loses CNN

Monday November 24, 2025 7:56 am PST by
American multinational news company CNN has abruptly pulled its content from Apple News, Semafor reports. CNN quietly removed its stories from Apple News over the weekend and there is no longer a feed from the network to subscribe to in the app. This effectively ends its distribution agreement with Apple while the two sides negotiate new terms. Discussions are apparently ongoing and CNN's...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket is Now Completely Sold Out Worldwide

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:16 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. However, it is now completely sold out in all countries where it was released. iPhone Pocket became available to order on Apple's online store starting Friday, November 14, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, ...

Top Rated Comments

zombierunner Avatar
27 months ago
Base storage 64GB ?
Score: 59 Votes (Like | Disagree)
oofio2461 Avatar
27 months ago
I'm kind of nervous that Apple will make the Macbook lineup too big and confusing like the iPad lineup is now.
Score: 40 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mrkevinfinnerty Avatar
27 months ago
It's going to have a butterfly keyboard, isn't it.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
truesepho Avatar
27 months ago
I’m already in line for a new 12”, hope this is real
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
azentropy Avatar
27 months ago
Would love to see the revival of a 12" MacBook. Although I still think it makes more sense for Apple to reuse the older MacBook Air design, update the internals from time to time and rebrand it the MacBook SE with a $799 price tag or so.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
antiprotest Avatar
27 months ago

Base storage 64GB ?
Maybe 4GB RAM and 32GB storage, so you have to buy iCloud storage and store everything there.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)