Rumor has it, Apple is developing a budget-friendly MacBook that could be priced as low as $599. This would be quite a shift for a company known for its premium offerings. However, Apple values its design and aesthetics, and they’re not likely to just place MacBook Air components into a cheap plastic casing. Instead, reports suggest that Apple is planning a smaller laptop with a lower-resolution display and an “entirely new design” built around an iPhone processor.
This processor might be a variant of the A19 chip from the current iPhone models. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo indicated earlier this year that Apple is also looking into a laptop powered by last year’s A18 chip.
If the concept of an affordable, compact laptop running on a low-power chip sounds familiar, that’s because it harkens back to the era of netbooks. These devices emerged in the late 2000s during a shift toward web-centric computing, prioritizing portability, battery life, and low prices.
The original netbook, the ASUS Eee PC, came in two sizes (7-inch or 10-inch) and used Intel’s budget Celeron M processor. Even this low-powered CPU was too much for the tiny Eee PC, prompting ASUS to underclock it to just 630 MHz. At that time, CPU speeds were measured in MHz rather than GHz.
Intel recognized the trend and created Atom processors specifically for netbooks. These chips were Intel’s answer to the growing ARM architecture and became fundamental to their tablet and smartphone initiatives. This is reversed in Apple’s approach, which has taken its mobile A-series processor and adapted it for laptops.
However, netbooks didn’t last long. Several factors contributed to their decline. Most were underwhelming, and the few decent options were priced higher. For instance, while you could snag a 7-inch Eee PC for around $200, a more capable model like the HP Mini 210 HD cost about $385 in 2010—equivalent to around $577 today. As regular laptops became more affordable, netbooks no longer seemed like an appealing choice.
Key competitors like Chromebooks and the iPad emerged around this time. The iPad was released in 2010 and quickly began to capture netbook market share. By 2012, tablets had overtaken netbooks, and by 2013, netbooks were practically obsolete. Although some lingered, the iPad significantly accelerated their decline.
Many tasks typically performed on a netbook—like browsing the web or checking email—were more efficiently handled by the iPad. When paired with a Bluetooth keyboard, it became a decent productivity device, as long as expectations were manageable.
So, while netbooks have disappeared, this new, more affordable MacBook seems to draw inspiration from their blueprint. For users who may struggle with a tablet and keyboard combo, Apple could be offering a proper laptop option.
We don’t yet know the screen size, but it will be smaller than the current 13.6-inch MacBook Air. This could mean a 13.3-inch display, or Apple may reintroduce the 12-inch or even the 11-inch sizes from its smallest Air model—venturing into netbook territory.
Combine a mobile-first SoC with capability for everyday tasks and browsing, but not much more intense work like video editing or gaming, and you have something reminiscent of the original netbook concept. Apple will likely shy away from using the term “netbook” for its new budget-friendly MacBook, but perhaps by doing so, they can make the category appealing again.
