Sophia Windsor
A few years ago, Apple did something that broke the rules, which was to put the desktop-level M chip into the iPad Pro, trying to make the leap from “mobile terminal” to “desktop terminal” and give the tablet real productivity.
iPad Pro is equipped with M1 chip
By 2026, the story seems to be reversed.
Recently, there have been increasing rumors that Apple will launch a MacBook equipped with the A18 Pro chip. When the A-series chips originally belonging to the iPhone officially enter the productivity-oriented MacBook array, what new changes will it bring? .
Chips also need to play “cross-border”
In the past, we could roughly judge the positioning and performance of a product through the chip it was equipped with. For example, the Pro series flagships of iPhones of all generations will use the latest A series Pro chips, while the standard version will use A series standard chips. Mac has standard version, Pro, Max and other chips. These chips are closely divided into performance levels and can also meet the needs of different users.
But when the A18 Pro, which was born for mobile phones, came to the MacBook, a certain delicate balance was broken. This indicates that the pure performance competition of hardware is approaching the physical limit, and “ecological equality” has begun to become Apple's new theme. For the vast majority of college students and light professionals, they do not need the top performance of editing 8K videos. What they really desire is a terminal that is exquisite, durable and has a complete macOS experience at an affordable price.
In fact, A18 Pro has already proven itself on the iPhone 16 Pro series before officially entering the Mac field. As a mobile phone chip, its single-core performance has surpassed the previous M1 chip, and even approached the performance of M3 in many scenarios. Moreover, this chip also natively supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing and is also equipped with a neural network unit, which also allows it to get a ticket to Apple Intelligence. This positioning also ensures that even the entry-level MacBook will not be deprived of the core AI experience and system fluency of macOS.
A18 Pro internal structure
In addition, after A18 Pro comes to the Mac ecosystem, it will also bring two physical advantages that cannot be ignored, namely battery life and heat generation. As a mobile chip, A18 Pro’s control over power consumption is incomparable to M series chips. If this chip is combined with the MacBook's large battery space, we may witness a notebook that can be charged every two days. At the same time, extremely low power consumption means that Apple can not only continue the fanless design, but can even further reduce the thickness of the body and reproduce the extreme lightness of the 12-inch MacBook of the year. For students or workers who carry computers between the library and the classroom every day, this “physical burden reduction” is often more perceptible than an improvement in running scores.
price, price
The most direct change brought about by the adoption of the A18 Pro chip is that the price will further drop.
Mac mini with M4 chip
Remember the previous Mac mini equipped with M4 chip? Although its starting storage capacity is only 256GB, with the help of state subsidies and education discounts, the product price has been directly hit to the beginning of 2 or even the beginning of 1. Even users who don’t like the Mac ecosystem can’t help but say “it smells really good”. This also verifies the truth that there is no product that cannot be sold, only a price that is not fragrant enough.
After the MacBook uses the A18 Pro chip, some foreign media speculated that the starting price of the product will be $599, which is exactly the same price as the M4 Mac mini. Therefore, for those students or professionals who have a strong need for mobility but are budget-conscious, this may be their first Mac. In the past, cash-strapped users often needed to buy “N-1” or “N-2” generation products. However, the new MacBook will bring an impressive enough price, so that these users no longer need to struggle with second-hand prices, nor do they have to wait for refurbished machines from a few years ago. This temptation to enter Apple's ecosystem with zero burden can be said to be extremely lethal.
Of course, Apple’s “fruity knife skills” are always precise. The MacBook equipped with A18 Pro will inevitably face competition from its own M2 and M3 versions of MacBook Air. In order to widen the gap, Apple may change the number of interfaces, memory limit or screen brightness.
From the perspective of “buy new rather than old”, this kind of small book with the latest AI features and fashionable design has its own traffic. If it is paired with an extremely thin and light shape like the previous 12-inch MacBook, and paired with the colorful colors of the iMac, maybe this Mac will not only be a productivity tool, but also a trendy item that can attract the attention of young people.
write at the end
When the hardware configuration comes to an end, Apple is shifting its focus from “performance” to “services”.
The arrival of A18 Pro on Mac is essentially Apple using lower hardware costs to attract more users to join its software ecosystem. Hardware is just a carrier, and the deep binding of various software services is Apple's most stable moat in the future.
If a colorful, thin and light A18 Pro MacBook really appears this year, and costs only three to four thousand yuan, I believe it will become a brand new dominant product in the education market and office market.
This device is essentially a new exploration by Apple in the era of excess hardware performance. It will break the entry barrier for Mac and allow more people to enjoy the convenience brought by the ecosystem at a lower cost. I think this may be the future that Apple wants to see most.
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