Will Apple’s upcoming low-cost MacBook actually be worthwhile?

Apple will reportedly unveil its cheapest MacBook next week, featuring an A18 Pro chip, 12.9-inch display, and colorful options starting around $699. The budget laptop makes compromises including a dimmer screen without True Tone, slower charging, limited storage, no keyboard backlight, and cheaper networking components. Despite using an iPhone chip instead of M-series processors, the A18 Pro matches M1 performance in benchmarks, potentially making this an attractive option against the $999 MacBook Air.