Apple's Low-Cost MacBook Air Might Arrive With Intel Kaby Lake Processors

Apple is rumored to be making a low-cost MacBook that will be sold as the successor to the MacBook Air. Now new details have surfaced about the upcoming 2018 MacBook, including the possiblity of the device sporting Intel’s Kaby Lake processors.

Apple is said to be transitioning to the Intel Kaby Lake processors because of delays with Intel’s Cannon Lake chips, which are based on the 10nm process, Taiwanese site Economic Daily News revealed this week. The eight-generation Kaby Lake processor were originally released during the second half of 2017. Intel’s Cannon Lake processor might not arrive until the end of 2019.

The Intel Kaby Lake series includes quad-core Core i5 and Core i7 processors with clock speeds of 1.6GH and 1.9GHz, respectively. Turbo Boost speeds also range from 3.4GH and 4.2GHz, as pointed out by MacRumors. The 12W chips also have integrated Intel graphics and can support up to 32GB of DDR4 or LPDDR3 RAM.

The new MacBook with Kaby Lake processor should be a lot faster compared to the current iteration of the MacBook Air. The current version of the MacBook Air features fifth-generation Intel dual-core Core i5 and Core i7 processors, which were released in 2015. The new low-cost MacBook should also be more powerful than Apple’s standard 12-inch MacBooks.

Although the new low-cost 2018 MacBook would see a significant jump in processing power when compared to the MacBook Air, there’s still an issue here because it will be powered by a soon-to-be outdated chip. Intel is expected to release better Whiskey Lake processors sometime during the second half of 2018. Apple typically begins manufacturing its MacBook over the summer so that it can be released later in the fall. This is the reason why Apple is using the Intel Kaby Lake chips instead.

Even though the device is expected to succeed the MacBook Air, Apple might actually release it under a different brand name, according to TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The new low-cost MacBook Air replacement is believed to arrive with a 13-inch Retina Display with a screen resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 and it may have a starting price that’s similar or slightly above the $999 MacBook Air, according to AppleInsider. It’s also believed that a more expensive model will be available with 256GB of storage and it could have a $1,199 price tag.