Apple has a slow-but-steady approach to MacBook evolution. Rumors point to more of the same though some obvious big improvements are likely. While a new Retina MacBook could be coming and big changes could loom in 2019 or beyond.
Update: New Retina MacBook rumored (per report on March 12) and could debut at Apple WWDC (set for June 4 - 8).
Digitimes is reporting that Apple will release a new "entry-level" 13-inch Retina MacBook in June:
Apple is preparing to release a new entry-level MacBook at the end of the second quarter with a price tag expected to be about the same level as that of the existing MacBook Air or slightly higher, according to Digitimes Research.
The 13.3-inch a-Si [display] panels for the new notebook feature the same resolution as Apple's 13.3-inch MacBook Pro at 2,560 by 1,600.
--Digitimes, March 12, 2018
It sounds like this Retina MacBook could be priced close to the 13-inch MacBook Air's price of $999. Note that the MacBook Air does not have a Retina display. The 12-inch MacBook and MacBook Pro both have Retina displays.
2018 MacBook Air -- lagging edge is in, price drop possible
This was the MacBook that was supposed to go away -- to be replaced by the 12-inch MacBook and low-end 13-inch MacBook Pro. But that hasn't happened. (Thought the 11.6-inch model, which debuted in 2010, did die.)
It's still around despite being the epitome of lagging-edge (everything about it is dated, both inside and outside). How lagging edge? The display hasn't really changed (13.3-inch, 1,440-by-900) in 8 years, ditto the design. And the silicon is pretty creaky too: a 5th gen Intel Core i5 launched back in 2015.
So, what keeps it going? Low price and a tried-and-true design have made it perennially popular. You can thank Steve Jobs for its staying power (Jobs introduced the MBA -- along with the late Intel CEO Paul Otellini who also took the stage -- in 2008 ). Even ten years later (2018), it's still remarkably light and sleek for a 13-inch laptop and the latest version can be had for as little as $799 (and probably less if you look hard).
2018:
So, what else can Apple do with the MacBook Air? Well, make it even cheaper, as reports this month say may happen. Of course, Apple could also update the silicon and display (among other things) but a spec overall would be hard for Apple to pull off if it lowers the price (though Apple could make minor changes like newer silicon).
The truth is, lots of consumers don't care about Touch Bars or the latest and greatest specs and would jump at the opportunity to buy a new 13-inch MacBook directly from Apple for, let's say, $899 or $799.
Or Apple could replace the MBA with another MacBook, as a Digitimes report seemed to indicate on March 12.
2018 MacBook (12-inch) -- internal upgrade
Introduced three years ago in April 2015, the MacBook (Apple dropped any prefix or suffix so it's just the "MacBook") is the successor to the 11.6-inch MacBook Air due to its thinness (0.52-inch at its thickest point) and remarkably light weight (2 pounds, making it still one of the lightest laptops you can buy).
Because the design itself cannot be made cheaply (compared to, for example, the MBA) and because Apple has it spec'd at the entry point with a Retina display, 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM, and 7th Gen Intel Y series processors, its $1,300 ($1,299) price is high. High enough to stop most buyers in their tracks and send them running for a (seemingly*) cheaper Windows equivalent like the Dell XPS 13, whose extremely thin bezels make the XPS 13's XYZ dimensions come pretty close to those of the 12-inch MacBook. There are other competitors to the 12-inch MacBook too¹.
(*If you configure the XPS 13 with an Intel quad-core 8th gen processor, 1,920-by-1,280 display, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD, the price for the XPS is $1,199.99. Only $100 less than the MacBook, which has a higher-resolution Retina display. And the 2-pound MacBook is much lighter than the 2.68-pound XPS 13.)
2018-2019: X factor -- Apple silicon?
While an internal upgrade for the 12-inch MacBook is likely, the question is when? Right now, there isn't much that Apple can upgrade the 12-inch MacBook to. The 7th Gen Y series processors (which Apple currently uses) don't have their 8th Gen equivalents. While that may change with the 9th Gen Intel Core, Apple almost certainly won't use that this year because the 9th gen Y series doesn't exist (yet).
But bigger changes could be further down the road.
So far, only two Mac lines include custom Apple processors: the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and the iMac Pro. Apple is working on at least three updated Mac models with custom co-processors for release as soon as this year...
Apple watchers believe it’s just a matter of time before the company designs the entire CPU, at which point Intel would lose its fifth-largest customer.
--Bloomberg, January 29, 2018
The 12-inch MacBook, in 2019 or beyond, would be a great vehicle for an all-Apple A series processor, like those used in the iPhone and iPad (I won't get into the very messy logistics of making that switch happen here). After all, Apple is almost there with the 12.9-inch iPad Pro: just affix a real laptop keyboard and make it run either macOS or a new version of iOS and, presto, a very cool pure (sans Intel) Apple laptop is born. And note that a lot of macOS software already has a fairly capable iOS version (e.g., Microsoft Office).
Apple could also do this (theoretically) with the 13-inch MacBook Pro or an entirely new MacBook.
And it's possible that Apple is working on something even more radical: "Apple granted patent using hinged OLED screen as a dynamic iPad or Mac keyboard," according to a report back in February.
2018 MacBook Pro 13 -- quad core
As I've written previously, a 13-inch MBP with an 8th gen Intel quad-core seems very plausible. That's a pretty big change, despite what Digitimes said in January about no major hardware update for the MacBook Pro in 2018.
I've been using three Windows 10 laptops with Intel's 8th generation quad core and the performance boost is big. Benchmarks show a jump over the 7th gen dual-core -- what the 13-inch MBP now uses -- of 40 percent. Or higher.
MobileTechReview compared the XPS 13 (15-watt 8th gen quad-core) to a standard (45-watt) quad-core Intel CPU and found the it came perilously close in some operations.
Battery life surprisingly doesn't take a hit with 8th Gen quad core. I see battery life on the quad-core XPS 13 as pretty much the same as 7th Gen, if not a little better.
2018 MacBook Pro 15: 6 cores?
While it isn't as likely as quad-core in the 2018 MBP 13, it's possible that the MBP 15 goes from quad-core to six cores, aka, the Intel Coffee Lake processor or its 9th gen successor. See the rumored specs here for the mobile version of that processor.
It's also possible that Apple taps the new 8th Gen Intel Core quad-core processor with AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL Graphics, as Dell is doing with the new XPS 15 2-in-1 coming out later this year.
Other upgrades Apple should consider for the MacBook
- Face ID: Maybe it's time for Apple to go with Face ID on its MacBooks, like the Windows 10 world is doing. Face ID works better on a laptop than the iPhone X (in my experience).
- Touch display: the Windows world went with touch displays eons ago. Yes, plenty of users prefer touch displays (over non-touch) on a laptop.
- As pointed out above, Apple could probably convert the 12-inch MacBook (or entirely new MacBook) to an Apple A series processor as long as it can run enough legacy software, aka, applications that currently run only on macOS. Whether Apple actually has plans to do that....
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¹ There's also the 12.5-inch Asus Zenbook 3, which is priced competitively with the 12-inch MacBook.
