Next week kicks off with Apple’s first big product announcements of 2026. Tim Cook has hinted at a big week ahead using the Apple Launch hashtag. Apple has media events planned in New York, Shanghai, and London on Wednesday, March.
We are looking forward to the iPhone 17E, a brand new budget MacBook, and some smaller updates to the Mac and iPad lines.
Low-Cost MacBook
Viewers suggest the new MacBook will look similar to the MacBook Air. It is expected to have an aluminum body in several colors and a display that’s either 12.9 or 13 inches, depending on which report you believe.
A low-cost MacBook might be thin and light, since it’s expected to use a low-power A-series chip that doesn’t require much cooling, though this hasn’t been confirmed yet. Apple once had a 12-inch MacBook with a slim design and a low-power Core M chip, so that this new model could be a modern version of that older machine.
Thinner and lighter typically means more expensive, while Apple products, so a super slim design might not be what Apple is optimizing for. Making the low-cost MacBook thinner than the MacBook Air could confuse the MacBook lineup.
With the low-cost iPad, Apple keeps the price down by using older display technology that’s not as thin as we see. We see the same strategy with the low-cost MacBook: a thicker chassis and a super-efficient chip mean a long battery life, which is ideal for a learning setting.
The budget MacBook will likely have:
- a dimmer screen
- no True Tone
- no backlit keyboard
- slower SSD speeds
- and no N1 chip
Colors
The MacBook will come in a selection of fun colors, and Apple has tested light yellow, light green, blue, pink, silver, and dark gray, according to Bloomberg. Not all of those colors are likely to ship, but it sounds like we’ll get at least four of them.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects the MacBook to come in yellow, silver, blue, and pink, the same colors as the iPad. The Book is planned to use its own chip rather than an M-Series Mac chip. Apple is planning to use an A-Series chip. The low-cost MacBook is expected to use the A18 Pro chip, which Apple first debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro.
The A18 Pro uses a second-generation 3nm process. It has a 6-core CPU with four performance cores and two efficiency cores, along with a 6-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine for AI-based tasks, as shown in Geekbench benchmarks. The A18 Pro has an average single-core score of 3451 and a multi-core score of 8572. For comparison, the M4 iPad Pro scores 3694 in single-core and 13732 in multi-core. (Apple’s next MacBook Air will use the M5 chip.
The A18 Pro is faster than the M1, which Apple used in cheaper MacBook Air models for years. In single-core performance, the A18 MacBook would be close to the M4 chips in Macs and iPads, but multi-core performance would still lag. The A18 chip would be more than powerful enough for day-to-day use, such as web browsing, document creation, watching videos, and even light photo and video editing. It won’t be ideal for system-intensive games or tasks like 4K video editing and 3D rendering, but it will do almost anything an iPhone or iPad can do.
Apple is designing a budget MacBook for students, aiming to offer an Apple version of the affordable Chromebooks many students use.
RAM
Max starts with 16 GB of RAM, but the iPhone 16 Pro has 8 GB. The minimum for Apple Intelligence: we can expect an A18 Pro MacBook to have at least 8 GB of RAM to support Apple Intelligence, but Apple may equip it with 16 GB, as all Macs do.
Storage
The MacBook Air starts at 256 GB of storage, but Apple might launch the budget MacBook with just 128 GB.
Ports
The A18 Pro chip in the iPhone 16 models does not support Thunderbolt, so the MacBook will only use USB-C at 10 GB and will not reach Thunderbolt speeds. This means display connectivity will be limited, and the A18 Pro MacBook will probably support just one external display.
Price
The MacBook Air starts at $999, but the new Low-Cost MacBook is expected to be priced significantly lower.
Apple will likely not want to price the new MacBook much lower than its iPads. The low-cost iPad with the A16 chip starts at $349, and the iPad Air with the M2 chip starts at $599. Pricing the MacBook between $599 and $799 would keep it less expensive than the MacBook Air or iPad Pro but just above or around the iPad Air’s price, $599, which would match the price of some popular Chromebooks often used in schools. A $699 or $799 price would be in a similar range but a bit more premium. $599 is also the price of the iPhone 17e, Apple’s most affordable phone, which uses a slightly less powerful A18 chip.
iPhone 17e
The iPhone 16e, which launched in February 2025, is due for a refresh. The iPhone 17e is getting some useful upgrades over the iPhone 16e, making it even more worth the purchase price.
Design
The iPhone 17E will have a design similar to the iPhone 16E with a 6.1-inch display, a single rear camera, and black and white color options.
Display
The iPhone 17E is expected to use the same display as the iPhone 16E, so that it will have a 60 Hz refresh rate. Apple added 120 Hz Pro Motion to the standard iPhone 17 in 2025. This feature is not expected on the more affordable iPhone 17E.
The iPhone 17e will remain the only new iPhone without 120 Hz support. These improve video playback and make scrolling smoother when viewing web pages.
The iPhone 16e does not have an Always-On Display, and this is likely to change with the iPhone 17e. Always-On Displays require an OLED screen with a minimum brightness of 1 nit, which is only available on Apple’s more expensive devices. The Apple iPhone 17e will also lack HDR and have lower brightness compared to flagship models. It has eliminated it in its new flagship phones, but some rumors suggest that the iPhone 17e will feature a dynamic island instead of a notch, giving it a more modern look.
The Dynamic Align is a peel-shaped cutout on the iPhone’s display that houses the TrueDepth and front-facing cameras. It uses less screen space than the notch and is better integrated into the iPhone’s design. More’s indicated that we could get a Dynamic Align. Other rumors suggest the iPhone 17e will retain the notch, so the Dynamic Align upgrade isn’t guaranteed.
A19 Chip
The iPhone 17e will use Apple’s A19 chip, the same one found in the iPhone 17. This chip is built on an improved M3P3DMX process and offers a 5-10% performance boost over the A18 chip.
Apple could be planning to use a downclocked version of the A19 chip in the iPhone 17e, meaning its performance would not fully match that of the iPhone 17’s 5-core GPU. Instead of a 5-core GPU like the one in the iPhone 16, the iPhone 17e could get a similar downgrade.
Aside from the improved CPU and GPU, the A19 features an upgraded display engine, an image signal processor, and a neural engine for enhanced AI performance. Every GPU core features a neural accelerator to boost the performance of local AI models. The iPhone 17e is expected to have 8GB of RAM, just like the iPhone 16e. Other Apple models come with 12GB.
MagSafe Compatibility
The iPhone 16 does not have a MagSafe charging ring, but it is expected to add this feature. iPhones have used MagSafe since the iPhone12, so there is a wide array of MagSafe cases and accessories. The iPhone 16e is not compatible with these accessories, which is a major limitation.
Without MagSafe, the iPhone 16E can only charge wirelessly at 7.5 W. With MagSafe, charging would increase to at least 15 W. The current iPhone 17 models can charge at 25 W with MagSafe, while the iPhone Air is limited to 20 W.
Camera
The iPhone 17e is expected to feature a single 48-megapixel wide-angle camera on the back, with no upgrades rumored. The iPhone 16e lacks a camera control button, and there is no indication that Apple will add one to the iPhone 17e.
The iPhone 17 model features an upgraded 18-megapixel center-stage front-facing camera, but rumors suggest the iPhone 17e will continue to use the same 12-megapixel front camera as the iPhone 16e.
C1X model and N1 chip
The iPhone 17e will adopt Apple’s C1X model. The chip for Apple’s first iPhone, the C1X model, is faster and more efficient than the C1 model used in the iPhone 16e.
Apple says the C1X modem is up to 2x faster than the C1 and far more energy-efficient than Qualcomm modems.
Apple could also update the iPhone 17 models with Apple’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth N1 networking chip, which brings speed and efficiency enhancements and thread support. Leaked Apple code suggests the chip will not only be included in the iPhone 17E to keep costs down, but that Apple also plans to add it to other models.
Pricing
The iPhone 16e is priced at $599, and no price changes are expected for the iPhone 17e.
MacRumors Coverage
Apple isn’t holding an event for the new announcements, so there won’t be a video. Pre-advert new products to be unveiled via press release on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Stay tuned to MacRumors for details on everything Apple unveils.
Apple is adding a special experience for members of the media on March 4, 2026, during which we expect Apple to showcase new products. MacRumors will attend and share a hands-on look at what Apple has to offer.
The special experience will take place at 9 am Eastern Time.
Source: What to Expect From Apple’s Big Week: iPhone 17e, Low-Cost MacBook, New iPads, and More
