Overview
- Tim Cook teased a multi‑day rollout starting Monday, with hands‑on media sessions set for March 4 in New York, London, and Shanghai and announcements expected via press releases.
- Supply‑chain reporting points to volume shipments beginning in March, with Quanta as the initial assembler and Foxconn joining later after mass production slipped to Q1 2026; shipment targets over two years are estimated at 15–16 million units.
- Rising DRAM/NAND prices and higher battery material costs are pushing projected U.S. starting prices from earlier $599 chatter toward roughly $699–$749, according to DigiTimes sources.
- Reports indicate Apple is testing an A18 Pro iPhone‑class chip, a roughly 12.9‑inch display, about 8GB of RAM, regular USB‑C instead of Thunderbolt, and multiple color options to position the laptop below the MacBook Air.
- Unverified code‑based leaks suggest cost‑cutting compromises such as no True Tone, lower peak brightness, no fast charging, no backlit keyboard, slower base‑model SSD, lack of high‑impedance headphone support, and MediaTek‑based wireless instead of Apple’s N1.