5 Budget Apple Products Reportedly Coming This Spring

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There are over 20 Apple products reportedly launching in 2026. With the second-generation AirTag now available, it seems the company will continue to focus on budget-friendly devices in the first half of the year, as it's tackling its ability to grow in emerging markets. In his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman teases that by this spring, Apple will be releasing not only the iPhone 17e, but an all-new low-cost MacBook with an iPhone chip, a base model iPad, a new iteration of the iPad Air, and the M5 MacBook Air.

These are not the only products expected for the first half of the year: Rumors continue to suggest the imminent launch of the M5 Pro/Max MacBook Pro, and the availability of a new Mac Studio with a second-generation Studio Display. That said, it's interesting to see Apple's new focus on expanding its margin beyond its more established markets as it continues to grow in other regions. This is everything we know about these products, which are reportedly launching very soon.

After a somewhat underwhelming release of the iPhone 16e, it seems Apple has a clearer vision of what to do with this $599 iPhone. While there won't be big changes from one generation to the other, Gurman mentions tiny, but still important tweaks. For example, this device will get Apple's A19 chip, which is available on the iPhone 17 lineup. While the company might remove a GPU core (as it did with the iPhone 16e), it shouldn't impact much day-to-day performance.

Another feature coming to the iPhone 17e is the addition of MagSafe charging. Not only will this bring a universe of MagSafe accessories to this device, but it will also make fast-charging even faster than it currently is on the iPhone 16e. Apple was widely criticized for not offering MagSafe support to the iPhone 16e, and now it's finally coming with the new model.

Last but not least, the company will be adding its new C1X and N1 chips, which are responsible for 5G capabilities and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth features. With that, Apple will be offering its best connectivity functionalities to this budget-friendly iPhone, which will reportedly maintain the same prices as the current generation.

Bloomberg doesn't show a lot of enthusiasm regarding the entry-level iPad model. However, in its 12th generation, Apple will finally add Apple Intelligence support to it, finally bringing its AI platform to the whole iPad lineup. Even though this device isn't expected to get a design change or other major tweaks, support for Apple Intelligence means Apple will upgrade the internal RAM of this iPad to 8GB, making it more capable of running more tasks at once.

Besides that, with a new Siri experience launching soon, the base-model iPad will be a powerful machine for students and other people who don't want to spend more on the Air or Pro iterations. Still, it's important to note that Bloomberg reports Apple will use the A18 chip on this tablet, while Macworld's Filipe Espósito said a leaked code revealed the A19 processor instead. Even though these chips are somewhat close to each other, a newer one ensures a more important upgrade regarding the previous A16 option in graphics performance, CPU performance, and AI tasks.

Macworld also believes Apple will add its N1 wireless chip to this tablet, bringing better Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Thread connectivity. It's unclear if Apple could add the C1 or C1X to this iPad's cellular version, but putting its own 5G modem would bring additional features, such as the ability to hide your location from carriers.

Apple's MacBook models are more affordable than ever: With third-party sellers offering the M1 and M2 options close to half of their $999 original prices, it's never been a better period to get a MacBook. The M-series chips are powerful, fast, reliable, and offer great battery life. Bloomberg says this low-cost MacBook was designed to compete with "less expensive" Windows laptops and Chromebooks, and if Apple can make it as thin as the previous 12-inch MacBook but more reliable and responsive, this could be a killer laptop for most people.

While Gurman doesn't say if Apple will add the A18 or A19 processor to this MacBook, other rumors support it could be Apple's latest A19 Pro chip. It's also been reported that this laptop will feature a 12.9-inch display, but the amount of ports, if it will feature 5G capabilities, or a decent FaceTime webcam are unclear. Apple usually makes low-cost versions of its products more colorful, so we could see Apple bringing back to life some of the enticing colors its past Macs had. Perhaps, this low-cost MacBook could even match the colors available with the current iMac lineup.

At this pace, I'm just impressed rumors suggest a new iPad Air is in the works. Apple released M1, M2, and M3 versions of this tablet, and with the company launching the M5 iPad Pro last year, it means Apple is likely ready to update the iPad Air.

Bloomberg expects another incremental upgrade, as rumors about an iPad redesign indicate it's not happening soon. Still, the company would add one of its most powerful processors to the iPad Air lineup, making it a great option over the most expensive iPad Pro.

The M4 chip wasn't responsible for unlocking anything new to Apple's best tablet, so users shouldn't expect a lot of new stuff in that department. If we follow the rumors about internal upgrades, Apple could take advantage of this release to add its own Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 5G chips to this tablet, improving on privacy, connectivity features, and just making the overall experience more integrated. It's unclear if the company will offer improved cameras, price changes, or even new colors. However, no rumor suggests Apple will ditch its strategy of offering 11 and 13-inch options to users. That said, more customers will be able to get a very high-end machine, but at a cheaper price point, than the Pro versions.

Gurman also doesn't talk much about the M5 MacBook Air, despite saying it's coming "shortly" alongside the new M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro. However, unlike the upcoming more powerful MacBooks, which should be a skip for most people, the same shouldn't be said about the MacBook Air. After all, a more noticeable upgrade isn't expected until 2028.

Based on the M5 MacBook Pro benchmarks, the M5 MacBook Air should be as powerful as the M1 Ultra option, showing that budget laptops can also be extremely powerful. In the past few years, Apple has released the MacBook Air between March and June, so we'll probably won't have to wait longer for this laptop's release.

At this moment, it's unclear if Apple is planning to improve the FaceTime camera of this laptop, if new colors could be offered, especially after the popularity of the Sky Blue option, or if there might be price hikes due to RAM prices increasing everywhere. Fortunately, it won't take long for us to discover Apple's plans as all of these products seem to be coming in the near future.