MacBook UPDATE could see Apple launch a new budget laptop

Apple MacBook Air is set to make a comeback – with a much cheaper price tag.

Reliable technology analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities claims Apple is working on a new version of the MacBook Air with a “lower price tag”.

The new notebook is purportedly scheduled to launch sometime during the second quarter of 2018.

Apple debuted its MacBook Air range in January 2008, with the late Steve Jobs famously pulling the laptop from a manilla office envelope on-stage with a flourish.

The original MacBook Air, which Apple claimed was the thinnest laptop in the world, only had a single USB port.

Subsequent iterations improved the performance and battery life of the MacBook Air, as well adding an additional USB port.

According to Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a solid track record when it comes to predicting unreleased Apple hardware, the 2018 MacBook Air model will have a 13-inch display as previous models.

However, the new notebook will have updated specs and features.

Kuo says the all-new MacBook Air will be cheaper than the range, which starts from £949.

The latter ships with an 1.8GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, Intel HD Graphics 6000, 128GB of internal storage and 8GB of RAM.

The report from Ming-Chi Kuo is a little surprisingly, since many assumed the 12-inch MacBook, which is much thinner and lighter than the MacBook Air, would be the natural successor the lightweight notebook.

It’s unclear why Apple won’t drop the price of its ultra-portable MacBook, which currently starts at a pricey £1,249.

Kuo believes interest in an all-new MacBook Air laptop could boost Apple’s overall MacBook sales for 2018 by as much as 10 – 15 per cent.

If the report is accurate, the new laptop could make an appearance at Apple’s annual developer conference, WWDC, in June.