Apple Phasing Out White MacBook in Favor of Entry-Level MacBook Air?

Concord Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today reported to AppleInsider that Apple may be on the verge of phasing out its white MacBook, the company's longtime entry-level notebook. In particular, Kuo notes that internal shipment forecasts show build plans for the MacBook "suspiciously" tailing off next month with no signs of a replacement.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of Concord Securities shared with AppleInsider Tuesday that industry checks show that Apple's internal shipment forecast for the white MacBook suspiciously drops-off in August of this year, which leads him to believe that the notebook may go "end of life" around the same time.

As noted in our Buyer's Guide, the MacBook hasn't been updated since May 2010, a period of 427 days. With supplies tightening late last month, speculation regarding a potential refresh or a discontinuation began to circulate.

macbook 2010
Signs of life sparked again last week when it was claimed that leaked part numbers for an upcoming hardware update included a new MacBook model. That interpretation was incorrect, however, as the part number in question turned out to be for an as-yet unreleased LED Cinema Display with Thunderbolt that leaked on Apple's own site late last week.

Kuo argues that with Apple's MacBook Air line now beginning at the same $999 price point as the MacBook, Apple may feel that it can discontinue the plastic notebook and direct consumers to the thinner and lighter MacBook Air line. Apple's MacBook shipments have reportedly fallen to just 80,000-100,000 per month so far this year, representing less than 10% of Apple's Mac sales.

With Apple rumored to be boosting the MacBook Air to a minimum of 128 GB of solid state storage, even the base model may be sufficient for many users. The MacBook Air does not, however, feature an optical drive, and entry-level consumers who still wish to have optical drive capabilities will have to either take advantage of the Remote Disc capabilities through an optical drive on another computer or purchase an external MacBook Air SuperDrive for an additional $79.

Outcome: Apple discontinued the White MacBook for consumers on July 20th.
Related Forum: MacBook

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's Upcoming Macs Listed in New Report

Thursday July 3, 2025 9:09 am PDT by
AppleInsider's Marko Zivkovic today shared a list of alleged identifiers for future Mac models, which should roll out over the next year or so. The report does not reveal anything too surprising, but it does serve as further evidence that Apple is seemingly working on new models of every Mac, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. Apple is...
Future M5 Chip Devices

M5 Chip Rumored to Debut in These Five Apple Products Later This Year

Friday July 4, 2025 9:14 am PDT by
Apple's next-generation M5 chip is expected to debut in five new products later this year, including the iPad Pro, Vision Pro, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac. M5 chips will reportedly be manufactured with TSMC's latest third-generation 3nm process, which should result in slight performance and power efficiency improvements over M4 chips fabricated with its second-generation 3nm process. ...

Top Rated Comments

decimortis Avatar
182 months ago
They sort of already said it. ;)



D.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AAPLaday Avatar
182 months ago
13" pro to become the macbook? Again? :D

No in all seriousness i would hate to see that little white guy go. Just give him an update.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NT1440 Avatar
182 months ago
And thus officially begins the end of Apple's relationship with optical media. Smart move getting all the college kids to take the leap, thats where the real cultural changes stem from.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ghsDUDE Avatar
182 months ago
Only 80,000-100,000 per month. Haha (That's still pretty good)

Isn't it crazy that those number are less than 10%...so another 90% of awesome sales are still happening and PC still dominates (in numbers) the market.

I feel like we have more computers out there than humans! :p
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
paulsalter Avatar
182 months ago
I feel sorry for you.

Why?

Dont see any need to pay iTunes prices when I can buy phsyical media cheaper
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ghsDUDE Avatar
182 months ago
Not surprising at all, I remember speculating this when the new like of MBAs came out, doesn't really make sense offering both at $999, most people will take the Air.
Say you didn't have a computer at all and you needed one.

Right now you'd take an Air (w/64GB) over a MB?

And I'm saying right now...not when the refresh comes out tomorrow...but now.

No way...that would be silly.

Edit - The only way a MBA is good as you're ONLY computer is if you get an Ultimate. Other than that the Air is for portability...IMO.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)