A new report from DigiTimes has now weighed in on the news that Apple will release a new entry-level MacBook later this year. Usually-reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently stated that Apple would introduce a new MacBook Air later in 2018, but the DigiTimes Research report adds that it may just be an entry-level MacBook, combining the screen from the current MacBook, with a price similar to that of the MacBook Air. It's currently not clear what naming the new laptop will take.

DigiTimes' senior researcher, Jim Hsiao says that Apple initially looked at using displays from a China-based supplier to reduce costs, but will instead turn to LG Display to produce the 2560 x 1600 a-Si panels. The current MacBook has the same resolution and if it transpires that this new laptop takes the Air moniker, it will be the first MacBook Air with a Retina display.

LG Display is said to start producing the panels from April, and full assembly of the MacBook will begin at the end of May or the start of June and so may be announced in September alongside the new iPhones.

Quanta Computer is said to take on around 70 per cent of production duties, while Foxconn will handle the remaining 30 per cent. It's claimed Apple expects to ship around six million units of the new MacBook before the year is out, however Hsiao expects the technology giant to sell closer to four million, largely because the price, while affordable for Apple products, will still be out of the reach of many consumers.

The DigiTimes report also adds a couple of snippets of information regarding new iPads, claiming that parts for an upgraded iPad Pro and a refreshed version of the affordable 9.7-inch iPad have begun shipping. The iPad is expected to launch in the second quarter of 2018, while the new iPad Pro should arrive in the second half of the year.