It’ll come with an Apple cellular modem, and will be available (with subsidies) from cell carriers… :-)
I’ve been wondering why they haven’t put a cellular modem, at least optionally, in their laptops for years. I’m going to guess “no” as I’ve seen no leaks along those lines reported, but I wouldn’t put any money on my guess. It does seem like a desirable feature for many.
For that matter, why not have the Phone app on the iPad? Would I hold it up to my ear? No. Might I use it on speakerphone? (In private, I find it very annoying when people do that in public so would not do that myself). Yes. Might I use it with a headset? Yes.
I do think we’ll see it someday as the Apple chipsets get ever more integrated.
We’ll see soon enough. 
Kevin
Maybe. But wouldn’t macOS need some work to make sure that a cellular data plan, which often has a cap, would not allow apps, particularly third-party apps, from downloading unnecessary data in the background? I might be ok with the Mail app continuing to do background downloading, but maybe not so much Dropbox, OneDrive, etc. (except on-demand.)
I also think that this might be a feature that differentiates a MacBook Pro from a MacBook Air. A future Pro will be the first to get cellular, the Air will wait a long time before it gets it. I just don’t see the Air getting it before the Pro.
I’m not sure. Many data plans are now “unlimited” which generally means throttling after some limit. I’m particular enough I’d like the level of granular control you discuss, but I don’t know that many people would. It might be as simple as setting “allow cellular data” for each application. I don’t know.
As for debuting in the Air prior to the Pro I again don’t know. I’m always a bit surprised the processors debut in the iPad before the laptops (as the M4 did), but I guess that shows where the development is favored.
Kevin
I’m guessing it’s the amount of money they’d have to pay Qualcomm…
Not that difficult to add, if it’s a real concern. I’m sure they have the bandwidth monitoring code from iOS.
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iOS already has configuration that prevents software updates from downloading when you’re not on Wi-Fi. I’m sure it wouldn’t be that hard for macOS to have a similar feature.
Windows has, for some time, had the concept of a “metered” network connection, where there is a bandwidth cap or where you get billed for bandwidth. You can configure certain system services (I assume also apps that are written to check for this) so they perform minimal network access (e.g. no background updates) when on a metered connection.
So it’s certainly doable. Whether Apple sees a need for it or not is another question altogether, of course.
And that’s the other big issue. A cellular modem is another chip on the board and another antenna (or set of antennae). All that has development and support costs. So unless they think it will be a very popular feature, they may not want to bother. Especially when those who need it can buy a USB cellular modem right now for around $30-200 (depending on model and features).
Those limits are usually quite a bit lower for “tethering” however.
For example, I think my cell phone plan with Verizon is 22GB before throttling, but only includes 5GB of “tethering”.
I wouldn’t expect unlimited cellular data for laptops.
For people looking for a 3rd party app today which can help with this, I recommend TripMode
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