Apple MacBook Neo said to get new colors and higher price

The Apple MacBook Neo ($589 on Amazon) is by far the cheapest laptop in the Apple range with list prices starting at $599. Most variants of the MacBook Neo will not be available in the Apple online store for two to three weeks, as stocks are still being sold out two months after the launch. As the analyst Tim Culpan reports, Apple has therefore increased its planned production from five to six million units to ten million.

However, this will increase costs. On the one hand, the RAM and SSD of the MacBook Neo are becoming increasingly expensive due to the DRAM crisis, and on the other hand, Apple now has to produce new Apple A18 Pro ARM chips. For the launch, Apple was able to use leftover, partially defective chips from the iPhone 16 Pro, which is why the MacBook Neo only has five GPU cores instead of six. Tim Culpan assumes that Apple will proceed in a similar way as with the Mac mini.

Instead of directly increasing the recommended retail price, Apple could simply remove the base model with 256 GB SSD, which is available for $599, from the range. This would force customers to opt for the version with 512 GB SSD and Touch ID, where Apple is likely to generate a higher profit margin. To make this step more attractive to customers, Apple could launch a MacBook Neo in several new colors, according to the analyst. As usual, such reports should be taken with a grain of salt. Apple has not yet officially commented on a possible price increase for the MacBook Neo.