MacBook Neo: Apple reportedly doubles production due to high demand

Contents

Apple is reportedly doubling the planned production of the MacBook Neo to around 10 million units, according to a report. Originally, the company had ordered 5 to 6 million devices. The demand for the affordable notebook apparently far exceeds Apple's own expectations.

Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed the supply situation in the earnings call on April 30, 2026. Mac revenue in the second quarter grew to $8.4 billion, up 6 percent, driven by the Neo.

SoC inventories depleted

The first production run of the MacBook Neo used so-called down-binned A18 Pro chips, which were originally manufactured for the iPhone 16 Pro. During binning – a standard process in semiconductor production – chips with individual defective units are not discarded but reused with reduced specifications. In the case of the MacBook Neo, this means: instead of the six GPU cores of the iPhone 16 Pro, only five work, with one core deactivated. The CPU configuration (two performance and four efficiency cores), ray tracing, and the 16-core neural engine remain identical.

These remaining stocks from iPhone production are now depleted, according to the report by Culpium. Apple has therefore commissioned a new batch from TSMC using the N3E process (3 nanometers) – reportedly as a so-called “hot lot” with accelerated manufacturing. Some new chips are fully functional units where a GPU core is disabled via software to ensure consistent specifications.

Delivery times remain tight

The shortage is also noticeable in Europe. At Apple itself, the delivery time for the MacBook Neo remains several weeks. Availability in the open market is sometimes better, with prices starting around 589 euros for the 256 GB variant, according to price comparisons. The supply bottlenecks for Mac products also affect other models, such as the Mac mini and Mac Studio.

The devices are assembled by Quanta and Foxconn in factories in Vietnam and China. The higher costs for newly manufactured chips – as opposed to the virtually free binning remnants – as well as rising DRAM prices could put Apple under pressure in the future. Observers speculate whether Apple might discontinue the 256 GB entry-level model or increase prices, similar to the Mac mini, where Apple discontinued the 256 GB entry-level model, making the 512 GB variant the cheapest option.

Performance at iPhone level

In benchmarks, the MacBook Neo with its A18 Pro chip performs at the level of older M-chips: single-core performance at the M3 level, multi-core slightly behind the M1. In video rendering and gaming, it achieves similar values to the M1 or approximately M2 level, respectively. Manufacturing using the 3-nanometer process allows for acceptable battery life despite the compact 36.5 Wh battery – significantly smaller than the 53.8 Wh in the 13-inch MacBook Air. A MacBook Neo 2 with an A19 Pro chip from the iPhone 17 binning is reportedly expected in 2027.

(mki)