Apple is considering adding new colors to its MacBook Neo line to protect customers from a possible price increase, according to a Taiwan-based technology columnist and veteran. Bloomberg journalist Tim Culpan.
In his latest Culpium newsletter, Culpan claims that the runaway success of the entry-level laptop has forced Apple to pay more for the components inside it. As a result, he says the new finishes are an option Apple is considering to keep enthusiasm high if those costs end up being passed on to buyers. Starting at $599, the Neo is currently sold in Citrus, Blush, Indigo, and Silver.
Apple doesn’t appear to have decided which colors might join the lineup, and the report doesn’t name any specific shades the company might consider.
The pressure on prices would come from Apple’s decision to significantly increase production. After demand for the Neo exceeded initial expectations, Apple reportedly asked suppliers to prepare capacity of 10 million units for the first model, up from an earlier target of 5 to 6 million.
Shipping estimates on Apple’s website are currently two to three weeks for the entire line in the United States and many other countries, with Quanta and Foxconn reportedly working to fulfill orders from factories in Vietnam and China.
However, achieving the doubled production target will require a new batch of A18 Pro chips from TSMC. The Neo uses the same system-on-a-chip as the iPhone 16 Pro, and Apple quickly sold out its existing inventory to fill the first orders. The initial run was done on TSMC’s N3E process at least two years ago, and it is believed that TSMC has no available 3nm capacity to allocate, as AI clients absorb much of the available output.
What’s worse for Apple is that the first batch of A18 Pro chips were “bundled” versions with minor flaws that, rather than being scrapped, were repurposed for the Neo by disabling one of the GPU’s six cores.
This means that new production will result in premium chips rather than defective ones, meaning a higher unit cost that Apple will have to pay even before TSMC adds a premium for accelerated production.
DRAM prices have also risen sharply since the Neo first went on sale – again due to the construction of an AI data center – which has further pushed up the laptop’s bill of materials.
Culpan reports that Apple has not ruled out raising the price of the Neo in response.