Apple’s MacBook Neo has been so successful that new buyers have to wait weeks for delivery, and the company has now doubled its planned production and ordered new A18 Pro chips to keep pace.
The $599 MacBook Neo officially went on sale on March 11, 2026 and has been hard to find ever since. Many color combinations and configurations are significantly out of stock.
Now, Apple is reportedly taking steps to ensure it can sell MacBook Neo laptops to everyone who wants one. In fact, Apple was so caught off guard by the popularity of the MacBook Neo that it is now doubling its initial production.
That’s according to analyst Tim Culpan, who also reports that Apple will also need to order more A18 Pro chips.
Too many Macs, not enough chips
The huge popularity of the MacBook Neo has left Apple in a dilemma. Selling its first series of laptops will preserve the company’s initial margin projections, which is a good thing. But more sales are better.
However, ordering more MacBook Neo laptops could well prove costly. Ever-increasing DRAM prices will likely make a MacBook Neo cost more to manufacture today than when it was first produced.
But Culpan notes that there is an additional issue to consider. Apple simply doesn’t have the chips on hand to build more laptops.
More MacBook Neos are on the way, but at what price?
The A18 Pro chip that powers the MacBook Neo is a version of the same chip that powers the iPhone 16 Pro. In fact, these are chips that lack the six working GPU cores required for use in the iPhone.
Rather than removing these chips, Apple kept the ones with five GPU cores for use in the MacBook Neo. Culpan believes the well is drying up and purchasing new chips could be expensive.
The analyst believes that Apple will now have to order more A18 Pro chips and that they will have six working GPU cores. Apple could then disable the extra core, leaving five available. maintain the price of $599.
Culpan suggests, however, that Apple could take another approach. He thinks it’s possible that Apple might choose to drop the $599 starting price to accommodate the added expense. The move would now only see the $699 512GB model sold.
Apple has already followed the same playbook with the Mac mini, abandoning the entry-level model altogether.
A similar approach, however, seems unlikely. Apple is well aware that a key part of the MacBook Neo’s success is its $599 price tag.
Ultimately, it’s hard to know exactly what Apple’s plans are, or how many chips it does or doesn’t have. But one thing is clear: the MacBook Neo is incredibly popular. Apple will want to capitalize while it can.