Members of the media view MacBook Neo laptop computers on display during an Apple unveil event, Wednesday, March 4, 2026, in New York (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey) ,
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The success of the MacBook Neo has caught the industry by surprise. With reports of low laptop availability in stores and parts in the supply chain, it appears to have caught Apple on the hop as well. Of course, Tim Cook and his team will continue producing the latest MacBook, but starting a new batch of Neo laptops comes with its own unique set of issues.
Apple made some unorthodox decisions to keep the MacBook Neo’s bill of materials, and therefore the price of the Neo, as low as possible, including a slower and lower-specced USB-C port, the bare minimum of memory needed to run macOS 26 Tahoe, no MagSafe charging, and an older style of LCD screen.
The biggest saving was using binned A18 Pro chipsets originally destined for the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max. The chips were designed with 6 CPU cores and 6 GPU cores, but, as with any silicon manufacturing process, there is a failure rate. Those with 6 working CPU cores and 5 out of 6 GPU cores were set aside for the MacBook Neo.
By using chips that had one failed GPU core—which had already been paid for as part of the iPhone production run—the Apple Silicon at the heart of each MacBook Neo was essentially free.
Apple opening up new production lines for the MacBook Neo brings this issue to the foreground; where do you get your new A18 Pro chipsets? According to reports this week, Apple is negotiating with TSMC for a rush order of the silicon, which will include a premium on top of the silicon’s cost. That premium will need to be taken from the profit margin.
Not forgetting that the world’s supply chain is a more complicated place due to both the increased demand for memory and storage by the AI industry, and the reduced supply of raw materials heading to silicon fabrication plants due to the ongoing geopolitical situation in the Straits of Hormuz.
We’ve seen other smartphone manufactuers deal with this by stripping out the lowest memory and storage options on some models, balancing the larger base profit margin against the rising cost of components. Given that, we could see Apple offset the increased costs of the Neo production line by sacrificing the 8GB memory / 256 GB storage model, leaving the 8 GB / 512 GB as the sole Neo and allowing this second batch to retain overall profitability.
There is also the intriguing prospect of what to do with the new A18 Pro chips, which pass all tests with flying colours and feature 6 CPU and 6 GPU cores. While you could switch off a GPU core in software to match the existing specifications. Alternatively, could we see the equivalent of a MacBook Neo Plus with the higher 6/6 combination? With Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference coming up, that would be a nice surprise in what could be Tim Cook’s final keynote.
Apple will keep the MacBook Neo on sale, and there’s a good chance that it could be 2026’s biggest-selling laptop if demand can be met. Apple knows it has not just a hit, but a market-redefining hit. It needs to keep it available, even if that means some short-term pain with lower profit margins.
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