Customers are now facing delivery delays of up to five days at retail chains, while orders through Apple’s online store may take between two and four weeks to arrive

The computer, priced at VND16.5 million ($627), opened for pre-orders on April 7 and began shipping on April 10 in Vietnam.

Retailers said demand has been unusually strong compared with other MacBook models.

Retailers including CellphoneS and FPT Shop said the available inventories have largely been allocated to pre-orders, leaving walk-in buyers with a waiting time of three to five days depending on configuration.

Some smaller retailers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City still have stocks but quantities are limited with prices starting at VND17 million ($646), which is about VND500,000 ($19) higher than the original price.

On Apple’s online store, delivery times have increased from the standard two to four days to up to four weeks for education accounts.

The MacBook Neo is also on pre-order via Apple’s official e-commerce account, with a minimum wait of 14 days. "This is the first time we’ve seen a MacBook model sell out immediately after launch in Vietnam," Hoang Tung, a representative of an Apple distributor, said.

But the limited initial supply also contributed to the shortage, he said. "The Neo is also selling strongly in other markets globally, while Vietnam is not a top-priority market."

Hoang Tuan, a long-time Apple retailer on Pho Hue Street in Hanoi, said the shortages on Apple’s online store may be linked to many Vietnamese users using education accounts to get better prices. Apple allows students, teachers and education staff to buy the MacBook Neo starting at VND14 million ($532), some VND2.5 million ($95) below the standard price.

MacBook Neo in yellow. Photo courtesy of Apple

Nguyen Lac Huy of CellphoneS said his chain received more than 100 paid pre-orders within four hours on April 7.

The system also recorded more than 4,000 customer inquiries immediately after launch, marking the strongest early demand for any MacBook model.

The MacBook Neo is Apple’s first laptop to use an iPhone-based chip rather than Intel or the company’s M-series processors.

Priced at the lower end of the company’s lineup, it is viewed as a competitive challenge to Windows laptops in the VND10-20 million ($380-760) segment.

At an Asus company meeting on March 10 co-CEO SY Hsu said the device’s $599 price point was a shock to the Windows PC industry.

The laptop features a unibody aluminum design similar to the MacBook Air, a 13-inch display and weighs 1.2 kilograms, and is available in a number of colors like light pink, indigo blue, silver, and gold.

Despite strong demand and Apple’s brand appeal, the MacBook Neo has drawn skepticism over real-world performance.

It comes with only 8GB of RAM, and its use of an iPhone-based chip has raised questions about software compatibility compared with devices powered by Apple’s M-series processors.