Apple MacBook Neo 2 to receive touchscreen, performance and RAM upgrades

The MacBook Neo ($599 on Amazon) is by far the cheapest laptop in Apple's range. With an aluminum unibody chassis, a 500 nits bright display and a large multi-touch trackpad, the notebook offers features that are rarely found in this price range. The Apple A18 Pro, which we already know from the Apple iPhone 16 Pro, is considerably slower than the processors from Intel, AMD or Qualcomm, which are usually used in similarly priced laptops from the competition.

The MacBook Neo's RAM is limited to just 8 GB, making the laptop unsuitable for more demanding users. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via MacRumors) expects that Apple will partially iron out these weaknesses in the second-generation MacBook Neo. This is because the affordable notebook is set to be upgraded to the Apple A19 Pro, the processor of the iPhone 17 Pro. The chip will be accompanied by 12 GB of RAM, which is 50 percent more than the current MacBook Neo.

In addition, the display of the MacBook Neo 2 is to be designed as a touchscreen, with the touch layer being integrated directly into the IPS panel so that the MacBook Neo should not become thicker as a result. After the MacBook Ultra will be the first MacBook with a touchscreen to be launched this fall, a touchscreen-optimized version of macOS will already be available by the time the MacBook Neo 2 is launched. As it is likely to be at least a year before the launch of the MacBook Neo 2, and Apple's plans are subject to change, these rumors should be taken with a grain of salt