MacBook Neo suffers from success as Apple is allegedly running low on "effectively free" A18 Pro SoCs
MacBook Neo has seemingly sold better than expected, and this has put Apple in a tough spot. According to a report out of Taiwan, Apple initially only planned to produce 5 to 6 million MacBook Neo units. The decision was driven by the number of defective or binned-down A18 Pro chips that Apple had in inventory. These A18 Pro chips are reportedly “effectively free” for Apple, as they couldn’t qualify for the iPhone 16 Pro and would’ve been scrapped otherwise.
Like all chips, the Apple A18 Pro also doesn’t enjoy a 100% yield. Apple took the perfect A18 Pro samples and used them inside the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. The defective chips with one disabled GPU core were stored to use inside the MacBook Neo.
With demand through the roof, the dilemma facing Apple is that the supply of the A18 Pro and the MacBook Neo will run out before demand is met. So, Apple is reportedly talking with suppliers to figure out what route to take.
On one hand, Apple can request TSMC to enable more production of the A18 Pro on the TSMC 3 nm node, but that would kill Cupertino’s profit margins, the report argues. On the other hand, Apple will leave a ton of money on the table if it decides not to produce more MacBook Neo units.
At $599, the MacBook Neo is practically without competition, which has spooked Windows laptop OEMs. Add to it the current price of RAM and storage, and Windows laptop makers are unlikely to have an answer to the MacBook Neo anytime soon. So, if there ever was a time for Apple to corner the affordable laptop market, this is it.
The report also claims that Apple’s initial plan was to stop production of the MacBook Neo at 5 to 6 million units, and focus on next year’s MacBook Neo with the binned-down Apple A19 Pro. So, this essentially confirms that Apple is going to continue the strategy of using impaired mobile SoCs in 2027’s MacBook Neo.
We just hope that, in addition to the A19 Pro SoC, Apple also brings the iPhone 17 Pro’s vapor chamber cooling to not only the MacBook Neo but also the next year’s MacBook Air as that would benefit the MacBook Air a lot.
Source(s)
Culpium via Jukan on X, Teaser image source: Apple, GraphicsNinja on Pixabay, edited
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