Overview
- Multiple outlets reported Thursday that Apple doubled MacBook Neo production to about 10 million units and placed a new A18 Pro chip order with TSMC.
- Early units used binned A18 Pro chips with one GPU core disabled, but those reserves are running out and new 3nm wafers will cost more.
- Rising memory prices tied to AI data centers are lifting the laptop’s parts bill and squeezing margins on the $599 configuration.
- Apple is weighing options that include dropping the 256GB base model to make $699 the effective starting price or adding new colors to soften any increase, and no change has been announced.
- Buyers face two to three weeks for delivery in the U.S. as Quanta and Foxconn scale production in Vietnam and China to meet strong demand cited by Tim Cook.