Apple has been facing a welcome dilemma: surging demand for the MacBook Neo has far exceeded expectations. Hence, the company faced a pressing decision: (1) ramp up production or (2) allow its stock of A18 Pro chips to run out.
Wisely, Apple has chosen the former.
Apple has doubled its MacBook Neo production plans after the laptop’s runaway success, my sources tell me…
MacBook Neo is now seen as a legitimate alternative to Chromebooks, powered by Google’s ChromeOS, as well as low-end Windows laptops. The cheapest member of the MacBook series is likely to lure more companies and students into adopting the MacOS ecosystem, broadening Apple’s user base.
This unprecedented popularity left Apple with an important decision to make: It could sell out of the Neo, thus forgoing sales but preserving profit margins. Or order up a new batch and face a severe cut in gross margins amid escalating DRAM prices and a higher cost-base for the core processor.
Apple recently made its decision and opted to put more units of the Neo in customer hands.
As a result, it’s now asking suppliers to prepare capacity for 10 million units of the debut version of the Neo, up from an initial estimate of 5 million to 6 million, my sources tell me.
MacDailyNews Take: Smart move.
Take the margin hit (there’s certainly enough headroom built-in to absorb more expensive chips) and keep selling Macs like hotcakes, Apple! The company would be smart to play the long game in which more Mac users not only benefits Apple services in recurring fashion, but also creates halo sales of high-margin iPhones, iPads, AirPods, HomePods, Apple TVs, etcetera…
Resorting to just saying “sold out” of MacBook Neo units until the next model would be a huge mistake. – MacDailyNews, April 7, 2026
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