MacBook Neo has a chip supply problem, here’s how Apple could fix it

Source: 9to5Mac

Apple has a chip problem. MacBook Neo is selling far better than the company had expected, and now it seems like there aren’t enough binned A18 Pro chips to keep the production run going for another 6‑12 months before a new version is released.

Some have floated the idea of Apple axing the 256 GB trim and just using an unbinned A18 Pro chip in the 512 GB trim. That’s certainly plausible, but how can Apple prevent this from happening with every forthcoming MacBook Neo?

The MacBook Neo boom

We already know Apple is making another version of the MacBook Neo with the A19 Pro chip and 12 GB RAM in about a year.

What if, though, there was more diversity to it? Clearly, relying on one trim of binned chip isn’t necessarily going to cut it for the amount of demand there is for MacBook Neo.

You could argue a lot of this could be launch hype, but the MacBook Neo is an absurdly good deal compared to the rest of the PC industry, and people will continue to want to buy it—especially if they already have an iPhone.

Right now, there are two trims of the MacBook Neo, with no chip difference:

• $599 ($499 edu): 256 GB SSD, 8 GB RAM, A18 Pro chip with 5‑core CPU and 6‑core GPU
• $699 ($599 edu): 512 GB SSD, 8 GB RAM, Touch ID, same A18 Pro chip

Apple only deploys one chip in the MacBook Neo, at least for now. With the A19 version, there’s room for them to move both higher and lower.

The A19 version

Apple can move higher, in the sense that the highest MacBook Neo trim is $699, whereas the lowest MacBook Air trim is $1,099. And it can go lower, because people are clearly okay with 8 GB of memory at this price point.

A plausible lineup with the A19 refresh could look like this:

• $599 ($499 edu): 256 GB SSD, 8 GB RAM, A19 chip (6‑core CPU, 5‑core GPU like iPhone 17), no Touch ID
• $749 ($649 edu): 512 GB SSD, 12 GB RAM, A19 Pro chip (6‑core CPU, 5‑core GPU like iPhone Air), Touch ID
• $899 ($799 edu): 1 TB SSD, 12 GB RAM, A19 Pro chip (6‑core CPU, 6‑core GPU like iPhone 17 Pro), Touch ID

This provides some chip‑supply diversity and creates a new incentive for people with a slightly larger budget to buy a chip that isn’t low in supply. Prices may shift, but the general structure is plausible.

One downside of the baseline A19 chip is that it doesn’t embed a USB 3 controller. Apple could add an external controller on the board, bringing back a USB 3 port to the baseline model. An additional benefit is that the A19 Pro chips do have an embedded USB 3 controller, so the external controller would make both USB‑C ports support USB 3 speeds. This is all hypothetical, of course.

Wrap up

Apple likely wants its low‑end MacBook competitor to stay in stock, and the A18 Pro shortages weren’t something it expected to face so soon. More diversity with the upcoming A19 model is almost inevitable.

How do you feel about the MacBook Neo? Have you bought one? Share your thoughts in the comments.