The MacBook Neo outsold the MacBook Air in its first three weeks

[Skye Jacobs]

Bottom line: Apple doesn't typically compete on price when it comes to laptops, but the MacBook Neo suggests that may be starting to change. Early sales data show the lower-cost model is attracting new users and giving Cupertino a foothold in a part of the market it has long avoided.

Apple shipped about 1.1 million MacBook Neo units in the March quarter, according to IDC figures. That number would be strong on its own, but the timing makes it stand out. The Neo only went on sale in mid-March, leaving it roughly three weeks of availability in the quarter. Even so, it outpaced the early performance of Apple's latest MacBook Air (M5) and MacBook Pro (M5), which recorded over 900,000 and 550,000 units, respectively, in their debut quarters.

The Neo is not just a cheaper Mac – it represents a different approach to building one. Apple kept the familiar industrial design, including an aluminum body and a 13-inch Liquid Retina display, but made deliberate trade-offs under the hood.

Instead of an M-series processor, the device runs on an A18 Pro chip, typically used in iPhones, and starts with 8GB of memory. The result is a machine that looks like a MacBook but is architected closer to Apple's mobile devices.

By leaning on its mobile silicon, Apple is effectively lowering costs while extending its vertically integrated hardware strategy into a new pricing tier. The $599 starting price – about 45% below the entry-level MacBook Air – puts the Neo in direct competition with midrange Windows laptops.

So far, the market response suggests there was pent-up demand for exactly this kind of device. IDC's Navkendar Singh said shipments began climbing in early April and have already exceeded expectations in several regions. The US made up 44% of total shipments.

"Rising prices of Windows notebooks and attractive pricing of the Neo have led to its very high demand," Singh told TechCrunch.

Apple executives are framing the Neo as more than a volume play. On the company's April earnings call, CEO Tim Cook said customer response had been "off the charts" and acknowledged that supply constraints followed the launch. He also noted that Apple set a record for new Mac users during the quarter, with the Neo playing a role in bringing first-time buyers into the ecosystem.

That aligns with what other analysts are seeing. Counterpoint Research believes the Neo could help Apple make inroads into the $400 to $699 laptop segment, where its share has historically been minimal. Associate director David Naranjo estimates that the share could climb from around 2% to as much as 15% if the device continues to gain traction.

"Although it is still early, the MacBook Neo launch stands out as one of Apple's most strategically important recent Mac releases, especially as the wider PC market deals with rising memory costs and 'shrinkflation,' while Apple is expanding its reach," Naranjo said.

For now, supply constraints remain a factor, but IDC expects a "very big spike" in shipments this quarter as availability improves. If that happens, the MacBook Neo may end up doing more than boosting unit sales. It could redefine how Apple positions the Mac – and how it uses its chip ecosystem to reach a broader audience.

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The MacBook Neo outsold the MacBook Air in its first three weeks

 

[yRaz]

With the price of things, im not surprised. It's a great product at that price. I always thought the Air was overpriced

 

[ScottSoapbox]

The $599 starting price – about 45% below the entry-level MacBook Air – puts the Neo in direct competition with midrange Windows laptops.

In what world is $599 midrange laptops? Crappy Chromebooks are $400.

 

[yRaz]

In the rampocolypse. You aren't wrong to be angry, but this is the new normal. Part of the advantages of volunteering at an ewaste recycling center, you get stuff for a freaking bargain

 

[Rapob]

SSD, RAM and VRAM usage will go down in the coming years haha!

Maybe software devs will learn to actually optimize code!

 

[Megalomaniac]

"Lowering the price increases sales"
-News at 11

I am considering getting my mom a loaded Neo in Pink for her birthday. Got her an Applewatch for Christmas. got her Air Pod Max for Valentines day. Both of my parents have my older iPhones and iPads. Drag them deeper into the apple ecosystem.

The Neo isn't perfect, but as time goes on, the budget tech products get progressively more powerful.

I'd feel more comfortable with 1TB SSD but she'll use it for Zoom meetings and other things that aren't too intensive. The Desktop I bought her is getting old.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

In the rampocolypse. You aren't wrong to be angry, but this is the new normal. Part of the advantages of volunteering at an ewaste recycling center, you get stuff for a freaking bargain

But Scotts point is valid, $600 hadn't been midrange for a long time. Since Red Lung at least.

 

[Axeia]

SSD, RAM and VRAM usage will go down in the coming years haha!

Maybe software devs will learn to actually optimize code!

With AI writing more and more code, doubtful.

As a dev, optimizing is a bit of an odd beast. The best way to go about it tends to be just write code and if it bogs down - then optimize. If you try to optimize everything ahead of time you waste a ton of time and your boss will breath down your neck telling you to work faster.
With experience you can make some educated guesses as to what will tank performance and take some simple steps ahead of time from having that happen most of the time.

Optimizing to the max can also be extremely boring and/or come at the cost of code readability/maintainability.
In an ideal world everything would be written in assembly and squeeze every bit of performance/efficiency out of the hardware. However that stuff is extremely hard to read and maintain so it's layers and layers of abstraction on top of it. (I haven't touched it other than some super basic things in a college class and have absolutely zero desire to ever do so ever again)

 

[ScottSoapbox]

With AI writing more and more code, doubtful.

As a dev, optimizing is a bit of an odd beast. The best way to go about it tends to be just write code and if it bogs down - then optimize. If you try to optimize everything ahead of time you waste a ton of time and your boss will breath down your neck telling you to work faster.
With experience you can make some educated guesses as to what will tank performance and take some simple steps ahead of time from having that happen most of the time.

Optimizing to the max can also be extremely boring and/or come at the cost of code readability/maintainability.
In an ideal world everything would be written in assembly and squeeze every bit of performance/efficiency out of the hardware. However that stuff is extremely hard to read and maintain so it's layers and layers of abstraction on top of it. (I haven't touched it other than some super basic things in a college class and have absolutely zero desire to ever do so ever again)

Yeah the optimize code calls are always from people with no idea about coding.

It's right up there with cries for companies to just sell their products cheaper, magically make them faster, and run forever on a battery.

 

[SRB]

I was wondering about this. Every headline so far was about the Neo displacing the PC. It will be interesting to see if it just ends up cannibalizing their own laptop sales.

 

[daffy duck]

But Scotts point is valid, $600 hadn't been midrange for a long time. Since Red Lung at least.

In Australia $1500 is the mid-range -/+ $500.
Macbooks used to look insanely overpriced, but now they are very competitive with Windoze laptops.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

I was wondering about this. Every headline so far was about the Neo displacing the PC. It will be interesting to see if it just ends up cannibalizing their own laptop sales.

It'll probably cannibalize some air sales, unlikely to affect the pro, and it's small screen is going to put off older (read: wealthier) buyers.

Most people IRL I've met interested in the neo use iphones, but have windows laptops at home.

 

[Rapob]

With AI writing more and more code, doubtful.

As a dev, optimizing is a bit of an odd beast. The best way to go about it tends to be just write code and if it bogs down - then optimize. If you try to optimize everything ahead of time you waste a ton of time and your boss will breath down your neck telling you to work faster.
With experience you can make some educated guesses as to what will tank performance and take some simple steps ahead of time from having that happen most of the time.

Optimizing to the max can also be extremely boring and/or come at the cost of code readability/maintainability.
In an ideal world everything would be written in assembly and squeeze every bit of performance/efficiency out of the hardware. However that stuff is extremely hard to read and maintain so it's layers and layers of abstraction on top of it. (I haven't touched it other than some super basic things in a college class and have absolutely zero desire to ever do so ever again)

AI Code is better optimized than most coders.

Most coders are pretty bad. AI will improve on their code in most cases, unless you are a top 10% coder maybe.

This is one of the reasons companies turns to AI code. There is too many bad programmers doing crapcode. So poorly optimized.

AI code can re-write entire applications, and make them run better already. No way around this.

AI code is already better than what most human programmers can do and will only get better and better from here.

 

[Rudyduu]

AI Code is better optimized than most coders.

Most coders are pretty bad. AI will improve on their code in most cases, unless you are a top 10% coder maybe.

This is one of the reasons companies turns to AI code. There is too many bad programmers doing crapcode. So poorly optimized.

AI code can re-write entire applications, and make them run better already. No way around this.

AI code is already better than what most human programmers can do and will only get better and better from here.

"Most coders"? How can you possibly know enough programmers to determine what "most" of them do?

 

[Rapob]

"Most coders"? How can you possibly know enough programmers to determine what "most" of them do?

Because I have seen my fair share of crapcode.

Why do you think tons of software devs go the AI route? AI code will eventually lead to code perfection and better optimization instead of crapcode with tons of workarounds and loops.

AI code is already better and faster than what most coders can do manually, and with 1000% of the speed, with no breaks, no sickdays, no downtime.

AI can already take decades old software, optimize and rewrite the code from start to finish with backwards comp.

You must be absolutely clueless if you think AI code is not the future. It 100% is and everyone in the field knows that. Hence why most programmers turned the AI route too, or you will simply be replaced in a few years. Mark my words.