We know that Apple’s gamble on a cheaper MacBook seems to have paid off, resulting in big sales. New figures suggest that the budget MacBook Neo – one of the best laptops we’ve reviewed this year – has already become the company’s best-selling Mac, despite some supply issues.
However, like other Apple products, it has only been able to resist the general industry price rises for so long, caused by increased memory costs. So instead of starting from $599/£599 for the entry-level 256GB model, it now starts at $699/£699 direct from Apple. However, that’s not the whole story, since several retailers are still offering it for the lower price. So if you want one, you need to be quick since presumably all retailers will also soon hike their prices.
Since launch, reports have repeatedly pointed to demand outstripping supply, with Apple’s lower-cost laptop proving especially popular among students, first-time Mac buyers, and people looking to upgrade ageing Windows machines without spending MacBook Air money.
According to figures from IDC (via MacRumors), Apple shipped around 1.1 million MacBook Neo units during the first quarter of the year. That’s enough to put it ahead of every other Mac model, including the M5 MacBook Air, which reportedly shipped more than 900,000 units, and the M5 MacBook Pro, which managed around 550,000.
Those numbers are particularly impressive because the MacBook Neo only went on sale in mid-March, giving it roughly three weeks of availability before the quarter ended.
To hit the Neo’s lower price point, Apple made one major change – swapping its M-series silicon for the A18 Pro chip. That’s the same processor family originally developed for the iPhone, and the tech giant has reportedly struggled to secure enough chips to fully meet demand.
The impact is already being felt, with Dell’s latest $699 XPS 13 aimed squarely at the same segment. Analysts also predict that the MacBook Neo could eventually help Apple significantly expand its share of the entry-level notebook market.
Read the full article here
