Oliver Haslam on May 7, 2026, 8:40 pm

Apple’s MacBook Neo Could Soon Cost $699 As Increased Component Costs Bite

Apple’s $599 MacBook Neo has proven to be a popular machine since it went on sale in March, but a new report suggests that Apple may cancel the entry-level model, leaving the $699 model available.

Analyst Tim Culpan believes that Apple has placed orders for more MacBook Neo machines in an attempt to deal with ongoing shortages.

But the analyst notes that the cost of memory continues to increase, and that new A18 Pro chips will need to be ordered.

With that in mind, it’s thought that Apple may choose to remove the $599 256GB model from the market to protect its margins. That would leave the 512GB $699 version as the only MacBook Neo available for customers to buy.

Apple currently offers the Neo in 256GB ($599) and 512GB ($699) versions with four colors apiece. A month ago I suggested that to deal with the higher cost and lower margins of a new batch, Apple may kill the cheaper version and only offer the 512GB variant. It recently followed that strategy with the Mac Mini, pulling the $599 256GB model from sale leaving only the $799 512GB version available.

Apple’s recent decision to take the same approach with the Mac mini may suggest that it will take a similar approach with the MacBook Neo. It’s also been suggested that Apple may offer new colors as an option as part of a mid-cycle refresh to help lessen the blow of a price increase.