Last week, Apple launched the MacBook Neo, its cheapest MacBook yet, but obviously not a cheap machine per se – just cheaper than the other MacBooks.
The Neo is now expected to ship around 4.5 to 5 million units this year, with 2-2.5 million before the end of June. The laptop is currently being exclusively assembled by Quanta, with Foxconn perhaps becoming a second supplier in the near future.
Luxshare is actively seeking to become an assembler for the Neo 2, aligning with its intention to become the world’s largest laptop assembler, for which it’s already rapidly expanded its Windows laptop assembly business over the past 1-2 years.
Speaking of the MacBook Neo 2, this was originally expected to have a touchscreen, but Ming-Chi Kuo says this could now change. Perhaps Apple realized it can sell this line well without adding a more expensive component like that. And it does seem like Apple will keep the touchscreen exclusive to the MacBook Ultra, the most expensive MacBook ever sold.
Interestingly, Kuo predicts that competing laptops will inevitably get more expensive towards the end of the year due to memory costs, and so the MacBook Neo will look like a better deal down the line. We’ll obviously believe that when we see it, but it’s not something that’s outside the realm of possibility, that’s for sure.
