MacBook Neo (2027)

[Elwe]

Yeah. I'm already thinking about next year's model 🙂, assuming they release one every year. I could imagine that the only changes might be:

1. New/different colors
2. The use of the A19 Pro instead of the A18 Pro. If this is the case, it should have:
   1. A move from 8GB to 12GB ram.
   2. Neural Accelerators.
   3. Memory Integrity Enforcement
   4. Incremental core and memory throughput increases.

Not sure any of this matters to anyone who this model is truly intended for. But I think 50% more memory would be great for almost anyone.

 

[ccbc]

2026 not even shipped and we already talk about 2027? Ha!
I'd see A19 with 12GB, same SSD capacities, no other changes.

 

[JPack]

I wouldn't be certain about the 12GB given how DRAM prices are. Keep in mind this affects PC makers as well, so it's a stagnation for everyone.

Memory pricing shifts to 'hourly' as giants dominate, SMEs fight for survival

Semiconductor industry insiders report that memory shortages and price surges have intensified alongside AI industry growth, pushing some memory prices into an "hourly pricing" model. This development spells a survival nightmare for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) lacking bargaining power.

www.digitimes.com

 

[svish]

Don't think it will get yearly updates. However the next version will probably have new colors. Can have improvement in a lot of areas. Increase in RAM might not happen especially considering current pricing of memory chips and the same starting price of $599.

 

[Andeddu]

It’s very unlikely that the RAM crisis will be resolved prior to 2028, so I can’t see the Neo obtaining more than 8GB RAM as standard. I hope more RAM will become a configuration though for those who want 12GB.

 

[mectojic]

Yeah. I'm already thinking about next year's model 🙂, assuming they release one every year. I could imagine that the only changes might be:

1. New/different colors

New colors won't happen in 2027... it's a budget model, compare to the A16 base iPad. Color change will take a while.

 

[JPack]

I'd expect annual updates since Apple is serious about fighting in this price band.

A19 Pro is 10% smaller than A18 Pro, so Apple should be motivated to update. The RAM is constrained by supply and cost.

 

[1rottenapple]

My use case is light but I want a big screen! 13 is too small for me.

 

[UltimateSyn]

I wouldn't be certain about the 12GB given how DRAM prices are. Keep in mind this affects PC makers as well, so it's a stagnation for everyone.

Memory pricing shifts to 'hourly' as giants dominate, SMEs fight for survival

Semiconductor industry insiders report that memory shortages and price surges have intensified alongside AI industry growth, pushing some memory prices into an "hourly pricing" model. This development spells a survival nightmare for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) lacking bargaining power.

www.digitimes.com

It's just a matter of which phone SoC it's going to use, as I doubt they design and fab a new variant just for this... my bets are it gets the A19 Pro from the iPhone 17 Pro, which has 12GB of RAM.

 

[conmee]

Yeah. I'm already thinking about next year's model 🙂, assuming they release one every year. I could imagine that the only changes might be:

1. New/different colors
2. The use of the A19 Pro instead of the A18 Pro. If this is the case, it should have:
   1. A move from 8GB to 12GB ram.
   2. Neural Accelerators.
   3. Memory Integrity Enforcement
   4. Incremental core and memory throughput increases.

Not sure any of this matters to anyone who this model is truly intended for. But I think 50% more memory would be great for almost anyone.

Auditioning for a MacRumors contributor job? 😉 Agree on the updates, those are easy to implement just swapping SoC. Maybe keyboard backlight to spice things up.

 

[Zazoh]

The ship dates are already slipping due to popularity. I am less confident of a yearly update. Because this is a version one, we may see updates for any serious break fixes.

 

[M3Stang]

I was thinking about the ram. Might get one to supplement my 14" M4 Max to bring that along instead of it for flights and what not since it is less risk and I just browse reddit and MR when not home anyway. I think for my use case it wont really matter anyway. I think the biggest L is the no backlit keyboard but it's fine. I usually turn mine off and go red filter in bed anyway on the M4 Max.

 

[JPack]

It's just a matter of which phone SoC it's going to use, as I doubt they design and fab a new variant just for this... my bets are it gets the A19 Pro from the iPhone 17 Pro, which has 12GB of RAM.

It's not a new variant though. The DRAM is stacked on top of the SoC. What DRAM chip is stacked has no effect on design.

For example, A15 was available with 4GB (iPhone 13), 6GB (iPhone 14), and 3GB (Apple TV 4K).

We wouldn't call M1 with 8/16GB or M5 with 16/24/32GB different variants either.

 

[ivnj]

Every year is too much. Will be 2 or 3 years at least.

 

[1rottenapple]

I think they'll update date this yearly. It's a great entry level laptop and each year there's kids entering school that need a funky fun laptop that can do the basics. And kid a heart waiting for better colors.

 

[JPack]

Kuo has already said V2 is planned for 2027. For V1, he accurately predicted the exact 4 colors, chip, display size, and launch period. High volume stuff always gets updated annually.

Moot point to argue something so obvious.

 

[throAU]

Yeah. I'm already thinking about next year's model 🙂, assuming they release one every year. I could imagine that the only changes might be:

1. New/different colors
2. The use of the A19 Pro instead of the A18 Pro. If this is the case, it should have:
   1. A move from 8GB to 12GB ram.
   2. Neural Accelerators.
   3. Memory Integrity Enforcement
   4. Incremental core and memory throughput increases.

Not sure any of this matters to anyone who this model is truly intended for. But I think 50% more memory would be great for almost anyone.

Assuming they update it next year, i predict

• A19 pro (and all the security and other features that brings)
• 12 GB RAM
• 512 GB Base
• TouchID standard

It will be the perfect entry mac.

 

[JPack]

Assuming they update it next year, i predict

• A19 pro (and all the security and other features that brings)
• 12 GB RAM
• 512 GB Base
• TouchID standard

It will be the perfect entry mac.

Samsung DRAM prices reportedly double in 1Q26, jumping from 70% to 100% increase in a month

Reports indicate that Samsung raised DRAM prices by more than 100% in the first quarter of 2026. The increase had initially been negotiated at around 70% in January 2026, but expanded further within a month.

www.digitimes.com

Apple reportedly agrees to double NAND prices from Kioxia, shifts to quarterly contract pricing

Apple has reportedly agreed to double the unit price it pays for NAND flash from Japan's Kioxia starting in the January–March quarter, with supply contracts moving to quarterly price adjustments linked to market conditions.

www.digitimes.com

 

[throAU]

Samsung DRAM prices reportedly double in 1Q26, jumping from 70% to 100% increase in a month

Reports indicate that Samsung raised DRAM prices by more than 100% in the first quarter of 2026. The increase had initially been negotiated at around 70% in January 2026, but expanded further within a month.

www.digitimes.com

Apple reportedly agrees to double NAND prices from Kioxia, shifts to quarterly contract pricing

Apple has reportedly agreed to double the unit price it pays for NAND flash from Japan's Kioxia starting in the January–March quarter, with supply contracts moving to quarterly price adjustments linked to market conditions.

www.digitimes.com

I didn’t say anything about price. I’m sure that will rise with the rest of the industry. If apple have to rise, so does everyone else. Probably by more due to lack of economy of scale.

The A19 Pro already has 12 GB.


Put another way:
No matter what happens to the cost of components, the Mac Neo will maintain its position in the market. Everything is going to get more expensive in 2027, but relative to the rest of the market, the Mac Neo will maintain its competitive positioning.

As an aside, i’ve seen my server prices go up by 300% since september 2025. But i have no choice, need to buy them for new site mobilisations.

it is what it is. If you have a need for new hardware any time soon: BUY NOW. The price isn’t coming down any time soon!

 

[JPack]

I didn’t say anything about price. I’m sure that will rise with the rest of the industry. If apple have to rise, so does everyone else. Probably by more due to lack of economy of scale.

The A19 Pro already has 12 GB.

The PC industry is cutting back by going down to 8GB to keep costs low. A lot of $600 Windows notebooks right now have 16/256 or 8/512.

A19 Pro having 12GB doesn't mean much. Apple can cut RAM. And the base A19 chip with 8GB already outperforms A18 Pro, so there's no reason Apple has to stick with a Pro chip.

 

[The Game 161]

Touch ID on base and A19 pro. That’s it

 

[throAU]

The PC industry is cutting back by going down to 8GB to keep costs low. A lot of $600 Windows notebooks right now have 16/256 or 8/512.

A19 Pro having 12GB doesn't mean much. Apple can cut RAM. And the base A19 chip with 8GB already outperforms A18 Pro, so there's no reason Apple has to stick with a Pro chip.

Sure.

And they might. But i’d wager they will order a huge number of a19pro SOCs of exact same spec for the iphone run, and the leftovers will end up in the macbook Neo.

Whilst you can screw around with making different SKUs of chip, the real efficiency is when you order 200 million of the exact same part via economy of scale - both for manufacturing and ordering of components.

 

[Elwe]

The PC industry is cutting back by going down to 8GB to keep costs low. A lot of $600 Windows notebooks right now have 16/256 or 8/512.

A19 Pro having 12GB doesn't mean much. Apple can cut RAM. And the base A19 chip with 8GB already outperforms A18 Pro, so there's no reason Apple has to stick with a Pro chip.

The A18 Pro (and so presumably the A19 Pro) does have an additional GPU core more than the A18 (six vs five). And double the L2 cache. I’m not arguing than either of these would be determinative. But there certainly might be a weakening in very specific workloads.

 

[JPack]

Sure.

And they might. But i’d wager they will order a huge number of a19pro SOCs of exact same spec for the iphone run, and the leftovers will end up in the macbook Neo.

Whilst you can screw around with making different SKUs of chip, the real efficiency is when you order 200 million of the exact same part via economy of scale - both for manufacturing and ordering of components.

There's no efficiency play here. First of all, A19 Pro will only be used for 2025 iPhones. When iPhone 19 Pro/Max launches, they will be using A20 Pro chips. The A19 Pro orders will already be completed.

DRAM suppliers don't care about Apple's 10 million units for Neo because they already have enough contracted demand from hyperscalers to satisfy them through 2028-2030. A few cents of additional testing isn't going bridge the market price gap of $50 between 8GB and 12GB LPRDDR5X.

Apple will pay whatever market price is asked for by DRAM suppliers. 12GB LPDDR5X is already up more than 100% just over the past six months. Apple won't raise the price unless they need to. They won't put in 12GB unless they need to. The desire for 12GB is only from techies rather than the actual buyers of Neo.

 

[throAU]

Apple will use whatever parts they’re making in volume. They’re not going to make/buy a small run of 4GB dram chips when they’re already making 6 GB.

Especially when there’s limited dram production because it’s all gone to HBM for AI or much large modules for datacenter in general.

2x 6GB chips for the device will cost basically the same as 2x 4GB.

Less if they’re already making 6 GB in bulk for the phone.