The MacBook Neo was the highlight of Apple’s launches last week. The device is the most affordable MacBook in the company’s lineup, catering to students and young users. While the chatter around the new low-cost MacBook is quite high on social media, it seems that the Cupertino giant is already working on an upgrade.
As per analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple may be planning some big upgrades for the next-generation MacBook Neo. From a touchscreen to the chipset from the iPhone 17 Pro, here are all the details.
MacBook Neo 2 could get touchscreen after MacBook Pro
According to Kuo, the second-generation MacBook Neo could come with a touchscreen. This would potentially make the Neo 2 the second MacBook device to get this feature, as reports indicate that MacBook Pro will likely get a touchscreen later this year.
Do note that the name of the next-gen MacBook Neo is still unclear.
But unlike the MacBook Pro, which is expected to get an OLED display, the MacBook Neo will likely retain the 13-inch IPS panel. Apple is likely to use on-cell touch technology that would add touch sensors directly into the panel, instead of having a separate layer dedicated to touch sensors. This would help reduce the thickness of the device.
MacBook Neo 2 may get iPhone 17 Pro’s chipset
The MacBook Neo is the first MacBook to use a chipset from an iPhone. The device uses the A18 Pro SoC, borrowed from the iPhone 16 Pro, albeit with one less GPU core.
Ming-Chi Kuo suggests that in the next iteration of the Neo, Apple will give it a spec bump by using the A19 Pro chipset from the iPhone 17 Pro. The Cupertino giant is also rumoured to potentially upgrade the RAM from 8GB on the current MacBook Neo to 12GB in the next-gen model.
MacBook Neo launch and expected price
It is likely that Apple will keep the design and the rest of the features unchanged from the current MacBook Neo. This will help avoid a price hike for the device. Though it is still early days since the MacBook Neo 2 is not expected to launch at least till early 2027.
For context, the MacBook Neo was launched in India at Rs 69,900 for 256GB of storage. The 512GB model, which also adds Touch ID support, costs Rs 79,900. Students can save Rs 10,000 on the device via Apple’s Education savings.
