Apple has reportedly told its suppliers to prepare for 16 million MacBook Neo units in 2027, roughly twice the volume expected this year, according to supply chain sources cited by DigiTimes and relayed by MacRumors. Apple has not commented on the figure, so it should be treated as an unconfirmed supply chain estimate.
The MacBook Neo is Apple's low-cost laptop, launched in March 2026 with an A18 Pro chip and 8GB of RAM. It is sold in Silver, Blush, Citrus and Indigo. It originally started at $599, and Apple raised the entry price to $699 in June as part of a wider re-pricing of its Mac and iPad lineup. Students and educators still receive a $100 discount.
The report arrives days after Apple's first earnings call under CEO John Ternus, where the company said it sold more Macs in fiscal 2026 than in any previous year. Apple does not break out Mac sales by model, but the supply chain sources behind the new report suggest the MacBook Neo was the main driver of that growth.
Today's report does not mention a second-generation MacBook Neo. In September, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple plans to release one in 2027 with an A19 Pro chip, 12GB of RAM and new color options. MacRumors notes that if Apple were to refresh the laptop around March, roughly a year after the original launch, the larger production forecast could fit with that timing.
As with any supplier-sourced forecast, build plans can change with demand, component availability and pricing. Apple has also warned recently about unusually high memory prices and tighter Mac and iPad supply, factors that could affect how many units it can actually ship. For now, the figure points to Apple expecting the entry-level Mac to keep growing as a share of its lineup.
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