Getting ready for Apple’s next big thing: MacBook Neo 2
· computerworld.com · popularity 21/100 · 0 similar stories today · Consumer Electronics & Hardware (Technology & Consumer Electronics)
Read the original at computerworld.com →
Summary
Apple is on track to sell eight million MacBook Neo systems by the end of the year, and it expects the next generation of the device to do even better when it arrives in spring. To achieve this, Apple needs to remain focused on what made the product such a success . There is no doubt it has been a success. At one point Apple was complaining that it was unable to churn these things out fast enough . Tom Boger, Apple’s Vice President of Mac and iPad Product Marketing, recently called the introduction of the MacBook Neo “ a huge momentum creator ,” adding, “We’re bringing more new-to-Mac customers than we ever have in the 42 years that the Mac has been around.” He called this “remarkable” for a product that has been around for so long. A hit in the hard ground It’s also remarkable given the current environment. Consumer electronic sales are taking a beating from the combined effects of war, political instability, and AI-flation. As prices climb, cash-strapped buyers, both consumer and IT purchasers, have become much more discerning when hunting for the best available deal. Apple seems to be thriving all the same. Even at its higher-than-launch price (the $599 MacBook Neo now costs $699), Neo has stayed in the top three laptops sold on Amazon US since launch. All three of Amazon’s top selling laptops are Macs at time of writing. While global PC sales fell 21%, Apple’s global market share reached almost 10% . One data point claims that the Neo grabbed 23% of Apple’s total notebook sales volume within just 21 days of its release, purloining market share from midrange Windows devices and Chromebooks. Where the MacBook Neo won Where has it excelled? Consumers have flocked to it, but it has seen particular success in the education and enterprise markets. In education, Apple recently announced a massive contract with the Philippines Department of Education for more than 170,000 Macs for teachers and students. Apple called this the largest Mac deployment in its history. It also shows the MacBook Neo as a highly credible Chromebook alternative. In business, IT teams have already learned the ROI and TCO benefits of Macs . They know support costs fall as Mac deployment climbs, and that IT can support many more Macs per person than Windows. Price, or at least the perception of price, was the challenge — MacBook Neo lowered it, and enterprise purchasers saw the opportunity. Telia was one of the earliest large corporations to deploy the device at scale and found it well suited to all kinds of information workers for ease of use, manageability, and comfort. Helios X also deployed the device, and UK-based IT consultancy nDuo identified that many smaller companies are replacing Windows systems with Neos. Demand for their use within low-cost hybrid fleets is so strong that at least one reseller now provisions Neos with Windows 11 VMs preinstalled . This is real momentum. Many silver linings come shrouded in cloud, however. In this case, that cloud may be iPad sales, which fell 27.5% this year . While it is true the entire tablet industry has slumped this year, Apple purchasers might have felt that when they could buy MacBook Neo for about the same price as a midrange Apple tablet, then the Mac was the better choice. Zooming out, of course, Apple remains king of tablet hill with over a third of the market, so it may thrive despite that tradeoff. What must happen to the MacBook Neo 2? If we assume that Apple keeps the current $699 base price, then the Neo 2 must push at areas where the Neo 1 has already excelled. The anticipated improvements to the system should achieve that. A19 Pro chip: While only slightly better computationally than the A18 Pro, the GPU performance of the new processor is likely to improve. Industry watcher Tim Culpan says this will be a binned A19 chip with a 5-core GPU rather than the 6 cores found in iPhones. More memory: Current speculation suggests that Apple plans to increase memory to 12GB, up from 8GB. Storage and Touch ID: One way Apple can justify maintaining the higher entry-level cost is to bump up base storage and put Touch ID across the range. New colors, no fan, same Liquid Retina display: Apple intends to use new colors, turning the devices into a new kind of tech collectible. I still want the yellow one. Otherwise, the song remains the same — a quiet, light, affordable Mac for all of us. Apple must hope these tweaks will be enough to maintain the momentum this Mac has already achieved. What could go wrong? Memory prices are impacting costs across the supply chain right now, and Apple will need to find some way to keep the Neo within the pricing window potential customers have become used to: every dollar higher in cost will dent momentum a little more. Analysts will want to be reassured that the 12GB of included memory doesn’t squeeze Apple’s product margins too much; contrarywise, customers want to continue their love affair with the affordable everyMac. A Digitimes report tells us Apple has booked manufacturing for 16 million MacBook Neo 2 units, twice as many as it shifted for the MacBook Neo 1. I take that claim with a pinch of salt, but it still makes me think Apple’s management does not want to dent this momentum — which hints that next year’s Mac story may see even higher market share, albeit at the risk of some cannibalization of iPad sales. The MacBook Neo worked because it delivered Macs at a price that education, enterprise, and first-time Mac users could easily accept. If the Neo 2 can protect and improve on that offer, then Apple has a shot at even higher market share for the Mac. Now please subscribe to my daily, human-curated Apple-related news headline feed at The Core , or follow me on BlueSky , LinkedIn , or Mastodon .
Found in: Computerworld. Rating basis: single outlet; outlet tier 2 (unlisted); 1 feeds; feed position 2.