Apple is reportedly preparing a new version of the MacBook Neo with 50 per cent more memory, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The plan sounds simple, but the timing is awkward. The Neo exists to be Apple's most affordable laptop, and memory is currently the most expensive component in the industry. The second generation model is expected to carry 12GB of RAM instead of the current 8GB, alongside a newer A19 Pro chip.
A budget machine in a costly market
The MacBook Neo launches in March 2026 at $599 in the US and £599 in the UK, making it the cheapest MacBook Apple has ever sold. It proves popular, with early stock selling out quickly. The low price depends on careful component choices, including a smartphone processor and a modest 8GB of unified memory.
That formula comes under pressure almost immediately. Demand for memory chips from AI data centres pushes global prices sharply higher, and in June Apple raises the Neo's starting price to $699 and £699. The company describes the speed of the component price rises as unprecedented.
Why more memory matters
The reported upgrade is not about luxury. According to Gurman, the extra RAM is intended to help the Neo run Apple Intelligence tasks more capably. AI features increasingly run directly on the device rather than in the cloud, and that work needs memory. By modern standards, 8GB is a tight allocation for a laptop expected to last several years.
The Neo's design also rules out later upgrades. Its memory is built into the processor package, which makes the machine fast and efficient but means the amount fitted at the factory is the amount the buyer keeps.
The pricing dilemma
Here lies the tension. Fitting more memory at today's prices could force another price increase, and each rise moves the Neo further from the audience it is built for. Analysts note that memory prices are unlikely to fall meaningfully before late 2026 at the earliest. Even at $699, the Neo remains far cheaper than the MacBook Air, which now starts at $1,299 and £1,299, but its identity as a genuinely accessible Apple laptop becomes harder to defend with every adjustment.
Apple's wider results show the same strain. In its latest earnings report, the company forecasts quarterly revenue growth of 9 to 11 per cent and warns that component availability could affect its performance.
What happens next
Apple has not confirmed the new model, and no launch date is reported. The decision it faces is one shared across the industry: absorb rising memory costs, pass them on to customers, or limit specifications and risk selling hardware that ages badly. How Apple prices a 12GB Neo will show which of those paths it chooses, and it will signal how long the memory squeeze is expected to shape the cost of everyday computing.
