Apple reportedly leaked the name of its upcoming low-cost MacBook for a short time on Tuesday, as a device called the “MacBook Neo” made a cameo appearance on Apple’s website.
On Tuesday, Apple’s European EU / UK Declaration of Conformity site featured an unreleased Mac under the 2026 section. The computer in question was listed as the “MacBook Neo,” model number A3404.
While Apple removed the listing quickly, it provided no further details or images anyway.
Regulatory Document for MacBook Neo by MacRumors
While previous rumors make it easy to believe that this is the name of the as yet unannounced budget-model MacBook, expected to launch on Wednesday. However, this is the first time that we’ve seen the “Neo” moniker.
The name “Neo” moniker could possibly be an internal codename. Up til now, it has been expected that Apple would reuse the one word “MacBook” label used for previous generations.
(Image credit: MacRumors)The new entry-level MacBook is expected to be priced in the $599 to $799 range in the United States, with a $100 discount available for college students and educators.
The new MacBook is expected to be powered by the iPhone 16 Pro’s A18 chip, with no M-series chip upgrade availability. While the new laptop certainly won’t be attractive to developers, creators, and other “power users,” the new MacBook should prove quite attractive to folks looking for a more reasonably-price entry into the world of MacBooks.
In addition to a lower-level of processing power, the new MacBook will also likely have only 8GB of RAM (the minimum of Apple Intelligence), a smaller display, and standard USB-C ports in place of Thunderbolt ports.
The new MacBook’s shell is expected to be made out of aluminum, forged with “a new manufacturing process that allows the shells to be forged more quickly.” “Fun” color options are rumored to be blue, green, pink, and yellow.
The new MacBook is also expected to lack Apple’s new N1 chip, and SSD storage options will likely be limited to 256 GB and 512 GB, using slower SSD modules to keep costs down.
The new MacBook on the block is also expected to lack support for high impedance headphones, no True Tone display, a less bright display, no backlit keyboard, and no support for fast charging.
At the time of this article, it is a bit less than two hours until Apple’s Wednesday press release is expected to announce the new low-cost MacBook. See you then.
