Apple is planning to release a new A19 Pro-powered MacBook Neo in 2027, according to Taiwan-based tech columnist Tim Culpan.
Culpan’s comments came in the latest edition of his Culpium newsletter today, where he said the new MacBook Neo will be equipped with a version of the A19 Pro chip from the iPhone 17 Pro models. This indicates that the next model of the laptop should also be equipped with an increased 12GB of RAM, as that is how much unified memory the chip has in the iPhone 17 Pro.
The current MacBook Neo is powered by an A18 Pro chip and is equipped with 8GB of RAM.
While the A19 Pro used in the iPhone 17 Pro lineup has a 6-core GPU, Culpan expects Apple to use “binned” A19 Pro chips that have only 5-core GPUs in the next MacBook Neo. The currently used A18 Pro chip also has a 5-core GPU, so this would not be a change.
While many assumed the next MacBook Neo would be powered by an A19 Pro chips, Culpan’s supply chain information makes this an official rumor and also is the first to provide a launch time frame of 2027.
Apple’s “Massive Dilemma”
Apple debuted the current MacBook Neo in early March this year, and the new entry-level MacBook has proven to be quite a hit so far. So much so, that Culpan also said that Apple is now facing a “massive dilemma.”
The A18 Pro chips used in the MacBook are what the industry refers to as “binned chips.” Binned chips are chips that have a faulty CPU or GPU core, making them unsuitable for their intended uses. The chips used in the MacBook Neo have only a 5-core GPU, compared to the normal 6 cores used for the iPhone 16 Pro. Using the binned chips allows Apple to optimize its supply chain and costs, as otherwise the chips would have been discarded.
There are now fears that the MacBook Neo is selling so well that Apple’s supply of the binned A18 Pro chips with a 5-core GPU will be exhausted before the company is able to fully satisfy demand for the laptop.
A18 Pro chips are manufactured using TSMC’s second-generation 3nm (N3E) process, and Culpan said TSMC’s N3E production lines are currently operating at maximum capacity. This means Apple may have to pay a premium to restart A18 Pro chip production for the MacBook Neo, which would lead to lower profit margins.
Plus, Apple would need to disable a GPU core on the newly-manufactured chips to ensure that they have only a 5-core GPU, to match the MacBook Neo units sold to date.
While Apple could reallocate some of its chip production that was originally planned for other devices to the Neo, it would still be a hit to Apple’s bottom line.
Culpan speculated that Apple could also opt to drop the $599 model with 256GB of storage, leaving the $699 model with 512GB of storage and a Touch ID button as the only configuration available. However, considering how heavily Apple has been promoting the MacBook Neo’s affordability, this isn’t likely to happen.
