Nearly three months after its debut, Apple\u2019s MacBook Neo is emerging as an early success story, helping the Cupertino company reach new customers and challenging long-held assumptions about who buys a Mac.<\/p>\n
Apple shipped 1.1 million MacBook Neo units in the quarter ended March, according to data from market intelligence provider IDC, shared with TechCrunch, ahead of the recent MacBook Air (M5) and MacBook Pro (M5) launches. Those MacBooks shipped over 900,000 and 550,000 units, respectively, in their debut quarters.<\/p>\n
The figure is notable because the Neo was available for only about three weeks during the quarter after going on sale in mid-March, said Navkendar Singh, associate vice president at IDC, adding that shipments began to spike from early April.<\/p>\n
Introduced in early March<\/a> with a starting price of $599, roughly 45% below the entry-level MacBook Air, the MacBook Neo was designed to make the Mac more accessible to a broader set of buyers. The laptop retains much of the look and feel of Apple\u2019s premium notebooks, including an aluminum chassis and a 13-inch Liquid Retina display, while making some compromises to reach the lower price point, including using an A18 Pro chip instead of an M-series processor and offering 8GB of memory in the base model.<\/p>\n So far, the market appears to be responding to Apple\u2019s strategy. Demand for the Neo, Singh said, has exceeded expectations in several countries, including India, where retailers have struggled to secure enough inventory.<\/p>\n Of the MacBook Neo units shipped globally during the March quarter, 44% were shipped to the U.S., per IDC. India, meanwhile, accounted for close to 18,000 shipments despite the laptop being available for only a few weeks during the period.<\/p>\n The MacBook Neo starts at \u20b969,900<\/a> (about $733) in India, compared with \u20b9119,900 (around $1,260) for the entry-level MacBook Air.<\/p>\n \u201cRising prices of Windows notebooks and attractive pricing of the Neo have led to its very high demand,\u201d Singh told TechCrunch.<\/p>\n The Neo\u2019s popularity could also reshape Apple\u2019s strategy in markets such as India, where older MacBook models such as the M1, M2, and M3 Air have historically been important volume drivers when sold at discounted prices during sales events, according to IDC senior market analyst Bharath Shenoy.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to see how that pans out going ahead due to Neo\u2019s rising popularity,\u201d Singh said.<\/p>\n Speaking during Apple\u2019s April earnings call, CEO Tim Cook said<\/a> customer response to the MacBook Neo had been \u201coff the charts\u201d and acknowledged that the company was facing supply constraints following the launch. Cook also said Apple had set a March-quarter record for customers new to the Mac, partly driven by the Neo.<\/p>\n Counterpoint Research sees the significance of the Neo extending beyond its early sales. The laptop is helping Apple expand beyond its traditional customer base by attracting first-time Mac buyers and competing in lower-priced notebook segments where Macs have historically had little presence, said David Naranjo, associate director at the research firm.<\/p>\n He added that the Neo could eventually help Apple increase its share of the $400-$699 notebook market from about 2% to around 15%.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough it is still early, the MacBook Neo launch stands out as one of Apple\u2019s most strategically important recent Mac releases, especially as the wider PC market deals with rising memory costs and \u2018shrinkflation,\u2019 while Apple is expanding its reach,\u201d Naranjo told TechCrunch.<\/p>\n IDC\u2019s Singh believes the opportunity extends beyond first-time buyers. Apple, he said, is targeting the Neo at a much broader audience than previous Mac models, a strategy that could help the company gain share in consumer and small-business laptop segments.<\/p>\n The MacBook Neo\u2019s early success is already prompting competitors to respond. Dell this week unveiled<\/a> a new XPS 13, starting at $699, aimed at the same segment, and said the MacBook Neo\u2019s arrival had demonstrated strong demand for premium-quality laptops at more accessible prices.<\/p>\n That said, the launch-quarter figures may tell only part of the story, with Singh forecasting a \u201cvery big spike\u201d in Neo shipments in the current quarter as Apple works through supply constraints and expands availability.<\/p>\n Apple did not respond to a request for comments.<\/p>\n