A18 Pro Supply Constraints Have Become An Impenetrable Obstacle, As Analyst Says MacBook Neo Shipments Will Drop By 40%, AI Testing TSMC’s Fortitude

The MacBook Neo has turned into an instant hit, and even with the price bumps that Apple introduced that made the company’s most affordable notebook $100 more expensive for both configurations, the bigger figure isn’t what’s derailing the portable Mac’s momentum.

It’s the lack of chip supply for the A18 Pro, and according to an analyst, Apple’s MacBook Neo shipments are expected to suffer considerably, with up to a whopping 40 percent drop. It appears that AI firms gobbling up the entire supply have made the situation quite uncomfortable for both TSMC and Apple.

Updated shipment forecast states the MacBook Neo will be sold in the 6-7 million figure

With NVIDIA now TSMC’s largest customer, usurping Apple, the biggest bottleneck for the MacBook Neo scaling in popularity is having sufficient A18 Pro supply. Unfortunately, DigiTimes Intelligence Henry Chang says that the portable Mac’s initial forecast was 10 million, which is an impressive figure, but due to the aforementioned setbacks, that number will scale down to 6-7 million units for the year.

We expect the same problem to trickle down to the second-generation MacBook Neo, which is said to feature the A19 Pro, but seeing as how TSMC’s 3nm process is already choked, despite the Taiwanese firm obtaining a new milestone by reaching 175,000 monthly wafers, Apple won’t want to commit the same mistake twice.

We’ve previously reported about the MacBook’s skyrocketing popularity, and it was due to ravenous demand that dried up A18 Pro supply, forcing Apple to order a new 3nm batch from TSMC, but at inflated prices. Rising DRAM costs and shortages have exacerbated the situation, but there’s really nothing Apple can do to counter it except fork over the premium.

One way to circumvent the A18 Pro chip supply is to opt for the A20 Pro, the 2nm silicon that’s expected to be found in the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. Unfortunately, the higher price of TSMC’s 2nm wafers makes it difficult to maintain the price of updated MacBook Neo models, completing the vicious cycle that we’re not discussing.

For now, Apple can do little except maintain its position, and like the rest of the other notebook manufacturers, it’ll have to make do with this situation. For those who haven’t grabbed the MacBook Neo yet, a rare deal on Amazon gives you an opportunity to make the machine your daily driver for $689.99 for the 256GB storage model and $789.99 for the 512GB variant.

News Source: DigiTimes

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