Apple sold 1.1 million MacBook Neo units in just three weeks. Now Dell is fighting back. The budget laptop war is officially on.
Apple doesn’t usually play the budget game. But the MacBook Neo — launched in March at $599 — is proving that even a small price cut can shake an entire industry.
The MacBook Neo shipped 1.1 million units in the quarter ended March, according to IDC data shared with TechCrunch. That figure is especially striking given the laptop was only available for about three weeks during that period, with shipments beginning to spike from early April. For context, the MacBook Air (M5) moved 900,000 units in its own debut quarter. The Neo beat it — in less time.
What Makes the Neo Different
The MacBook Neo is powered by Apple’s A18 Pro chip — the same processor that debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro — and at $599, it’s far cheaper than any MacBook Apple has offered in years. The trade-offs are real: no M-series chip, 8GB of base RAM, and a slightly scaled-back feature set. But the aluminum chassis and 13-inch Liquid Retina display remain, making it feel unmistakably like a Mac.
For students, Apple goes even further, dropping the price to $499 — putting it directly in Chromebook territory.
Tim Cook called customer response “off the charts” during Apple’s April earnings call and acknowledged the company was struggling to keep up with demand. He also said Apple set a March-quarter record for new-to-Mac customers — largely driven by the Neo.
The Market Is Already Reacting
The ripple effects are real and fast. Dell unveiled a new XPS 13 starting at $699 — or $599 for students — positioning it as a direct answer to the MacBook Neo. The new XPS 13 features Intel Core Series 3 processors, a 13.4-inch OLED display with dynamic refresh rates, and a claimed 17-hour battery life, weighing just 2.2 pounds.
Dell’s XPS 13 also includes features the MacBook Neo notably lacks: a backlit keyboard, a touch display, support for multiple external displays, and configurations up to 32GB of RAM. On paper, it’s a strong counter-punch.
But Dell CEO Jeff Clarke may have said the quiet part out loud: “I’ll give them credit. It’s a good product and it validates the market we’ve been talking about. Students and consumers deserve better options at accessible price points.”
A Bigger Shift Than It Looks
Analysts say the Neo’s impact goes far beyond one product cycle. Counterpoint Research estimates the Neo could eventually help Apple grow its share of the $400–$699 notebook segment from around 2% to approximately 15%. That’s a segment Apple had essentially ignored for two decades.
IDC’s Navkendar Singh forecasts a “very big spike” in Neo shipments in the current quarter as Apple resolves supply constraints and expands availability globally.
The $599 MacBook was supposed to be a curiosity. Three months in, it’s become a forcing function — pushing Dell to redesign its flagship budget line, putting Chromebooks on notice, and bringing a new generation of buyers into the Mac ecosystem for the first time.
Apple didn’t just launch a cheap laptop. It changed the conversation about what a cheap laptop can be.