Apple Faces A18 Pro Chip Shortage for Surging MacBook Neo Demand

Apple is reportedly experiencing a shortage of A18 Pro processors for its newly launched MacBook Neo, driven by unexpectedly high consumer demand. Initially utilizing leftover binned chips from iPhone 16 Pro production, the company has instructed suppliers to double production targets from 5-6 million to 10 million units. CEO Tim Cook acknowledged underestimating market enthusiasm during recent earnings calls. To meet this surge, Apple may need to order fresh batches of A18 Pro chips from TSMC, potentially leading to production delays and increased costs amid a global memory crunch. Reports suggest Apple might disable one GPU core on new chips to maintain consistency with existing models. Consequently, the affordable $599 256GB variant may be discontinued, raising the entry price to $699 for the 512GB model. This situation highlights supply chain challenges as Apple adapts to the unexpected success of repurposing mobile silicon for its budget laptop lineup.