According to the latest research report by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is developing the second-generation MacBook Neo, which is expected to debut in 2027 and may be equipped with a touch screen for the first time on this entry-level Mac notebook. This week, Apple officially released a new entry-level notebook product line, MacBook Neo, with a starting price of $599 and an education market price of $499. It aims to challenge low-priced Windows notebooks and Chromebooks while expanding the Mac product lineup with a lower threshold.
Unlike all current Apple Silicon-based Macs, the MacBook Neo is powered by the A18 Pro chip originally designed for the iPhone 16 Pro. The new machine adopts a colorful, rounded-corner design and is equipped with a 13-inch Liquid Retina display with a same-width bezel as the iPad instead of a notch. It also provides a Magic Keyboard in the same color as the body, a mechanical trackpad, two USB‑C ports, 8GB of memory, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a 1080p camera, dual microphones, dual speakers that support spatial audio, and up to 16 hours of battery life.
Ming-Chi Kuo accurately predicted in a report last year that the MacBook Neo would be mass-produced in the fourth quarter of 2025, but the first-generation product would not use a touch screen. In the same report, he revealed the direction of some second-generation models, the most critical of which is that the second-generation MacBook Neo may be equipped with a touch screen. Apple's first touchscreen Mac is expected to debut later this year in the form of a high-end MacBook Pro with an OLED display and a redesigned body.
According to reports, this first batch of touch Macs will use on-cell touch technology, which integrates touch sensors directly into the top layer of the display panel (the "cell") instead of adding a separate touch layer, thus reducing the overall thickness of the screen. After the launch of this product and the official introduction of native touch support in macOS 27, extending touch to more Mac notebooks, including MacBook Neo, will be more reasonable in terms of product strategy. At present, many benchmark models from HP, Lenovo, Acer, Asus and other manufacturers are generally equipped with touch screens, which is also an important selling point of the MacBook Neo's price range.
As of September 2025, the specific specifications of the second-generation MacBook Neo are still under discussion, but Kuo believes that an upgrade to the more powerful A19 Pro chip is "highly possible." In addition to chip iterations, touch screens and interactive experiences with new systems are regarded as important directions to promote the differentiation and expansion of the Neo series.
On the other hand, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman also mentioned in the latest report that Apple may extend the "Neo" brand to other low-price devices, such as changing the name of Apple Watch SE to "Apple Watch Neo" to form a clearer low-price sub-series positioning in the product line.