Apple's colorful budget laptop just got less of a bargain.
As of today, the MacBook Neo starts at $699 in the U.S., up $100 from its $599 launch price in March. The 512GB model with Touch ID climbs from $699 to $799. Students aren't spared either — the education store price rises from $499 to $599 for the base model. The increases extend globally, with Canada's entry price jumping from $799 to $949.
Apple points to a memory chip shortage as the culprit. The explanation has teeth: demand for DRAM and NAND from AI infrastructure builders has been unusually aggressive, and the source credits companies like OpenAI — and, notably, Nvidia, which is typically described as a chip seller rather than a chip buyer — as drivers of that demand. Whether Nvidia is directly purchasing memory chips at scale or the framing is imprecise, the underlying supply squeeze is real and well-documented across the industry.
For a laptop pitched squarely at students and first-time Mac buyers, a $100 increase is a meaningful hit. Apple's education discount now lands where the consumer base price started — so the effective savings for students haven't grown, they've just kept pace with a rising floor. If the shortage persists, this probably isn't the last adjustment.