Apple’s $599 MacBook Neo shipped 1.1 million units in the quarter ended March 2026, despite being available for only about three weeks after its mid-March launch, according to IDC data shared exclusively with TechCrunch. The figure compares favorably with the MacBook Air (M5) at roughly 900,000 units and the MacBook Pro (M5) at 550,000 units in their respective debut quarters, per IDC. Navkendar Singh, IDC associate vice president, said shipments began spiking from early April as supply caught up and that demand has exceeded expectations in several countries including India, where retailers have struggled to secure sufficient stock. Of Neo units shipped globally in the quarter, 44% went to the U.S.; India alone accounted for close to 18,000 shipments in just a few weeks. At India pricing of ₹69,900 ($733), the Neo lands well below the ₹119,900 entry-level MacBook Air, a gap Singh attributed as driving particularly strong demand. Speaking on Apple’s April earnings call, CEO Tim Cook said customer response was “off the charts” and that Apple set a March-quarter record for new-to-Mac customers, partly driven by the Neo.
The MacBook Neo retains an aluminum chassis and 13-inch Liquid Retina display while reaching its $599 price point through the use of an A18 Pro chip rather than an M-series processor and an 8GB base memory configuration. Counterpoint Research associate director David Naranjo said the laptop could eventually lift Apple’s share of the $400–$699 notebook segment from about 2% to roughly 15%, and described it as “one of Apple’s most strategically important recent Mac releases” particularly as the broader PC market deals with rising memory costs and “shrinkflation.” The Neo’s traction has already prompted competitive responses: Dell this week unveiled a new XPS 13 starting at $699, with the company explicitly citing MacBook Neo demand as evidence of strong appetite for premium-quality affordable laptops. IDC forecasts a “very big spike” in Neo shipments in the current quarter as Apple works through its supply constraints and expands availability.