It's been a big week for Macs, with Apple announcing the new MacBook Pro M6, iMac M6 and, more than likely, the very first touchscreen MacBook Pro. But this definitely isn't the end of Apple's computing ambitions, and word is that early 2027 could see the launch of two new MacBooks, including the MacBook Neo 2.
This news comes courtesy of Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, who claims that Apple is working on new versions of both the MacBook Neo and MacBook Air. These two machines are expected to arrive in the first half of next year, but sadly Gurman doesn't divulge any additional details about either of them.
Gurman refers to the updated machines as "refreshed," which I understand to mean very little in the way of meaningful design changes. My assumption is backed up by rumors that a major OLED redesign is coming at some point in 2028.
That'll be disappointing for some, considering we've had the same Air design for the past few years. But we should still expect the usual slew of upgrades, including an M6 chip and all the associated performance and battery upgrades that new hardware offers.
The MacBook Neo is likely to get similarly iterative upgrades. Considering how cheap the laptop was at launch, and the fact that Apple has had to raise the price due to skyrocketing RAM costs, it seems unlikely we'll see any major changes made to the Neo. Meaning all those cost-saving design choices are likely to stick around for a little while longer.
Gurman has previously claimed that the second generation will feature the A19 Pro chip, an increased 12GB of RAM and a bunch of new color options. It's unclear whether 12GB will be the standard amount of memory, or if it will be an optional upgrade for those willing to pay more — like Touch ID on the current Neo model.
Considering the skyrocketing price of RAM, and the fact the MacBook Neo has already suffered a value-reducing price hike, my money is on the latter.
As for when we might see these new machines, a smart bet would be March 2027 — or some time around then. Both the MacBook Neo and MacBook Air M5 were released in March of this year, and it makes sense that Apple would follow that same release pattern for their successors. Especially since spring is generally a pretty quiet month for Apple.
We'll have to wait and see how this all pans out, and what future rumors have to say about both machines.
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