Nearly three months after its debut, Apple’s MacBook Neo is emerging as an early success story, helping the Cupertino company reach new customers and challenging long-held assumptions about who buys a Mac.

Apple shipped 1.1 million MacBook Neo units in the quarter ended March, according to data from market intelligence provider IDC, shared with TechCrunch, ahead of the recent MacBook Air (M5) and MacBook Pro (M5) launches. Those MacBooks shipped over 900,000 and 550,000 units, respectively, in their debut quarters.

The figure is notable because the Neo was available for only about three weeks during the quarter after going on sale in mid-March, said Navkendar Singh, associate vice president at IDC, adding that shipments began to spike from early April.

Introduced in early March with a starting price of $599, roughly 45% below the entry-level MacBook Air, the MacBook Neo was designed to make the Mac more accessible to a broader set of buyers. The laptop retains much of the look and feel of Apple’s premium notebooks, including an aluminum chassis and a 13-inch Liquid Retina display, while making some compromises to reach the lower price point, including using an A18 Pro chip instead of an M-series processor and offering 8GB of memory in the base model.

So far, the market appears to be responding to Apple’s strategy. Demand for the Neo, Singh said, has exceeded expectations in several countries, including India, where retailers have struggled to secure enough inventory.

Of the MacBook Neo units shipped globally during the March quarter, 44% were shipped to the U.S., per IDC. India, meanwhile, accounted for close to 18,000 shipments despite the laptop being available for only a few weeks during the period.

The MacBook Neo starts at ₹69,900 (about $733) in India, compared with ₹119,900 (around $1,260) for the entry-level MacBook Air.

“Rising prices of Windows notebooks and attractive pricing of the Neo have led to its very high demand,” Singh told TechCrunch.

The Neo’s popularity could also reshape Apple’s strategy in markets such as India, where older MacBook models such as the M1, M2, and M3 Air have historically been important volume drivers when sold at discounted prices during sales events, according to IDC senior market analyst Bharath Shenoy.

“We need to see how that pans out going ahead due to Neo’s rising popularity,” Singh said.

Speaking during Apple’s April earnings call, CEO Tim Cook said customer response to the MacBook Neo had been “off the charts” and acknowledged that the company was facing supply constraints following the launch. Cook also said Apple had set a March-quarter record for customers new to the Mac, partly driven by the Neo.

Counterpoint Research sees the significance of the Neo extending beyond its early sales. The laptop is helping Apple expand beyond its traditional customer base by attracting first-time Mac buyers and competing in lower-priced notebook segments where Macs have historically had little presence, said David Naranjo, associate director at the research firm.

He added that the Neo could eventually help Apple increase its share of the $400-$699 notebook market from about 2% to around 15%.

“Although it is still early, the MacBook Neo launch stands out as one of Apple’s most strategically important recent Mac releases, especially as the wider PC market deals with rising memory costs and ‘shrinkflation,’ while Apple is expanding its reach,” Naranjo told TechCrunch.

IDC’s Singh believes the opportunity extends beyond first-time buyers. Apple, he said, is targeting the Neo at a much broader audience than previous Mac models, a strategy that could help the company gain share in consumer and small-business laptop segments.

The MacBook Neo’s early success is already prompting competitors to respond. Dell this week unveiled a new XPS 13, starting at $699, aimed at the same segment, and said the MacBook Neo’s arrival had demonstrated strong demand for premium-quality laptops at more accessible prices.

That said, the launch-quarter figures may tell only part of the story, with Singh forecasting a “very big spike” in Neo shipments in the current quarter as Apple works through supply constraints and expands availability.

Apple did not respond to a request for comments.

Apple’s long-rumored foldable iPhone may have just taken another step closer to reality – or at least another step closer to the internet’s imagination. A newly leaked replica model, believed to represent Apple’s upcoming “iPhone Ultra” foldable device, is now circulating online, revealing what could be one of the company’s boldest design shifts in years.

According to a report from Notebookcheck, the replica showcases a foldable phone with curved edges, a slim profile, and a surprisingly familiar design language that many users are already comparing to existing Android foldables.

If the leak turns out to be accurate, Apple’s first foldable iPhone may not look radically different from competitors after all.

Apple’s foldable iPhone may prioritize familiarity over reinvention

The leaked white replica model shows a book-style foldable design with rounded corners, curved side rails, and a dual rear camera setup positioned vertically on the back panel. The overall appearance has triggered immediate comparisons to devices like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold lineup and several foldables from Chinese brands.

That familiarity is especially interesting because Apple has historically avoided entering product categories until it believes the technology and user experience are mature enough. The company has reportedly spent years testing multiple foldable prototypes internally while delaying a commercial launch over concerns related to hinge durability, display creasing, and long-term reliability.

The “iPhone Ultra” branding attached to the leak also aligns with previous rumors suggesting Apple may reserve foldable devices for an entirely new ultra-premium category above the Pro Max lineup.

Reports over the past year have repeatedly suggested Apple’s first foldable iPhone could arrive with a large inner display, titanium construction, and a significantly thinner hinge design compared to current foldable competitors. Some analysts also believe Apple is prioritizing minimal display creasing as one of the defining features of the device.

The replica itself, however, suggests Apple may be taking a more conservative design approach externally while focusing its innovation on refinement rather than visual experimentation.

Why this matters

Foldable smartphones remain one of the few major hardware categories where Apple still has no product presence. Meanwhile, companies like Samsung, Huawei, OPPO, and Honor have spent years iterating on foldable hardware.

Apple entering the foldable market could dramatically reshape consumer interest in the category, much like the company previously did with smartwatches and tablets. At the same time, the leak raises an important question: Does Apple still need to create visually unique hardware, or is perfecting usability and ecosystem integration enough?

What happens next

Apple has not officially acknowledged the existence of a foldable iPhone, and current reports suggest the device is still at least a year or two away from launch. Multiple analysts expect Apple’s first foldable device to arrive sometime around late 2027 or beyond, likely positioned as an ultra-premium product with a very high price tag.

For now, replica leaks like this mainly offer hints about Apple’s possible design direction rather than final hardware confirmation. Still, if the rumors prove accurate, Apple’s foldable future may look less like a sci-fi experiment and more like a refined version of a category Android brands have already spent years building.