Overview
- Apple’s CEO said the Neo is supply constrained, and multiple reports Thursday said the 2026 build plan rose from 5–6 million units to about 10 million to catch up.
- Fulfilling the larger target requires a new A18 Pro chip run at TSMC because early units used downbinned iPhone 16 Pro processors with one GPU core disabled and that inventory is nearly gone.
- Newly made top‑tier chips and sharply higher DRAM prices driven by AI server demand are expected to raise the Neo’s parts cost and squeeze profit margins.
- Apple has asked assembly partners Quanta and Foxconn to expand output in China and Vietnam, and U.S. delivery estimates currently stretch about two to three weeks across many configurations.
- Analyst reporting says Apple is considering lineup changes to manage costs, such as discontinuing the $599 256GB model, adding new colors, or limiting the lowest price to education, with no official changes announced.