Apple raises MacBook Neo price to $699, last $590 deal fades

Apple has lifted the base price of the MacBook Neo to $699, a $100 increase that turns the $590 Amazon Prime Day deal into a $109 discount off the new MSRP [1][2]. The hike follows Apple’s broader price adjustments across its Mac and iPad lines, driven by component shortages and higher memory costs.

Price hike and Amazon discount

Apple announced the Neo’s new starting price on its website on Thursday, moving the entry‑level model from $599 to $699 [1]. The change coincides with a $200 increase for the MacBook Air and a nearly $400 rise for the base MacBook Pro, the largest jump in years. Amazon’s Prime Day sale still lists the Neo at $589.99, which was a $9 discount before the Apple price change but now represents a $109 saving relative to the updated MSRP [2]. The deal is highlighted as “last‑chance” because the discount is tied to the older price point; once Apple’s new price sticks, the Amazon listing will remain $590, effectively a 15% discount versus the current Apple price.

Market context and competitive pressure

Apple’s price adjustments span its entire hardware portfolio, with iPads seeing $50‑$200 hikes and iMacs and Mac Studios also moving up [1]. The company attributes the pressure to a global component shortage, noting that memory manufacturers have shifted capacity to AI data‑center chips, leaving consumer devices scrambling for supply [1]. Competitors such as Dell and Lenovo continue to offer budget laptops in the $500‑$700 range, but Apple’s Neo differentiates itself with the M5 chip and premium build quality, which Mashable describes as “faster than most Windows laptops in basic single‑core workloads” [2]. The price increase narrows the Neo’s advantage over cheaper Windows alternatives, potentially nudging price‑sensitive buyers toward competing brands unless the Amazon discount persists.

What to watch

• Apple’s next pricing update – Apple typically revisits its hardware pricing each quarter; a further hike could erode the Neo’s value proposition.
• Amazon Prime Day timeline – The Prime Day megasale runs through June 26; monitoring whether Amazon adjusts the Neo’s price after the sale ends will indicate how long the discount lasts.
• Component supply trends – Continued memory shortages could force additional price increases across Apple’s product lines, affecting future MacBook pricing.

The Neo’s price jump underscores Apple’s broader cost pressures and raises questions about the longevity of deep‑discount deals in a tightening component market. Whether the $590 Amazon price can hold up against the $699 MSRP will shape the budget‑segment dynamics for the rest of the year.