Apple’s new budget computer, the MacBook Neo, which caused a stir in the tech world and drew attention with its aggressive starting price, divided hardware enthusiasts from the moment it was unveiled.
While its portability and design have been praised relative to its price, the decision to release a computer with only 8 GB of RAM in 2026 has drawn serious criticism. While many users accuse Apple of cutting costs and trying to steer consumers toward more expensive models, the latest technical details reveal the other side of the coin.
It appears that this 8 GB RAM limit is not purely a commercial decision but rather a necessity stemming from the packaging architecture of the A18 Pro processor at the heart of the device.
A18 Pro’s Closed-Box Design: InFO-PoP Technology
We know that Apple opted for the “A18 Pro” mobile processor used in the iPhone 16 Pro models in 2024 instead of the computer-class “M” series chips in the MacBook Neo to achieve an affordable price tag. The root of the problem lies precisely in the design of this processor.
According to detailed explanations by Max Weinbach and High Yield, reliable hardware analysts in the industry, on the X platform, the A18 Pro processor is manufactured using a special packaging technology called InFO-PoP (Integrated Fan-Out Package on Package) by TSMC.
In this technology, DRAM (memory) is placed directly on the silicon chip (SoC) instead of being a separate module on the motherboard, and it is completely enclosed in a single package.
Therefore, it is physically and architecturally impossible to take the A18 Pro chip, which was designed and packaged with 8 GB of RAM for the iPhone 16 Pro, and then add 12 GB or 16 GB of RAM to it later. Apple is stuck with the 8 GB RAM limit because it uses the exact same chip and package in the MacBook Neo.
So Why Wasn’t the A19 Pro Used or the Chip Redesigned?
The questions that naturally come to mind are, “Why didn’t Apple use the new A19 Pro processor with 12 GB of RAM?” or “Why didn’t they produce a special version of the A18 Pro with 12 GB of RAM?” The answer is very simple: cost and time.
Sourcing a new chip, changing the packaging line, and designing the product accordingly requires months, even years, of planning. More importantly, due to the ongoing DRAM supply crisis in the industry, Apple is reportedly paying around $70 for a 12 GB LPDDR5X memory module.
If Apple had opted for this memory upgrade or the new-generation A19 Pro chip, which comes packaged with 12 GB, the device’s production cost would have skyrocketed, completely derailing the MacBook Neo’s much-discussed vision of being an “affordable Mac at $599.”
As an additional detail, it has also emerged that the A18 Pro in the MacBook Neo is actually identical to the chip in the iPhone 16 Pro, with the 6-core GPU structure retained, but one GPU core has been software-locked (chip binning) for heating and efficiency balance.
