[siruwastaken]

For anyone not interested in reading the whole article, apparently Apple is running out of binned, slightly damaged but still usable chips from earlier production, chips to use in the MacBook Neo series. So the actual problem is simply:

> In any case, Apple could opt to keep the starting price of current and future MacBook Neo models at $599 and simply accept lower profit margins on the laptop, especially given that it attracts customers to the macOS and broader Apple ecosystem.

A company having slightly lower margins does not seem like an actual issue. It doesn't even sound like they would end up loosing money on this device just lower their own margin.

[ctippett]

  > A company having slightly lower margins does not seem like an actual issue. It doesn't even sound like they would end up loosing money on this device just lower their own margin.

It's more than just lower margins though, sounds like they're chowing through whatever stockpile of binned A18 chips they had earmarked for the Neo and once they're gone, they're gone.

Replenishing A18 stock comes with the opportunity cost of sacrificing TSMC production to manufacture more A18s, but because they're using binned chips in the Neo, a fresh manufacturing run will produce A18s in whatever ratio that splits good chips with binned chips. Apple has no need for good A18s anymore, so they'll need to make a choice whether to handicap the chip so newer Neos match the marketed specifications and performance characteristics of other Neos of the same generation OR release a lacklustre out-of-cycle update to the Neo.

Sounds like a logistical nightmare to be honest. They've been producing iPhones for nearly two decades now, their supply chain forecasts must be so well tuned to be almost perfect. That is, until the Neo.

[tencentshill]

How did that possibility even get past Tim Cook, THE supply chain guy? Seems entirely predictable, if not preventable. The sales really exceeded their expectations that much?

[bsder]

> The sales really exceeded their expectations that much?

Windows 11 demands TPM 2.0 which means that your old laptop may not be upgradable and yet support for Windows 10 has dropped. And add in a dash enshittification via AI and no real local login options.

There were a lot of people who were looking for a new laptop just as Apple dropped this.

How could Apple predict Microsoft shooting itself in both feet and the head right before they dropped a really nice cheap laptop?

[caycep]

I mean, it occasionally happens. Predictions are by definition not set in stone. I think there were a few iPhone generations that underestimated demand in China, a few iPhone models that overestimated, I think the 5c was the most notable.