Apple announced its budget MacBook Neo only a few days ago, and we are now hearing details on its successor, which is expected to receive one of the biggest upgrades. A new report claims that MacBook Neo 2, expected to launch in 2027, could feature support for touchscreen, which would be a notable shift for Apple’s lowest-end laptop. The details matter because the current MacBook Neo was just announced with a $599 price tag, so adding touch to the follow-up would make the lineup feel much more competitive in a part of the laptop market where that feature is already common.
Apple’s Cheapest MacBook Could Get One Of Its Biggest Upgrades Yet With Touchscreen Support In 2027
According to the information shared by prominent industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via Macrumors), Apple’s second-gen MacBook Neo may include a touchscreen. Kuo previously stated that the first-generation Neo would launch without the hardware upgrade, which matched the device Apple just announced. In the same earlier report, he also shared details about the next model, including the possibility of a touch-enabled display using on-cell touch technology.
If you are not familiar with the tech, it basically places the touch sensors directly in the display panel, which helps reduce thickness compared with a separate touch layer. The report also says that Apple’s first touchscreen MacBook is expected later this year in the form of a higher-end MacBook Pro with an OLED display and a new design. If that ends up happening, it would make sense for the feature to spread to other MacBook models over time, including the Neo 2.
We have also recently covered that Apple is prepping a MacBook Ultra with touchscreen, but it will not come cheap at all. Possibly, Apple is going for touchscreen across the board, and this year’s macOS 27 upgrade could have a lot to do with it, but that is a post for another day.
A Touchscreen Would Be A Big Change For Apple’s Cheapest Mac
The current MacBook Neo starts at just $599, or $499 with education pricing, and is aimed at lower-end Windows laptops and Chromebooks. It uses the A18 Pro chip and comes with 8GB of RAM, and to be fair, the specifications are not bad at all for a laptop in this price range. It also features a 13-inch Liquid Retina display, two USB-C ports, and a headphone jack. The best part is the battery life, which can last as long as 16 hours, which is 2 hours short of the battery life on the MacBook Air.
A touchscreen would not just be a small spec bump on a machine like this, but one of the most visible and front-facing changes Apple could add to its budget MacBook line.
As of September 2025, Kuo said the MacBook Neo 2 specifications were still under discussion, but a faster chip such as the A19 Pro and 12GB of RAM were considered likely. Nothing is confirmed at this stage, and 2027 is still a long way off, but if Apple does bring touch support to the MacBook Neo 2, it could end up being one of the biggest updates to the low-cost Mac formula since the new line began.
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