Laptop prices have surged by up to 1 million won ($700) over the past year due to soaring memory prices, driving consumer interest toward Apple's newly launched budget notebook, the MacBook Neo.
Samsung Electronics priced its Galaxy Book6 Pro, released in January, between 2.6 million won and 3.51 million won. This represents a jump of nearly 1 million won at the entry level compared to last year's Galaxy Book5 Pro, which ranged from 1.76 million won to 2.8 million won.
The MacBook Neo is priced at 990,000 won despite featuring an aluminum chassis, a 33cm Liquid Retina display, and all-day battery life. Educational pricing starts at 850,000 won.
The device employs a fanless design for silent operation and is engineered to deliver sufficient performance for studying and general office tasks. Unlike conventional laptops, it comes in pastel colors including Blush, Indigo, Silver, and Citrus, targeting younger consumers.
"A True Value Laptop"
The MacBook Neo is powered by the A18 Pro chip, first introduced in the iPhone 16 Pro in 2024. Apple stated that the device delivers "up to 50% faster performance compared to PCs powered by Intel Core Ultra 5 chips" and that "the 16-core Neural Engine enables on-device AI features including Apple Intelligence."
Apple emphasized that the product is "ideal for customers new to Apple devices to enter the Apple ecosystem for the first time."
Posts expressing anticipation for the MacBook Neo have proliferated on Asamoa, Korea's largest iPhone user community. Users commented that the device is "perfect for simple document work," offers "the best value for university students," and "will likely sell well."
Price Increases Expected to Continue
The upward trend in laptop prices that began last year is expected to persist. Market research firm TrendForce recently projected that consumer prices for mainstream laptops could rise by up to 40% as costs of memory and CPUs continue to climb.
According to TrendForce, memory and CPUs are the largest cost components in laptop manufacturing. These two components currently account for approximately 45% of production costs in 2025, but this share could expand to about 58% by 2026 if price increases continue.
Rising memory prices are cited as the primary driver of laptop price increases. TrendForce estimates that memory price hikes alone could push prices of mainstream laptops, currently averaging around $900, up by more than 30%. Combined with CPU price increases, the total price surge could reach approximately 40%, the firm projected.