Apple Exhausts Binned iPhone 16 Pro Chips for MacBook Neo, Forcing More A18 Pro Production
Updated
Updated · 9to5Mac · May 18
Apple Exhausts Binned iPhone 16 Pro Chips for MacBook Neo, Forcing More A18 Pro Production
5 articles · Updated · 9to5Mac · May 18
MacBook Neo demand has burned through Apple’s stock of binned A18 Pro chips originally rejected for the iPhone 16 Pro, pushing the company to manufacture more.
Those chips had one of six GPU cores disabled, letting Apple turn parts that failed full-spec iPhone quality control into lower-cost MacBook processors instead of scrapping them.
The report says Apple has applied the same binning strategy across at least five other products, including the iPhone SE, iPad mini, iPhone 16e, iPhone 17e and iPhone Air.
Apple has reportedly used the practice since the original iPad and iPhone 4 era, redirecting less efficient chips into products with looser power constraints and saving hundreds of millions of dollars.
Apple saves millions reusing faulty chips, so why are its Android rivals leaving this money on the table?
As AI strains chip supply, can Apple's recycling strategy keep its budget MacBooks on shelves?
Is Apple's 'green' chip strategy a win for the planet, or just a clever way to sell defective parts?