Apple raises the MacBook Neo’s student pricing again

The MacBook Neo now starts at $649 on Apple’s Education Store, up $150 from its initial $499 education starting price. As reported earlier by MacRumors, the student discount for the Neo received a $50 price bump in recent days, following a $100 price bump back in June.

Apple’s budget MacBook is now just $50 off its regular $699 starting price for students, rather than the usual $100 discount. The now-$649 starting configuration includes 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM, and doesn’t include Touch ID.

The MacBook Neo’s starting price was its biggest selling point when it launched in March, but that perk has been steadily eroding, largely due to shortages of RAM and other components. In June, Apple raised the Neo’s regular starting price to $699 and its Education Store starting price to $599. It also hiked prices for iPads, another student favorite, at the same time, along with most of its other products.