Apple’s MacBook Neo Hands-On: A Premium Laptop for $599
The wait for a cheap MacBook for everyday work and play is over. On Wednesday, Apple announced the lower-cost MacBook Neo, which will certainly appeal to those who wanted a MacBook but for whom spending $1,000 or more for a MacBook Air was out of reach. The new MacBook Neo starts at $599 (£599, AU$899) and you can get it for $499 with Apple’s educational discount.
Fitting into Chromebooks and inexpensive Windows laptops, the MacBook Neo is not based on an Apple M-series processor, which powers Apple’s recently announced MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models. Instead, it uses the A18 Pro chip found in the iPhone 16 Pro from 2024. The A18 Pro has a six-core CPU (two performance cores and four efficiency cores) and a five-core GPU. Compare that with the M5 chip that powers the new MacBook Air: The M5 has a 10-core CPU (four performance cores that Apple now calls “super cores” and six efficiency cores) and an eight- or ten-core GPU.
No matter which color you choose, the MacBook Neo features an all-aluminum body.
Learn more: Everything Apple announced this week, from the iPhone 17E to the MacBook Neo
To achieve a lower price, the MacBook Neo has a 13-inch screen that is slightly smaller than the 13.6-inch screen on the smaller MacBook Air. Still, the size is a pleasant surprise since rumors pointed to a 12-inch screen for Apple’s budget MacBook. It’s a Liquid Retina display that should be very sharp, with a resolution of 2,408 x 1,506 pixels. And its brightness is rated at 500 nits, so you should be able to use it outdoors and still make out what’s on the screen.
The MacBook Neo has a 13-inch screen that’s only slightly smaller than the 13.6-inch MacBook Air.
Unsurprisingly, the base MacBook Neo forces you to make do with 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD storage, which is half the memory and storage Apple offers on the base MacBook Air.
You can’t upgrade the memory, but you can double the storage to 512GB, a $100 upgrade that also adds Apple’s Touch ID to the keyboard. That’s it in terms of Neo upgrades.
You can upgrade to a 512GB SSD that also includes a Touch ID keyboard, but the MacBook Neo doesn’t offer keyboard backlighting.
Color isn’t prohibitive as Apple offers the MacBook Neo in a range of colors: blush (pink), lemon (yellow), and indigo (dark blue) in addition to the base silver. The color options are more muted than the bright hues I was hoping to see.
The ports are minimal and disappointing. Instead of the MacBook Air’s speedy Thunderbolt 4 ports, the Neo provides a pair of slower USB-C ports. You get one USB 3 port at 10 Gbps and one USB 2 port at 480 Mbps, as well as a headphone jack.
The MacBook Neo only offers three ports: two USB-C and a headphone jack.
Another sacrifice to make with the Neo risks disappointing students who postpone their homework until the wee hours of the night: the keyboard is not backlit.
You can pre-order the MacBook Neo nowand shipping will begin next Wednesday, March 11.
Watch this: New MacBooks arrive with M5, M5 Pro and M5 Max chips
Direct experience with the MacBook Neo
CNET was at Apple launch event for the Neo in New York, and we were able to spend some time using the latest MacBook. It has a decidedly premium look and feel compared to most Windows competitors at its price. The all-aluminum body is lightweight but stiff, and it certainly looks like it will hold up to everyday use for school or office work. The four color options all look great, and the keyboards and MacOS elements are color matched.
For traditionalists on a budget, the MacBook Neo is available in base silver.
We’ve seen demonstrations of the A18 Pro chip’s performance, and it really sped up tasks, which isn’t really surprising. If you’re a heavy multitasker, looking to do demanding photo or video editing, or play graphics-intensive games or use a local LLM, you’ll want to upgrade to an Air or Pro.
But if your main goal is to do what you’d normally do on an iPhone, including working with photos, videos, and mobile games, but with a larger screen, full keyboard and trackpad, and the availability of MacOS apps, this is your MacBook.
The Neo seems like a particularly good choice for school and home office/small office users, like a high-end Chromebook. If you are an iPhone user, the Neo definitely has the advantage because you can use iPhone mirroring with the Neo. The devices complement each other in a way that you just don’t get with a Windows laptop or Chromebook.
