I put the MacBook Neo through the same tests as I did the MacBook Air M1 — I think the results will surprise you
Few laptops have benefited from the durability of the MacBook Air M1. Six years ago, I called it an “astonishing breakthrough.” It was the first Mac to feature Apple Silicon and the last Air to sport that iconic wedge design. As recently as last year, people were still buying this system for around $699 at Walmart.
As it finally moves to refurbished-only availability, the M1 MacBook Air remains the affordable Mac to beat, and now with the MacBook Neo, this iconic Mac has found its match.
Like this system before it, the MacBook Neo innovates for Apple. We’ve never seen an affordable MacBook like this. From the vibrant colors to the iPhone’s processor (oh, hey, A18 Pro), the $599 / £599 / AU$899 MacBook Neo stands out among its peers and has put the affordable laptop market (low-cost Windows systems and Chromebooks) on notice.
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While this comparison is obvious, I admit with some surprise that the most common question I’ve been asked about the MacBook Neo is how it compares to the M1 MacBook Air, not the M2 or even the recently revealed M5 MacBook Air (an outstanding laptop).
The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I too remain a big fan of this M1 model, from its classic design to its always excellent quality/price ratio. It’s worth remembering, however, that the M1 MacBook Air started at $999, which is $400 more than you’ll spend on the MacBook Neo today.
I still have the M1 MacBook Air that I tested in 2020, and so I did what any rational tech reviewer would do: I compared it directly with the MacBook Neo by running the latter virtually all of the same tests.
TLDR: Despite a mobile processor, the MacBook Neo largely holds its own against the MacBook Air M1.
MacBook Neo refresh
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First, let’s talk about the new MacBook Neo. From a design perspective, the laptop’s aesthetic owes much more to its more recent predecessors than the M1 MacBook Air. This laptop marked the end of the appearance range unveiled by Steve Jobs in 2008.
The MacBook Neo is like a smaller but thicker MacBook Air, and with a better sense of style, thanks to a collection of bright colors like the Citrus finish on my review unit. It’s built around the A18 Pro that originally appeared in the iPhone 16 Pro, doesn’t have a backlit keyboard, and only has TouchID in the $699 / £699 / AU$1,099 model (like my review unit).
| Row 0 – Cell 0 |
MacBook Neo |
MacBook Air M1 |
|
Dimensions |
Height: 0.50 inch (1.27 cm) Width: 11.71 inches (29.75 cm) Depth: 8.12 inches (20.64 cm) Weight: 2.7 pounds (1.23 kg) |
Height: 0.16 to 0.63 inch (0.41 to 1.61 cm) Width: 11.97 inches (30.41 cm) Depth: 8.36 inches (21.24 cm) Weight: 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg) |
|
Display |
13-inch Liquid Retina 2408×1506 pixels 500 nits |
13.3-inch LED-backlit display 2560×1600 400 nits |
|
Camera |
1080P FaceTime Camera |
720P FaceTime Camera |
|
Processor |
A18 Pro |
M1 |
|
Memory |
8 GB |
8GB/16GB |
|
Storage |
256/512 GB |
256/512 GB |
|
Connectivity |
Wi-Fi 6E Bluetooth6 |
WiFi 6 Bluetooth5 |
It turns out that the MacBook Neo is slightly smaller and a bit lighter than the M1 MacBook Air. I can’t really compare the thickness, as the wedge-shaped M1 ranges from 0.16 inches to just over half an inch. The MacBook Neo measures 0.5 inches from edge to edge.
The M1 screen is slightly larger than that of the Neo and offers slightly higher resolutions (227ppi compared to 219ppi on the Neo). But the Neo is, at 500 nits, the brightest screen.
Both systems only have two USB-C ports, but the M1s are Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, while the Neo only offers a single USB-3 (10Gbps) port and a USB-2 port.
The gap narrowed when I started looking at the core components and actual performance.
Now, keep in mind that my test units weren’t the base systems, but they still have comparable memory and storage (8 GB of unified RAM and 512 GB of storage – the base model of both systems is 256 GB of storage).
MacBook Neo A18 Pro:
- 6-core processor with 2 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
- 5-core GPU
- Hardware-accelerated ray tracing
- 16-core neural engine
MacBook M1:
- 8-core processor with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
- 8-core GPU
- 16-core neural engine
As you can see, the M1 comes with more performance cores and, in my review unit, more GPU cores.
With this information in hand, I started by running Geekbench 6 benchmarks on both systems. For comparison purposes, I’ve included some results from the M5 MacBook Air.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 |
Single core |
Multi-core |
Metal |
|
MacBook Neo |
3419 |
7713 |
30920 |
|
MacBook Air M1 |
2385 |
8562 |
33255 |
|
MacBook Air M5 |
4190 |
17073 |
49577 |
As you can see, the MacBook Neo outperforms the MacBook Air M1 in single-core performance and is pretty close in multi-core. The disparity is greatest in the Metal scores, which makes sense when you consider the MacBook Air M1’s total GPU core count.
Enter the real world
What matters most to me is real-world testing. Once again, I dug into my original MacBook Air M1 review and did my best to recreate the test suite.
I started by installing Adobe Photoshop, crossing my fingers that a system truly designed for everyday, non-professional work could handle it. This would be my first time running the desktop version of Photoshop on an iPhone chip.
I shouldn’t have worried. I easily installed Adobe Creative Cloud and Photoshop, then started manipulating multi-layered photos. I even ran an AI, asking Adobe Firefly to select a topic (Alicia Keys singing at an Apple 50th anniversary event), then replace Keys with someone else doing the exact same thing. It took a while, but it worked.
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Pixelmator Pro is another app I used on the M1, so I installed it here and edited a few of my photos.
I installed a few iPhone apps to see how they looked and worked on the platform. Like the MacBook Air M1, they appear in an iPhone-sized window and work perfectly.
Then I installed Asphalt 8: Airborne and I had fun using the keyboard to play. By the way, the two side speakers sounded pretty good.
I opened Netflix and streamed You better call Saul. Trust me, many students will stream their favorite content on these laptops.
Yes, I even installed Final Cut Pro and started editing multiple video streams.
Again, these are all things I did with the M1, so why not repeat them here?
Keep in mind that I have never closed an app. I just keep installing them, opening them and using them, waiting for the MacBook Neo to cry uncle.
I opened Apple Maps and zoomed in and out until I could see and rotate the entire globe.
In 2020, I opened Apple Arcade on the M1 and installed Little Orpheus. It’s a beautiful game, but unfortunately it has since left the Arcade. For the MacBook Neo I installed the puzzle platformer Respondent. The game ran smoothly and so as not to disturb my colleagues, I connected my AirPods Pro 3 to enjoy the lush soundtrack.
Throughout my testing, I was also using Safari, but since the MacBook Neo showed no signs of slowing down or struggling, I also installed Google Chrome and opened a few tabs there as well.
As for my anecdotal battery tests, with the MacBook Air M1 I regularly get over 15 hours of mixed use. The MacBook Neo is rated for 16 hours if you’re streaming video only. You can see what I was doing here, and in this scenario I spent over 12 hours. Obviously, your mileage will vary depending on the app(s) you use.
In virtually every situation, the MacBook Neo stood tall and looked at least equal to the MacBook Air M1. I suspect it could hold its own against the M2 (maybe even M3) models as well. I haven’t put Steam or any AAA console games on the laptop, but I know that in his review of the MacBook Neo, Matt Hanson gave Cyberpunk 2077 There is. The MacBook Neo made it playable at around 30fps.
So, in answer to the question: “Can the MacBook Neo replace my MacBook Air M1?” The answer is a resounding yes. This is clearly a budget laptop that pushes the boundaries and will surprise many people. It’s not a professional system, and people will definitely find some caveats, like only 256GB and 8GB of RAM, limiting. The $699 512GB model fixes some of these issues (including the addition of Touch ID), but it doesn’t increase the speed of these ports or add a backlit keyboard. Those looking to push the boundaries when it comes to storage, performance, and screen sizes will look to the MacBook Air and, in particular, MacBook Pro models.
However, for those who fell in love with the M1 MacBook Air and, now that it’s finally off sale as a new system, are looking for a replacement, the MacBook Neo has you covered.
You will not be disappointed.
