Highly anticipated: Apple has finally unveiled its entry into the budget laptop segment, starting at $599 and delving deep into cheap Windows PC territory. For a roughly 45% price reduction compared to the latest MacBook Air, customers sacrifice a moderate amount of horsepower and are limited to just 8GB of RAM. On the other hand, the MacBook Neo features an aluminum chassis, Apple's typically excellent displays, long battery life, and weighs just 2.7 pounds.
Following months of speculation and leaks, the Cupertino giant has officially introduced the MacBook Neo. Representing perhaps the most ambitious display of synergy within Apple's hardware stack yet, the laptop aims to prove that a processor originally designed for a flagship iPhone can handle macOS's basic functionality.
The company claims that the budget laptop's 6-core A18 Pro SoC performs basic web browsing and on-device AI tasks faster than the top-selling Intel Core Ultra 5 chip (without specifying further). Limitations include the lack of Thunderbolt support, no option to expand beyond 8GB of RAM, and a maximum of 512GB of storage.
The Neo is designed for students, according to Apple. The aluminum notebook weighs just 2.7 pounds (1.23 kg) and comes in four colors: silver, blush, indigo, and the all-new citrus. Apple says the battery can deliver up to 16 hours of video streaming or 11 hours of wireless web browsing.
The MacBook Neo's 13-inch 60Hz IPS screen retains the MacBook Air's Liquid Retina branding and 500-nit brightness but slightly reduces the resolution to 2,408 x 1,506 pixels. It also lacks the P3 wide color gamut and True Tone technology. Furthermore, the camera is limited to 1080p and does not support Desk View.
Connectivity is also limited, as expected. The budget MacBook includes one USB-C 2.0 port and one USB-C 3.0 port. The latter supports a single 4K 60Hz external display at DisplayPort 1.4-equivalent specifications.
Memory and storage will likely become the MacBook Neo's biggest constraints over time. Apple offers only one RAM option – 8GB – and either a 256GB or 512GB SSD. Touch ID through a dedicated key is exclusive to the 512GB model, which costs $100 more.
MacBook Neo vs MacBook Air M5
| Feature | MacBook Neo | MacBook Air M5 |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $599 | $1,099 |
| Chip / SoC | Apple A18 Pro | Apple M5 |
| CPU | 6-core CPU | 10-core CPU |
| GPU | 5-core GPU | 10-core GPU |
| Neural engine | 16-core | 16-core |
| Memory (RAM) | 8GB unified memory (fixed) | 16GB unified memory (up to 32GB) |
| Memory bandwidth | 60GB/s | 153GB/s |
| Storage | 256GB or 512GB SSD | 512GB - 4TB SSD |
| Display size | 13-inch | 13.6-inch or 15.3-inch |
| Display resolution | 2,408 × 1,506 | 2,560 × 1,664 (13-inch) |
| Brightness | 500 nits | 500 nits |
| Color support | 1 billion colors (sRGB) | P3 wide color |
| Camera | 1080p FaceTime HD | 12MP Center Stage |
| Keyboard | Magic Keyboard (no backlight) | Backlit Magic Keyboard |
| Trackpad | Mechanical trackpad | Force Touch trackpad |
| Ports | 1x USB-C 2.0, 1x USB-C 3.0, headphone jack | 2x Thunderbolt 4, MagSafe 3, headphone jack |
| External display support | 1x 4K 60Hz display | Multiple displays depending on config |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth |
| Battery life | Up to 16 hours video / 11 hours web | Up to 18 hours video |
| Weight | 2.7 lb | 2.7 lb (13-inch) |
| Touch ID | Only on 512GB model | Standard |
| Colors | Silver, blush, indigo, citrus | Silver, starlight, midnight, sky blue |
Pre-orders for the MacBook Neo are available now, starting at $599 for the 256GB model and $499 for students. Availability begins March 11. Apple also recently upgraded the MacBook Air to its M5 processor and introduced MacBook Pro models powered by M5 Pro and M5 Max. Reports indicate that a touchscreen MacBook is on the horizon, but users should not anticipate a 2-in-1.
Apple's new entry-level laptop could become a competitive item as the traditional budget laptop market faces threats from ongoing memory shortages.
As the construction of AI data centers consumes significant amounts of DRAM and NAND capacity, some low-cost notebook resellers are substituting SSDs with eMMC storage, SD cards, and even OneDrive trials (facepalm). Analysts at Gartner warn that sub-$500 laptops could become extinct by 2028, but Apple's bet on this segment runs counter to that forecast.