MacBook Neo benchmarks leak — how does it compare to iPhone?

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The low-cost MacBook has an iPhone chip, but how does that affect performance?

MacBook Neo
(Image credit: Future)

Earlier this week, Apple launched what is arguably one of the most important products in years — the $599 MacBook Neo. This low-cost MacBook is almost half the price of the cheapest MacBook Air, but it comes with several compromises to hit that price. One of which is the inclusion of the A18 Pro chipset, the same chip that powers the 2024 iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

The iPhone 16 Pro was one of the most powerful smartphones at the time of release, but can a mobile chip really compare to the M-series silicon powering other MacBooks? Benchmarking tests would go a long way to helping us figure that out, and it just so happens that the first MacBook Neo benchmarks have appeared on Geekbench.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Row 0 - Cell 0

Single core

Multi core

MacBook Neo (leaked)

3,461

8,668

iPhone 16 Pro

3,400

8,341

MacBook Air M1

2,347

8,341

MacBook Pro M5

4,288

17,926

The similarity in the single-core test makes perfect sense, since this is the same chip after all, but the increase in multi-core performance is interesting. It could be that Apple is pumping more power through the MacBook Neo than you'd find in an iPhone, and that's pushed the score up by a few hundred points.

These benchmarks also prove that the MacBook Neo is a slightly better option than the original M1 chip released way back in 2020. Our MacBook Air M1 benchmarks saw the machine score 2,341 in single-core testing and 8,341 in multi-core. So big gains for solo-core processing, likely thanks to the newer 3nm processes, but less impressive when those cores are working together.

Of course, the A18 Pro can't compete with the gains Apple has made with M-series chips over the years. The MacBook Pro M5 recorded a single-core score of 4,288 and an insane 17,926 in multi-core testing. So while the MacBook Neo is no slouch, there is a major performance dip compared to its contemporaries.

That's not to say the MacBook Neo is a bad purchase. Far from it. As we noted in our MacBook Neo hands-on review, this could set the standard for lower-priced laptops, and could be enough to convince buyers to ditch the alternatives in favor of Apple. Though we will need to do some performance testing of our own, among other in-depth tests, to really put the laptop through its paces.

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(Image credit: Future)

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Tom Pritchard
Tom Pritchard
UK Phones Editor

Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.

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