Club Benefits
Update: See our MacBook Neo hands-on review!
The MacBook Neo with A18 Pro is finally here, Apple's all-new budget laptop equipped with an iPhone chip, a 13-inch display and a host of fun color options. And with its $599 starting price, it's already looking to be one of the best budget laptops around.
Announced during Apple's March event, the MacBook with A18 Pro is an entry-level laptop that marks the company's efforts to enter the affordable laptop market. Instead of its usual M-series chips found in the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, it sports the same chip used in the iPhone 16 Pro.
With this new low-cost MacBook, Apple is finally taking on the likes of the best Chromebooks and cheap Windows laptops made for students and those looking for value. There are a few sacrifices made to drop the price, but it's now more affordable to pick up an all-new MacBook.
The MacBook Neo will be available for $599. We can't wait to get our hands on Apple's new base MacBook, but in the meantime, here's what you need to know.
MacBook Neo: Quick summary
- MacBook Neo starts at $599.
- Pre-orders open today, March 4; available in stores March 11.
- Powered by the A18 Pro chip.
- 13-inch Liquid Retina display (2408 x 1506)
- 1080p FaceTime HD camera
- Aluminum chassis with rounded corners
- Colors: Silver, Blush, Citrus, and Indigo
- Trade-offs: No backlit keyboard
MacBook Neo: Specs
MacBook Neo (Base Model) | |
|---|---|
Processor | A18 Pro (6-core CPU, 6-core GPU) |
Display | 13-inch Liquid Retina (2408 x 1506) |
Memory | 8GB Unified Memory |
Storage | 256GB / 512GB SSD |
Battery Life | Up to 16 hours |
Camera | 1080p FaceTime HD |
Weight | 2.7 pounds |
Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 6.0, 2x USB-C |
MacBook Neo: Price
The headline here is the price. The MacBook Neo starts at $599 for the 256GB storage model. If you're a student or teacher, that price drops to $499 with an education discount.
To keep the base model at $599, Apple has omitted Touch ID from the keyboard. If you want fingerprint login and double the storage (512GB), you’ll need to step up to the $699 model.
You can pre-order the MacBook Neo now on Apple's website, with orders shipping starting on March 11.
MacBook Neo: Design and display
The MacBook's design is decidedly friendlier, meant to appeal to a younger demographic. It retains the rounded edges of current MacBooks, but its overall design is softer and more visually appealing.
It comes in four distinct colors: Blush (pink), Indigo (deep blue), Citrus (yellow), and Silver. The 13-inch display is a Liquid Retina panel with a claimed 500 nits of brightness. Interestingly, Apple has managed to deliver a notch-less design here, likely because the 1080p camera is slightly smaller than the Pro's array.
The MacBook Neo features the same Magic Keyboard we’ve grown to love on the Air and Pro lines, meaning you’re getting that same tactile, precise click. Underneath that is a huge Multi-Touch trackpad.
One thing to keep in mind is that the base $599 model doesn't have Touch ID. If you want that feature, it'll cost you $100 to upgrade. This configuration doubles the storage to 512GB, so it's arguably worth the price.
While it lacks the ProMotion 120Hz refresh rate of higher-end Macs, it still offers 1 billion colors and an anti-reflective coating that arguably makes it the best screen you can find for under $600.
MacBook Neo: Performance and battery life
This is the first MacBook to run on an A-series chip, and the A18 Pro is a wise choice. In Apple's own testing, the Neo is up to 50% faster for web browsing and 3x faster at on-device AI tasks than the bestselling Intel Core Ultra 5 laptops.
We still have some testing to do on the laptop itself, but here's how the A18 Pro chip measures up against the MacBook Air M1 in the Geekbench benchmark.
This goes to show how powerful Apple's iPhone chips have become, both in single-core and multi-core performance, as it's already beating a laptop CPU that still delivers strong results for everyday tasks today.
That said, when it comes to video edit rendering or heavy multitasking, the A18 Pro chip will understandably struggle compared to the latest M-series chips. But the low-cost MacBook isn't made for power users, as it's a budget option for those who don't need the power of a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro.
Because the A18 Pro was designed for the iPhone's tight thermal constraints, it should run perfectly cool in a fanless laptop body. Apple promises 16 hours of battery life for this laptop. We'll need to test it ourselves to see if that's true, but that type of endurance is more than enough to get someone through a full work or school day.
MacBook Neo: Other features
You get a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, which is a big win over the 720p sensors often found in budget PCs. Port-wise, you get USB-C ports (both of which support charging) and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
One thing to note: there is no MagSafe on the Neo. You’ll be charging via one of those USB-C ports. On the wireless front, you get Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 6.0, which is slightly behind the Wi-Fi 7 found on the new M5 Pro models, but still plenty fast for streaming and cloud work.
The dual-microphone array features directional beamforming that acts like a personal sound booth, cutting out background noise. Meanwhile, the dual side-firing speakers support Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos. Thanks to that, your favorite videos or movies should sound great on this laptop.
MacBook Neo: Outlook
By hitting a $599 price point with the MacBook Neo, Apple has given high-end Chromebooks and budget Windows machines serious competition. Those old jokes about MacBooks being too expensive are no longer as funny.
It isn't a "Pro" machine by any stretch, but for students, travelers, or anyone who just needs a reliable, laptop for the basics, the Neo is a home run. It could be the new best MacBook for more people.
We'll see just how capable the MacBook Neo is after we've run it through our benchmark tests, so stay tuned for more!
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