MacBook Neo vs MacBook Air M1: Which budget Apple laptop should you buy?

If you’ve been considering upgrading to one of the best MacBooks, you’re in luck: Apple just released the MacBook Neo. Starting at $599 (or $499 for education), this is Cupertino’s most affordable laptop yet and a fantastic entry point into the Mac ecosystem.

Up until now, you had to choose between the $1,099 MacBook Air for portability or the $599 Mac mini M4 if you were willing to stay tethered to a desk. In our MacBook Neo review, we praised the new device as the best budget laptop yet, but there is still another option worth considering.

First launched back in late 2020, the MacBook Air M1 surprisingly still holds up today. Though it initially launched at $999, the release of the M2, M3, M4, and now the MacBook Air M5 has driven the price of the original Air with Apple Silicon down significantly. In fact, you can often find the M1 on sale for $599, putting it in direct competition with the brand-new Neo.

Now that we’ve fully tested the MacBook Neo, we can see how it stacks up against the legend. If you’re deciding between the two, read this before you rush out to buy Apple’s most colorful MacBook yet.

MacBook Neo vs MacBook Air M1: Specs

MacBook Neo vs MacBook Air M1: Design

The MacBook Neo and the MacBook Air M1 are both 13-inch laptops, though the Air sports a slightly larger 13.3-inch display. This also gives it a minor edge in resolution, but the real difference is in the look: the Air M1 keeps its "classic" square corners and thicker bottom chin, while the Neo adopts modern, rounded corners.

The biggest design departure is the color. In addition to Silver, the Neo comes in three vibrant shades: Blush (pink), Indigo (deep blue), and Citrus (yellow). We tried out the Citrus model, and its bright greenish-yellow hue definitely pops the most. Another nice touch is that the Neo's keys are color-matched to its shell, making the whole machine feel cohesive.

However, that keyboard comes with a compromise. While you get the same reliable scissor-switches and 1mm of travel found on the Air M1, the Neo doesn't have a backlit keyboard. You also lose out on standard biometric security; while Touch ID is included on every Air M1, getting it on the Neo requires an optional $100 upgrade.

Apple simplified the trackpad to cut costs, too. While the Air M1 features a Force Touch trackpad that uses haptics to mimic a click, the Neo’s trackpad is mechanical. It still feels great, but it’s a physical "diving board" click rather than the high-tech feedback found on more expensive MacBooks.

Physically, these two are close but not identical. The Neo is smaller overall, but the Air M1 still feels like the "sharper" device thanks to its iconic tapered wedge that thins out at the front. The Neo is also the new lightweight champ at 2.7 pounds, beating the Air M1 by a hair.

Port layout is another area where "budget" becomes a factor. Both have two USB-C ports on the left, but only the Air M1 gives you high-speed Thunderbolt 3 on both. On the Neo, the rear port is a faster USB 3, while the front one is a slow USB 2 port mostly meant for charging. The Neo also moves the headphone jack to the left, whereas it sits on the right on the Air M1.

Where the Neo finally pulls ahead is the webcam. Its 1080p camera is a massive upgrade over the Air M1’s grainy 720p sensor, even if both laptops still lack Center Stage.

Finally, the audio vibes are different. The Air M1 hides its speakers under the keyboard for a fuller soundstage, while the Neo uses side-firing speakers. While the Neo supports Dolby Atmos, the Air M1’s three-mic array still gives it the edge for sounding your best on video calls compared to the Neo’s dual-mic setup.

MacBook Neo vs MacBook Air M1: Performance

The most debated part of the MacBook Neo is its brain. While the Air M1 uses a true M-series computer chip, the Neo runs on the A18 Pro — a powerhouse originally designed for the iPhone 16 Pro.

In our testing, the Neo’s "phone chip" proved it has some serious speed, especially in single-core tasks where it feels much snappier for day-to-day browsing and app-launching. However, it still falls slightly behind the M1 in sustained tasks like our Handbrake video transcoding test. It’s also worth noting that we tested the Neo with the newer Geekbench 6, while our older Air M1 results come from Geekbench 5.

As a daily driver, the Neo held its own with a couple dozen Chrome tabs open while juggling Slack and photo edits in Pixelmator Pro. It’s a responsive machine for the most part, though we did notice some lag when jumping into the Display settings right from Finder while connected to a Studio Display — likely a reminder that this mobile architecture has its limits.

The Air M1, by contrast, feels like it has a bit more "breathing room" during heavy multitasking. Part of that is thanks to its faster SSD, and part is because our review unit was configured with 16GB of RAM, whereas the Neo is strictly capped at 8GB.

Ultimately, both chips are designed for different missions. The M1 was built from the ground up to handle the "heavy lifting" of macOS, while the A18 Pro was optimized for the efficiency of iOS. For web browsing and schoolwork, the Neo is a delight; but if your workload is on the heavier side, the M1’s desktop-class architecture is still the better choice.

MacBook Neo vs MacBook Air M1: Graphics

You won’t be playing the latest AAA games on either of these more affordable MacBooks, but you will be able to do some light gaming. Given the A18 Pro chip inside the Neo, it naturally handles mobile games designed for iOS well, while the M1 chip in the Air is better suited for actual PC games — albeit older ones.

For instance, when we originally reviewed the Air M1, we were easily able to play older titles like Bioshock 2 Remastered at its native 2560 x 1600 resolution. Rise of the Tomb Raider and Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm were both playable too, though neither hit a steady 60 fps.

It’s worth noting that those were older Intel-based versions running via Rosetta 2; in the years since, many more games have been ported to run natively on Apple Silicon, meaning there is an even larger library of older titles you can enjoy on the Air M1 today.

With the Neo, we tested out Oceanhorn 3 via Apple Arcade. While the graphics looked smooth for the most part, we did notice some skipped frames here and there. The Neo does have one graphical trick up its sleeve, however: hardware-accelerated ray tracing. This allows it to render more realistic lighting and reflections in modern, optimized titles — a feature the M1 lacks entirely. Still, neither MacBook is a gaming powerhouse.

MacBook Neo vs MacBook Air M1: Battery life

The MacBook Air M1 should technically have the advantage here with its larger 49.9-watt-hour battery, compared to the Neo’s smaller 36.5-watt-hour cell. However, since the Neo is powered by an extremely efficient 3nm chip, the A18 Pro helps this new MacBook come much closer to the Air M1 than you’d expect.

In our Tom’s Guide battery test, which involves continuous web surfing at 150 nits of screen brightness, the results were surprisingly close. As you can see in the table above, you’re essentially getting one hour less with the Neo compared to the Air M1. Still, 13.5 hours of continuous use is quite a lot for an affordable MacBook designed for students and office workers; you can easily make it through a full workday without having to reach for a charger.

The charging situation is where you'll find the biggest day-to-day difference. While the Air M1 can be charged via either of its identical USB-C ports, the Neo requires a bit more strategy. We recommend using the front port for charging, as its slower USB 2.0 speeds are perfect for power. This leaves the faster rear port free for a high-speed SSD or for connecting to an external monitor.

Finally, there’s the question of charging speed. The Neo ships with a compact 20W charger, while the Air M1 comes with a standard 30W adapter. If you’re in a hurry, the Air M1 has a distinct advantage: you can plug it into a higher-wattage 60W or 100W GaN charger and it will pull up to 45W, cutting your wait time significantly. Unfortunately, the Neo is capped at its lower speeds, so you'll be waiting a bit longer to get back to 100%.

MacBook Neo vs MacBook Air M1: Outlook

Choosing between the new MacBook Neo and the veteran MacBook Air M1 is surprisingly difficult, even with six years of tech evolution between them. While the Neo sports a much more modern design with vibrant colors and a sharper webcam, the Air M1 still feels like a "pro" machine in an older body.

If you want a laptop that feels current and will be supported by Apple for years to come, the Neo is the better choice. It’s snappy enough for daily tasks and serves as a fantastic upgrade for anyone coming from a Chromebook or a budget Windows laptop. For those who spend most of their time in a browser or on FaceTime, the Neo’s modern aesthetic and improved camera are hard to beat.

However, if you aren't willing to sacrifice the premium features Apple cut to hit the Neo’s $599 price point, the Air M1 is the better option. With its backlit keyboard, standard Touch ID, faster SSD, and dual Thunderbolt ports, it remains better suited for users who need to multitask or handle slightly more demanding workloads.

Ultimately, you can’t go wrong with either, but longevity is the tie-breaker. The Neo is likely to receive macOS updates until the early 2030s, whereas the Air M1 is nearing the end of its software support cycle. If you want a machine that is "set and forget" for the next several years, the Neo is Apple’s colorful, affordable answer to the entry-level Mac.

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