Apple’s MacBook Neo is a true attempt at a budget laptop
Apple's $600 laptop is now official featuring an aluminum design and an A18 chip, but with a few less bells and whistles to keep the price low.
Apple has announced a new laptop that is the price of a smartphone. The new MacBook Neo was unveiled at the brand’s New York City launch event on Wednesday, with a $599 price tag, ushering in a new era of budget devices.
While the MacBook Air has long stood as Apple’s version of an inexpensive MacBook, the brand is now really making an effort to dip below the $1,000 price point in terms of affordability. Apple has outfitted the MacBook Neo with several design and hardware elements to account for its lower price.
A standout proposition of the laptop is its aluminum design, which allows it to maintain the high-end look known to the MacBook family. At 2.7 pounds, it matches the MacBook Air in terms of weight. The Neo comes in blush, indigo, silver, and citrus color options.
The laptop uses the A18 Pro chip, which originated in the iPhone 16 Pro. This 2024 chip allows the MacBook Neo to have a lower price while maintaining many modern features, such as all-day battery life and Apple Intelligence. While not as powerful as the M-series chips that are typically designated for laptops and computers, Apple is taking a similar approach with the Neo to brands that make budget Windows laptops and Chromebooks by using a mobile processor.
The laptop features a 13-inch Liquid Retina display with a 2408 x 1506 resolution and 500 nits of brightness, as well as an anti-reflective coating. Specifications-wise, the laptop includes 8GB RAM and 256GB and 512GB storage options. Notably, Touch ID on the keyboard is only available on the higher-storage version. The all-day battery life supports up to 16 hours of power in a single charge.
While the device includes a 1080p webcam and a two-USB-C port and headphone jack I/O setup, it does not feature a MagSafe connector, likely further contributing to its low price. It runs macOS Tahoe as its software.
The MacBook Neo is available starting today and will go on sale on March 11. The laptop was announced alongside the new iPhone 17e, iPad Air M4, M5 MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro series.