Rumors have circulated for months that Apple has been developing a more affordable MacBook. Now, as part of its lineup of product announcements this week, the company has officially introduced it: meet the MacBook Neo.
The MacBook Neo is Apple’s new entry-level MacBook, starting at $600 — a full $500 less than the M5 MacBook Air. Naturally, this lower price comes with a few compromises. Instead of an M-series chip, the Neo features the A18 Pro, a chipset from the iPhone 16 Pro.
The laptop has less starting storage than the M5 MacBook Air, with a base of 256GB and only 8GB of RAM, compared to the Air’s 16GB. Additionally, the Neo has a smaller 13-inch screen with thicker bezels than the MacBook Air and side-firing speakers.
The MacBook Neo comes in four colors: silver, indigo, blush, and citrus. It is available for pre-order now and will launch on March 11.
“We’re incredibly excited to introduce MacBook Neo, which delivers the magic of the Mac at a breakthrough price,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, in a press release. “Built from the ground up to be more affordable for even more people, MacBook Neo is a laptop only Apple could create.”
- Operating System
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macOS 26
- CPU
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A18 Pro
- RAM
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8GB
- Storage
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256GB, 512GB
The MacBook Neo shares similarities with the MacBook Air
Apple aims to compete more with budget Windows laptops
With a $600 price tag, the MacBook Neo is Apple’s most affordable MacBook yet, and if Apple’s goal is to compete more with cheaper Windows laptops, the Neo definitely has a chance to do that.
The MacBook Neo’s chipset is definitely one of the most interesting features, considering it’s the first time an iPhone chipset has been used in a Mac, and Apple is already highlighting its benefits over Intel. Apple claims that the “A18 Pro is up to 50 percent faster for everyday tasks than the bestselling PC with the latest shipping Intel Core Ultra 5.”
Looking more closely at the MacBook Neo’s design, it is reminiscent of the MacBook Air. It’s made of aluminum, has rounded corners, and weighs 2.7 pounds, so it’s the same weight as the M5 MacBook Air. The MacBook Neo also features two USB-C ports, a 1080p webcam, and a headphone jack. The screen is a 13-inch Liquid Retina Display with a resolution of 2408 x 1506 pixels and a brightness of 500 nits.
The Neo’s keyboard options are where things get more interesting, as Apple is offering two versions tied to storage: one with Touch ID and one without. The standard $600 MacBook Neo comes with 256GB of storage and no Touch ID. If you choose the keyboard with Touch ID, you get 512GB of storage, and the price increases to $700. So, if you want to log in to the laptop faster with your fingerprint instead of a passcode, you’ll need to pay extra.
Additionally, a trade-off Apple makes with the MacBook Neo is battery life, as it has a 36.5‑watt‑hour lithium‑ion battery, smaller than the MacBook Air’s 53.8‑watt‑hour lithium‑polymer battery. Although Apple claims the Neo can last up to 16 hours on a single charge, which isn’t much shorter than the M5 MacBook Air’s claimed 18 hours.
The MacBook Neo is available for pre-order now and will launch on March 11. In addition to the MacBook Neo, Apple has also announced the iPhone 17e, M4 iPad Air, M5 MacBooksand new Studio Displays this week.
