Hands-On With the New MacBook Neo

[DEMinSoCAL]

Why anyone would use Chrome as a browser still amazes me. That is the worst there is.

Global Browser Market Share (All Platforms - Feb 2026)

• Chrome: ~69%
• Safari: ~16%
• Edge: ~5%
• Firefox: ~2%
• Samsung Internet: ~3.9% (Mobile)

I guess 7 in 10 people feel differently.

 

[Ishimura]

Can it run Crysis?

 

[delsoul]

I had netbooks way back when...I remember them being smaller than 13" and you're right...they died out.

Since there aren't many 11" or 12" laptops that could be confused with a netbook, I'd just call the Neo a normal laptop.

I still have an EEE netbook. It has a measly 1.0 intel atom and 256mb of ram. MEGABYTES. The MacBook Neo is anything but a netbook

 

[prospervic]

I really wish they colour matched it with the iMac colours, particularly the "yellow" since citrus looks... weird

Either way, amazing value, especially with the education discount, and the design looks fresh. I have a 16" MBP, but really want to get one of these as I've been contemplating getting an iPad Pro with the Magic Keyboard to have something smaller and easier to take around... ah I don't know what to do.

Why one or the other? Get the MacBook Neo, but also the iPad Air* 11 WITHOUT the Magic Keyboard -- it's still better ergonomically than any MacBook for media consumption.

*or Pro, if you want the OLED display and are willing to cough up the cash.

 

[prospervic]

yeah, I was hoping for a return of the 12" Macbook. All set to buy one as a burner/travel lappy.

Glad that this is here for the people who need it. Guess I'll have to take that $700 I put aside, roll it up and smoke it like ditch weed.

Are you forgetting the 12" MacBook was $1300? Hardly qualifies as a "burner/travel lappy", while at $600, this new Neo certainly does.

 

[prospervic]

The MacBook Neo shows how completely out-of-whack iPad pricing is. You could spend $599 for an 11 inch iPad Air -- essentially a slab of glass with one USB-C port, or for the same money buy this Neo and get a full laptop and keyboard, with 2 USB ports and a headphone jack to boot. Huh?

Maybe Apple thinks the intended audience for this lives in a world where only the $349 base model iPad exists.

 

[mvdrl]

The M1 Macbook air "wedge" was a great machine, but I always felt the 400 nit screen let it down. To me the $599 Neo with a 500 nit screen (same brightness as a curren Air) is a far better value than the M1 Air wedge that was selling at Walmart!

 

[chevyboy60013]

If I didn't just get my 2018 MacBook Air with 16gb ram and 512ssd.... I definitely would be getting one of these. I still may consider it.

 

[dampfnudel]

If Apple spec bumps this in 12-18 months with an A19 Pro with 12 GB of RAM but keeps the price the same that will make this even more of a value.

They could’ve done that now.

 

[dampfnudel]

If I didn't just get my 2018 MacBook Air with 16gb ram and 512ssd.... I definitely would be getting one of these. I still may consider it.

Maybe you should wait for the next generation with 12GB RAM and A19 Pro.

 

[AriaAmaris]

My gawd that thing is ugly af. Was hoping for the skinny MacBook design, but damn! Those bezels are awful. Like, intentionally awful for no reason. Chunky pos! Blah!

 

[cheesygrin]

This should become a much more compelling buy next year, if they bump it to an A19 Pro chip, with 12GB RAM.

 

[PearPhoneEnthusiast]

I think this new MacBook Neo is squarely aimed at the education sector and those who simply need an affordable MacBook to do everyday tasks. 8GB of ram should be enough. It is Apple’s baseline going forward for everyday performance. Including 256 GB of storage as a minimum was also a solid move on Apple’s part. However, I think they’ve omitted some features that would have been very useful for the target market:

1) Backlit Keyboard - Definitely useful for students staying up late into the night to finish assignments.

2) True Tone Display - Also useful for students to reduce their exposure to blue light at night.

3) Touch ID - Sorry, but this should have just been included across the whole lineup. Most likely due to cost cutting.

4) Fast charging - Essential for students who are lugging this around between home and school (or between classes). This should be a standard feature at this point.



There are also some features that while not essential, would have been nice to see:

1) MagSafe - Can reduce the chance of messing up the laptop/charging port. I feel this is even more useful for the Neo’s target market. But I can also see why Apple didn’t include it. Most would have charged via USB-C anyways.

2) A19 Pro chip - Would have been nice to see Apple include the latest iPhone chipset. They have done so even in budget items like the SE iPhone in previous years.

I still think this new version of the MacBook is going to sell very well. Some Can’t afford 800+ dollars on a laptop and this fits the bill. Smart of Apple to tap into a market that has up until now been left to Chromebooks and lower end Windows laptops.

 

[QuarterSwede]

Apple's site says:

• Multi-Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and support for gestures

They also call it out in the ad as supporting multitouch gestures so you can pinch to zoom, swipe spaces, etc and show the user doing so. Time: 0:57 and 2:14

 

[QuarterSwede]

If Apple spec bumps this in 12-18 months with an A19 Pro with 12 GB of RAM but keeps the price the same that will make this even more of a value.

With these RAM prices/economy currently? Yeah, not happening in the next 5-10 years.

 

[PearPhoneEnthusiast]

The M1 Macbook air "wedge" was a great machine, but I always felt the 400 nit screen let it down. To me the $599 Neo with a 500 nit screen (same brightness as a curren Air) is a far better value than the M1 Air wedge that was selling at Walmart!

It definitely is when you consider how long in the tooth the M1 air was becoming when Walmart sold it on close-out. I also agree the extra 100 nits will make a difference. Particularly outdoors.

 

[kevinws]

Get neither and wait for the Back-To-School sale in June. (That is if you're in the US or Canada. The sales may be at different times in other countries, assuming they exist at all.) Or if you want one now and you're in the US, get a discounted M4 MacBook Air from Amazon.

Thanks, I will take it under consideration.

 

[PearPhoneEnthusiast]

With these RAM prices/economy currently? Yeah, not happening in the next 5-10 years.

I almost feel Apple went with the A18 Pro chip due to the increasing Memory prices. Probably not though since the wild increases are still so recent.

 

[zzrwood]

Personally I prioritize advancements in display tech for the exact reason you've laid out here...basic computing tasks run fluidly on everything now, with a few deviations from something like a Wish.com scam market machine.

I also dont mind a thin client. I looked at things and said, if I want to lock down and control everything (example: run a home server/LLM/etc) I'm doing it full fat or not doing it all. The cloud is convenient and using GeForce Now was an eye opener for me because it allowed to play graphically intense games on damn near anything (iPad Pro for example). No heat, no noise, excellent battery life...a wireless experience. Regardless of the "gaming aspect" it demonstrates offloading hardware requirements somewhere else can (if you are ok with it) make the way you look at hardware change. So, in the case of this MacBook vs a Core i5/AMD offering, the ability to use something like TB4 is even more profoundly important. It gives my thin, light piece of kit the ability to parlay its looking glass into alternative canvases of higher resolutions or faster refresh rates. I can spread out across 2 4K monitors for working with .csv files or plug into one gorgeous gaming monitor and play a game that requires substantially hotter and louder hardware than the aforementioned iPad (for example).

I see tremendous value in that *specific* type of flexibility, which is on brand for my entire thesis of the thin client, which is flexibility and accessibility. So when people say "the A18 is hands down better than a MODERN Core i5," not only is it subjective, but in terms of utility, it's flat out wrong.

Edit: Grammar

Thank you for clarifying that you understand how much this computer has not been designed for you…

 

[EugW]

I almost feel Apple went with the A18 Pro chip due to the increasing Memory prices. Probably not though since the wild increases are still so recent.

Yet the iPad Air has 12 GB RAM (which is more than my M4 iPad Pro).

 

[PearPhoneEnthusiast]

Yet the iPad Air has 12 GB RAM (which is more than my M4 iPad Pro).

That is true. Good point. Apple are definitely better able to absorb those costs being as large as they are.

 

[Tagbert]

I almost feel Apple went with the A18 Pro chip due to the increasing Memory prices. Probably not though since the wild increases are still so recent.

More likely, they had to freeze the design more than a year ago so that they could enter production on time and the 18 pro was the current state of the art chip.

 

[madrigal77]

Why such muted, boring colours again? Isn't it supposed to be a fun, budget option for students?

 

[abowlby]

Thank you for clarifying that you understand how much this computer has not been designed for you…

It is 2 to 4X the cost of devices deployed in education (iPads, Chromebooks). It is pointlessly underwhelming for consumers, especially when the M4 MBA is on fire sale 24/7.

Who is this for besides marketing department use case larpers or Apple clergymen?

 

[nfl_brah]

I was really hoping this would be for me but it’s not enough of a differentiator to a MacBook Air other than being a cheaper less able Air. If it was smaller (12”) and/or had more battery life but with the lower performance, I could justify buying it. If I had no MacBook Air, I may be tempted to buy this or would I have just got a cheaper M2/M3/M4?

Good for someone who doesn’t have a MacBook Air but can’t afford it - but who knows if it’s a good enough proposition compared to an older M model air given that it doesn’t seem to really beat the Air in portability or battey life.

Exactly. It should have been smaller/lighter. Instead it's practically the same size as an air, with worse battery life, and the same weight...