MacBook Neo Starts at Just $499 for Students

[MacRumors]

Following months of rumors about a lower-cost MacBook, Apple has delivered in a big way with the MacBook Neo, which starts at $599 in the United States.

Even better, the MacBook Neo starts at just $499 through Apple's education store on its website, for eligible college students and educational staff.

There is only one upgrade option available for the MacBook Neo. If you want a configuration with a Touch ID button and an expanded 512GB of storage, that costs $100 extra. This raises the price to $699 for the general public, and to $599 for college students. But, that is the most expensive the MacBook Neo gets on its own.

With the MacBook Air's starting price rising from $999 to $1,099 with the introduction of new models with the M5 chip this week — albeit with a doubled 512GB of storage — the MacBook Neo is as much as $500 cheaper than the MacBook Air. And it could go on sale through resellers like Amazon for even less eventually.

Here is an overview of the U.S. starting prices for MacBooks:

• 13-inch MacBook Neo: $599
• 13-inch MacBook Air: $1,099
• 15-inch MacBook Air: $1,299
• 14-inch MacBook Pro: $1,699
• 16-inch MacBook Pro: $2,699

MacBook Neo is available to pre-order now and launches on Wednesday, March 11.

Article Link: MacBook Neo Starts at Just $499 for Students

 

[xmarcuswildx]

$539 for veterans/military discount in case anyone was curious.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

What a value. It makes the iPad mini pricing look ridiculous.

 

[kenny7]

This is gonna sell like hotcakes

 

[xmarcuswildx]

What a value. It makes the iPad mini pricing look ridiculous.

Yeah this laptop is gonna sell out easily.

 

[kaspurr]

What a value. It makes the iPad mini pricing look ridiculous.

You looked at the iPad Air lately? its gotta be the worst value Apple product out right now for its features and hardware. $1200 for 13" 256GB storage and Magic Keyboard

 

[JWSpaceMan]

This is really impressive. Perfect for students. They finally got serious about value for families. It will be a big winner. Smart to limit the RAM to 8GB to differentiate from pros, and keep the market segments isolated.

 

[realLucaR]

That is genuinely a good offer to be honest. Very curious to see how macOS is gonna perform on an iPhone chip! Will maybe get one for my sister for school!

 

[dobratzp]

So these come in 4 different colors, all with a white USB charging cable and white power adapter. Seems like the target audience would like to have their USB cable color matched to the laptop.

 

[jdavid_rp]

So these come in 4 different colors, all with a white USB charging cable and white power adapter. Seems like the target audience would like to have their USB cable color matched to the laptop.

well, surely they prefer the lower cost than a coloured cable lol

 

[Blackstick]

So these come in 4 different colors, all with a white USB charging cable and white power adapter. Seems like the target audience would like to have their USB cable color matched to the laptop.

Gotta tell you... my daughters run their iPad battery down to 0 and plug into whatever cable they can find... they see USB-C as a town bicycle you-know-what.They have zero concern over color matching anything. They'd plug into the breaker box in the basement if there was a port down there.

They steal my Pro's 96W brick all the time, to charge a base iPad, or their Nintendo Switch lite... to them "it's just another USBc port."

 

[CalMin]

It plugs a pretty important gap in the market. They have literally every price point covered.

If it’s not junk (and it doesn’t look like junk) it’s going to be a great computer for those with basic computing needs such as email, web, light word processing and spreadsheets, photos, YouTube/Netflix etc.

Moreover it will likely put massive pressure on the low end of the Windows/Chromebook market.

 

[joshwithachance]

At first the yellow had my attention, but that pink be making an IMPRESSION...👀

 

[Kireyin]

So these come in 4 different colors, all with a white USB charging cable and white power adapter. Seems like the target audience would like to have their USB cable color matched to the laptop.

Well, "power-adapter not included", so you can pick your colour 😛

 

[Mactech20]

my Wife uses her 2020 intel i5 16gb MacBook Air very sparingly. To watch a show or browse the web here and there. Even at those basic tasks it's as slow as a dog. Will definitely replace it with this after the 1st or 2nd revision. $500-$600 is unbeatable.

 

[Blackstick]

What a value. It makes the iPad mini pricing look ridiculous.

iPad Minis fit perfectly in a doctor's white lab coat pocket on their thigh. In the medical field, Mini pricing is a steal of a deal and they have cellular options for paging anywhere. Hospital chains buy them by the pallet. When you're paying $3 million for an MRI machine, $600 for a doctor/nurse tablet is nothing.

 

[JPack]

So these come in 4 different colors, all with a white USB charging cable and white power adapter. Seems like the target audience would like to have their USB cable color matched to the laptop.

Everything is about cost here. Even the Neo cable has been shortened to 1.5m compared to 2m for Air.

Color is the last thing to be worried about. In most cases, the target audience cares more about price.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Speaking of the iPad Mini, as others have noted...

WHERE IS AN UPDATE!!??

😳 😕

 

[Macalway]

"I'll take 3 to go, thanks"

 

[JPack]

Back to School is when this thing will really take off. Free AirPods combined with edu pricing.

 

[Compote]

The yellow one is the only one that's fun.

It would be legendary if it could have 16GB or ram. But we live in our times.
That's the only reason it's not the new M1, and M1 will always be legendary.
You were also able to upgrade the M1 to 16GB.

Eagerly waiting for tests.

 

[JosephAW]

Now that’s what I’m talking about Apple, thank you for surprising us. 😛 💻

 

[DennyRoozeboom]

What a value. It makes the iPad mini pricing look ridiculous.

Agree they should streamline the lineup and make it a 8" iPad Air, and a 8" iPad Pro.
It is in this weird space in between everything now and no one knows what it is compared to the rest.

 

[jole]

$499 for a Mac carved out of aluminium with amazingly robust OS.

Or... Whatever you have for that price at best buy. No comparison out of the door. And them you factor in the expected lifetime of a Mac vs typical $500 pc/chromebook...

 

[Blackstick]

The yellow one is the only one that's fun.

It would be legendary if it could have 16GB or ram. But we live in our times.
That's the only reason it's not the new M1, and M1 will always be legendary.
You were also able to upgrade the M1 to 16GB.

Eagerly waiting for tests.

Yes, but the M1 that flew off Walmart shelves for the past 3 years at prices betwixt $500 and $600 was a plain Jane 256/8gb model. This is the replacement for that. Not for anyone who was considering a 16GB Air.

Apple knows how to anchor product lines. The average Neo customer doesn't care about RAM one bit. Crossing the $1000 price point is psychological for many people. Being under $500 (for EDU) also is.