Apple MacBook Neo Is Here: The Cheapest MacBook Ever Starts at $599
Apple just shook up the laptop market. Apple launched the MacBook Neo on Wednesday, March 4, making it the company's cheapest-ever new model — the first Apple laptop to run on a chip typically used in the iPhone, starting at $599. The announcement signals a major push into the budget laptop segment that Chromebooks and Windows machines have long dominated.
What Is the Apple MacBook Neo and Who Is It For?
John Ternus, Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering, described the MacBook Neo as being "totally new" and built "from the ground up" during an event in New York.
The MacBook Neo could appeal to consumers who don't want to spend more than $1,000 on a MacBook Air or Pro but need something more laptop-like than an iPad. Analysts say it is expected to be especially popular among college students, young adults, and classrooms where Chromebooks currently dominate.
MacBook Neo Design: Colors, Display, and Build
The Apple MacBook Neo comes in four colors — Silver, Blush, Citrus, and Indigo — making it the most colorful MacBook lineup Apple has ever released.
The MacBook Neo is built with a durable recycled aluminum enclosure that reaches 60 percent recycled content by weight, the most ever in any Apple product. It features a 13-inch Liquid Retina display with 500 nits of brightness and support for one billion colors.
The MacBook Neo looks and feels similar to the MacBook Air since it is nearly the same size and shares an aluminum chassis. It is thicker than the MacBook Air but weighs just 2.7 pounds.
Apple A18 Pro Chip Powers the MacBook Neo
The major factor that separates the MacBook Neo from Apple's other MacBooks, aside from its lower price, is that it runs on Apple's A18 Pro processor — a chip similar to the one that powers the iPhone 16 Pro. It is the first time Apple has used one of its mobile chips to power a laptop.
The MacBook Neo is up to two times faster at photo editing and three times faster for on-device AI workloads compared to the top-selling Intel Core Ultra 5 PC, according to Apple. Despite the power, it delivers up to 16 hours of battery life on a single charge.
MacBook Neo vs MacBook Air: Key Differences
The MacBook Neo is not trying to replace the MacBook Air — it sits below it with clear trade-offs. The MacBook Neo has only 8GB of RAM included and 60GB/s memory bandwidth, which is half that of the MacBook Air.
The display offers Retina quality but skips add-on features like True Tone and P3 Wide Color found in the MacBook Air. There are two USB-C ports, but only the left one is USB 3 with DisplayPort 1.4 support, allowing connection to a single 4K 60Hz external display. Bluetooth 6 and Wi-Fi 6E are both supported.
Why the Apple MacBook Neo Launch Timing Matters
Growing demand for the type of memory that powers AI data centers has meant fewer components are available for consumer products. Gartner expects PC prices to increase by 17 percent in 2026, while IDC estimates PC sales will decline by 11.3 percent this year.
The MacBook Neo launches at a particularly inopportune time for PC vendors as ballooning memory prices continue to drive up entry-level PC prices. For Apple, launching a sub-$600 MacBook before those price hikes fully hit the market is a calculated competitive move that could redefine the entry-level laptop category in 2026.
