By Nick Gelling
Product Test Journalist | Kaipūrongo Whakamātautau Hautaonga
Apple’s newest MacBook uses the processor from a two-year-old mobile phone. It maxes out at half as much memory as any other MacBook since 2018, and its keyboard doesn’t even have a backlight. But it has an ace up its sleeve – the price.
We rigorously assessed the MacBook Neo in our independent lab, testing its processing speed, battery life, display, speakers and more. Our hopes were high – perhaps Apple could keep its MacBook magic alive in a cheaper package?
The price is right …
This laptop is a huge shift in terms of the accessibility of the MacBook range to the general public.
At launch, the Neo was the cheapest MacBook ever, even when accounting for inflation. A few months later, its price increased to $1,399 for the base model with 256GB of storage, or $1,599 for a 512GB version – still $1,000 cheaper than the next-cheapest option, a 13-inch MacBook Air with 512GB storage for $2,599.
Most people don’t need the processing power of a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, but if they prefer Apple software and hardware design, the Neo is an affordable way in.
Happily, Apple hasn’t skimped on the premium feel of this laptop. It looks like a MacBook and is made of high-quality materials. Its aluminium body is rare for a computer of this price.
… but Apple has cut some corners
There are some notable specs missing from the Neo.
It doesn’t support Wi-Fi 7, so it won’t get the best possible wireless speeds out of new routers.
Its keyboard doesn’t have a backlight, making it difficult to type in the dark.
There is a headphone jack, which you can’t take for granted these days. However, it’s a one-way port, meaning you can’t use a headset with a microphone – you’ll have to rely on the laptop’s built-in mic instead.
Then there’s the random-access memory (RAM). There’s only 8GB of it, with no option to upgrade. The last time a MacBook had so little maximum memory was in 2017’s MacBook Air range – every model since has been available with 16GB or more. This isn’t too surprising, since RAM is currently at a grossly inflated cost due to demand from companies building data centres – a situation Apple’s CEO has described as “unsustainable”.
Finally, the Neo’s processor – the part of it that does the thinking – is straight out of a mobile phone. Rather than the M-series processors found in every other Mac (and premium iPads), the Neo uses the A18 Pro processor, which was designed for the iPhone 16 Pro. In our mobile phones test, that phone earned a processing score of 84%, so it is a powerful unit. The fact the MacBook Neo exists at all is a reminder of how far mobile phones have come. But the big question is: can the processor power an entire laptop?
The hard results: what our testers found
Buy the Neo if you:
Avoid the Neo if you:
MacBook Neo isn’t right for you?
Check out our laptop buying guide, or find another laptop we've tested that ticks all your boxes.
