Apple Announces the MacBook Neo, a Colorful $599 Laptop Powered by an iPhone Chip
· IGN
Apple has taken the wraps off a brand new entry to its MacBook line of laptops: the MacBook Neo. It will come in four vibrant colors, feature a 13-inch display, and be driven by an A18 Pro chip, the same that powers the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. Best of all, it'll be cheap: It starts at $599 (or $499 for those with education discounts).
The price and the fact that this thing uses a smartphone chip instead of a laptop- and- desktop-class M-series Apple silicon chip are the obvious headliners, putting the laptop in competition with budget Windows machines and Chromebooks. But make no mistake: While this won't go toe-to-toe with the finest gaming laptops, the A18 is no slouch. Just looking at basic Geekbench scores, the A18 Pro in an iPhone 16 Pro put up single-core performance that’s within striking distance of an M4 MacBook Air, and outdid the M1 MacBook Air in multicore scores.
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Apple says the Neo will be "up to 50 percent faster for everyday tasks like web browsing and up to 3x faster when running on-device AI workloads like applying advanced effects to photos compared to the bestselling PC with the latest shipping Intel Core Ultra 5." It comes with either 256GB or 512GB of storage, 8GB of RAM (with Apple Intelligence support, to boot), and a 36.5-watt-hour battery that Apple says is good for up to 16 hours of use at a go. The laptop comes with a 20W USB-C power adapter and USB-C charging cable.
The Neo will weigh 2.7 pounds and come in a 0.50-inch thick aluminum chassis – that's a touch thicker than the 0.44-inch-thick MacBook Air – with four colors that Apple is calling Blush (pink), Citrus (yellow/green), Indigo (blue), and Silver (uh, silver). It won't have the MagSafe charging port from other MacBooks, but will feature two USB-C ports (one USB 3 and the other USB 2) for both charging and data – good to see Apple not repeating the single-port mistake it made with the 12-inch MacBook – leaving one for power and one open for accessories. It'll have a color-matched Magic Keyboard, but you'll need to upgrade if you want Touch ID, as that's not available in the base model. Below the keyboard, a Magic Trackpad, which means multi-touch and gesture support.
The retina display will lack the notch from other MacBooks, meaning a thicker bezel, and will feature a 2408x1506 resolution and 500-nit brightness. In the top of the bezel, a 1080p webcam, and on the side of the machine, a headphone jack and dual side-firing speakers with Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos support. And, via the rear USB-C port, the laptop can drive an external 4K display at 60Hz.
Apart from the A18 Pro, which has a 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine for AI tasks, the MacBook Neo features Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 6 compatibility. The MacBook Neo is in preorder on Apple's website now, and will be available to purchase for $599 and up starting March 11.
Wes is a freelance writer (Freelance Wes, they call him) who has covered technology, gaming, and entertainment steadily since 2020 at Gizmodo, Tom's Hardware, Hardcore Gamer, and most recently, The Verge. Inside of him there are two wolves: one that thinks it wouldn't be so bad to start collecting game consoles again, and the other who also thinks this, but more strongly.