Apple’s new budget MacBook Neo aims to compete with cheap Windows laptops and Chromebooks. Starting at $599, it undercuts the cheapest M5 MacBook Air by $500, making it Apple’s most affordable laptop ever and priced the same as the base M4 iPad Air. An educational discount brings it down to $499. This is a clear play for the budget-conscious market, but significant compromises come with that lower price. Externally, the Neo offers brighter color options like blush pink, citrus yellow, and indigo, compared to the Air’s more subdued palette. Both weigh 2.7 pounds and keep the beloved headphone jack. However, the Neo lacks the Air’s MagSafe charging, forcing you to use one of its two USB-C ports for power. It comes with a slower 20W adapter versus the Air’s more capable charger. Battery life is also shorter, with Apple rating the Neo for up to 11 hours of web use versus 15 hours on the Air. The Neo has a dual-speaker system, while the Air features a superior four-speaker setup. Opening the laptops reveals more differences. The Neo has a slightly smaller 13-inch Liquid Retina display with a lower resolution and an sRGB color gamut, missing the Air’s wider P3 color and True Tone adjustment. Its 1080p webcam is basic, lacking the Air’s 12MP camera with Center Stage and Desk View features. The Neo’s keyboard and trackpad feel less sturdy in initial hands-ons, and it does not include a backlit keyboard or Touch ID by default. A $699 upgrade bundle adds Touch ID and doubles the base storage to 512GB. Internally, the performance gap is substantial. The MacBook Neo is powered by the A18 Pro chip from the iPhone 16 Pro, featuring a 6-core CPU and 5-core GPU. The base M5 MacBook Air has a more powerful 10-core CPU and 8-core GPU. The Neo starts with only 8GB of RAM, half the Air’s new standard 16GB, and its memory bandwidth is much slower. Storage on the Neo maxes out at 512GB, while the Air can be configured with up to 4TB. In summary, the MacBook Neo is a major cost-cutting move from Apple. It will handle everyday tasks and support Apple Intelligence features, but it is not for power users. You sacrifice significant processing power, display quality, camera features, and future-proofing with less RAM. For students or casual users on a strict budget, the Neo opens the Apple ecosystem at a new low price. For everyone else, the extra $500 for the M5 MacBook Air buys a vastly more capable and polished machine.
