Apple’s new affordable modern laptop, the MacBook Neo, was tested for 27 days on the road. It starts at $699, with the 512GB model priced at $799. The device runs on a binned A18 Pro chip, which is the same mobile SoC used in the 2024 iPhone 16 Pro, but it features only 8GB of unified RAM.
The design emphasizes full aluminum-and-glass unibody construction, identical in feel to the MacBook Air/Pro, with no plastic panels or stickers. It comes in citrus, blush, indigo, and silver colors. The weight is the same as the 13.6-inch MacBook Air (2.7lbs), although it is slightly thicker.
Thermal management is achieved without a fan, utilizing a graphene heat spreader instead of the setup found in the MacBook Air’s metal shield and thermal paste.
Regarding the display, the laptop features a 13-inch 2408×1506 IPS panel with 500 nits brightness. The panel supports only sRGB color gamut (no DCI-P3 or True Tone) and operates at 60Hz.
The input devices include a keyboard that matches the Apple Magic Keyboard but lacks backlighting, and a trackpad featuring a new “floating spring” mechanical-click design, which the reviewer considered potentially the best mechanical trackpad on any laptop.
For multimedia functions, the webcam is 1080p and benefits from the A18 Pro’s ISP/NPU for strong image quality, supporting portrait/studio light effects but lacking Center Stage framing. It uses a secure, hardware-rendered on-screen indicator instead of a physical camera LED.
The audio setup includes side-firing speakers that support Dolby Atmos and were considered impressive for the price.
Connectivity limitations were noted: there are only two USB-C ports—one supporting USB 3.2 10Gbps and the other limited to USB 2.0 480Mbps. This limitation stems from the A18 Pro’s single USB 3.0 controller.
Performance benchmarks show the A18 Pro chip beats the Apple’s 2020 M1 chip and nearly matches the M4 in single-core performance. Multi-core results were bottom-of-class when compared to other Macs and Windows laptops tested. SSD speeds were slower than higher-end Macs but faster than the base MacBook Air M2’s SSD.
During the 27-day testing period, slowdowns occurred twice, related to a Firefox memory leak and a rendering/playback stutter, both of which were resolved by restarting the system.
Battery endurance was comparable to other models; it provided 8 hours of continuous audio/video editing on a flight while leaving 40% remaining. The battery itself is smaller at 36.5Wh compared to MacBook Air models with larger batteries.
The operating system runs macOS 26.3.2 (Tahoe) and includes no bloatware, unlike Windows machines. The reviewer expressed reservations about the “Liquid Glass” redesign and the loss of Firewire support, and noted that Siri remains weak pending the incoming “Siri AI” update in macOS 27.
In conclusion, despite having only 8GB of RAM, no keyboard backlight, and limited ports, the MacBook Neo sets a new standard for affordable laptops. It matches or beats the build quality of rival $700 Windows/Chromebooks and delivers solid everyday performance, even handling some 4K video editing. The device currently leads the affordable-laptop category as competing Intel Wildcat Lake laptops are expected soon.
Source: HotHardware