Apple unveils MacBook Neo, its first budget laptop

Apple has introduced its first budget laptop, the MacBook Neo, powered by the A18 Pro processor, according to a press release on the company’s website.

The device is positioned as an affordable MacBook for everyday tasks. To keep the price low, many of its specifications are more limited.

The laptop runs on the A18 Pro chipset from the iPhone 16 Pro. Apple says its performance exceeds that of the M1 MacBook Air. It comes with 8 GB of RAM and either 256 GB or 512 GB of storage.

Apple claims it is 50% faster in everyday tasks such as web browsing and up to three times faster in on-device AI tasks compared to the best-selling PC with an Intel Core Ultra 5 processor.
The device is slightly thicker than the MacBook Air: 29.75 × 20.64 × 1.27 cm versus 30.41 × 21.5 × 1.13 cm. It weighs the same as the 13-inch M4 MacBook Air at 1.23 kg. The chassis includes two stereo speakers, a 1080p camera without Center Stage, and two microphones.
The IPS display measures 13 inches with a resolution of 2408 × 1506 and brightness of 500 nits, with support for 10-bit color and up to 1 billion colors. The MacBook Neo does not support True Tone. The Magic Keyboard also lacks backlighting, and Touch ID is available only in the 512 GB version.

The laptop does not feature a high-speed SSD: speeds reach 60 Gbit/s compared to 153 Gbit/s in the MacBook Air. It supports a limited version of Wi-Fi 7 and includes a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Battery life is rated at up to 16 hours thanks to a 36.5 Wh battery.
The model includes two USB-C ports: one USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbit/s) and one USB 2.0 (up to 480 Mbit/s). MagSafe charging is not supported, but a 20 W power adapter is included.

MacBook Neo comes in several colors: Blush, Indigo, Silver, and Citrus. In the U.S., the device starts at about $599.

Earlier, Apple also introduced new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models powered by the M5 chip, which Apple says accelerates AI tasks up to four times compared with M4-based models. Photos, pricing, and more details: