Apple launches budget MacBook Neo for $599

If you’ve been waiting for a cheap MacBook, your day has arrived. Apple today announced a low-cost MacBook Neo that’s sure to be a hit with student budgets. You’ll no longer need to spend $1,099 on a MacBook Air if you want an Apple laptop for school. The new MacBook Neo starts at $599, and you can get it for $499 with Apple’s education discount.

Along with cheap Chromebooks and Windows laptops, the MacBook Neo doesn’t rely on the Apple M-series processor, which powers Apple’s newly announced devices MacBook Air and MacBook Pro Models. Instead it uses the A18 Pro chip found in iPhone 16 Pro From 2024. The A18 Pro has a six-core CPU (two performance cores and four efficiency cores) and a five-core GPU. Compare that to the M5 chip that powers the new MacBook Air: The M5 has a 10-core CPU (four performance cores that Apple now calls “super cores” and six efficiency cores) and an eight- or 10-core GPU.

Coming in at a lower price, the MacBook Neo has a 13-inch display that’s slightly smaller than the 13.6-inch display found on the smallest MacBook Air. However, the size is a pleasant surprise given that rumors were pointing to a 12-inch display for Apple’s budget MacBook. It’s a Liquid Retina display that should look crystal clear, with a resolution of 2408 x 1506 pixels. It’s rated at 500 nits of brightness, so you should be able to use it outside and still see what’s on the screen.

Not surprisingly, the base MacBook Neo limits you to 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, which is half the memory and storage that Apple offers in the base MacBook Air.

You can’t upgrade the memory, but you can double the storage capacity to 512GB, a $100 upgrade that also adds Apple’s Touch ID to the keyboard. That’s it for the new upgrades.

Color isn’t too expensive because Apple offers the MacBook Neo in a range of colors: blush (pink), citrus (yellow), and indigo (dark blue) in addition to the base silver. The color options are more muted than the bright hues I was hoping to see.

Ports are minimal and disappointing. Instead of the fast Thunderbolt 4 ports found on the MacBook Air, the Neo offers a pair of slower USB-C ports. You get a 10Gbps USB 3 port and a 480Mbps USB 2 port as well as a headphone jack.

Another sacrifice you have to make with the Neo is sure to disappoint students who put off homework until the wee hours of the night: the keyboard doesn’t have a backlight.

You can Pre-order the MacBook Neo nowShipping will begin next Wednesday, March 11.

This story is evolving…