MacBook Neo

This week on the Cult of Mac podcast: The MacBook Neo is the obvious star that emerged from this week’s tsunami of Apple product announcements. Its potent combo of good looks, surprisingly good performance and an extremely appealing price tag makes it a powerful lure for bringing new people into the Apple world.

We discuss the new laptop’s strong points — as well as some definite drawbacks.

Also on the Cult of Mac podcast:

• The brawny M5 Pro and M5 Max chips in the latest MacBook Pros sound absolutely mind-blowing.
• The iPhone 17e looks like a great upgrade to Apple’s budget handset.
• The new Airs (iPad and MacBook) also seem great, if not that surprising.
• And we wrap up the show with the results from last week’s predictions game.

Listen to this week’s episode of the Cult of Mac podcast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

You can stop worrying whether the new entry-level MacBook Neo is too slow to be useful. The first benchmark scores are out, and they confirm that Apple’s low-cost notebook offers all the performance needed by average computer users, even though it is powered by an A18 Pro chip with 8GB of RAM.

The computer is actually faster than a MacBook Pro model still widely in use. Here’s the proof.

The standout feature of the new MacBook Neo is its $599 price, but it seems a great many buyers are willing to pay more than that. Apple is already running out of pre-launch stock of the variant that comes with additional storage capacity, even though it adds 17% to the price.

Plus, there’s a standout color option. Only one of the four is popular enough that both the 256GB and 512GB version is already sold out.

The bold, unconventional name of Apple’s new entry-level laptop — MacBook Neo — surprised just about everyone, including many folks who expected the simple moniker “MacBook.” And it turns out the reasoning behind “Neo” is just as vivid as the laptop’s color palette, according to a new report.

Apple just did something that was, until very recently, almost unthinkable: It put a Mac laptop on sale for $599. And, no big surprise, the new MacBook Neo announced Wednesday already sparks concerns among PC mavens about hordes of users rushing to Apple. A new report from Windows land shows it.

“Windows OEMs are going to feel the heat, too,” the commentator wrote. “For years, OEMs have gotten away with shipping what can essentially be described as e-waste in this price bracket.”

To make the new MacBook Neo — Apple’s most affordable laptop yet at just $599 — the company obviously needed to make some compromises. To keep costs down, Apple removed or scaled back several features that come standard on the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.

Every wise shopper should consider the limitations of the MacBook Neo before jumping on Apple’s fun-looking new laptop.

The new MacBook Neo costs only $499 with Apple’s education discount, which makes a lot of parents excited. They could get a MacBook for their child for under $500!

Problem is, Apple’s educational discount isn’t available for every student. Here’s who can save $100 on a new MacBook… and who can’t. And what you can do to qualify.

Apple’s decision to put an A-series chip in the new MacBook Neo raised more than a few eyebrows. And doubts about its performance.

But comparing the MacBook Neo’s A18 Pro — which debuted a year and a half ago in the iPhone 16 Pro — with previous Mac processors shows that the A-series chip is surprisingly powerful.

The MacBook Neo is Apple’s newest low-end MacBook. Does that mean there’s no reason to buy a MacBook Air anymore? Would power users go straight for the MacBook Pro? I don’t think so. There are still plenty of reasons to buy Apple’s midrange MacBook Air vs. the MacBook Neo.

Apple did a good job differentiating the two computers — there’s no configuration of the Neo that overlaps with the Air. Picking between the two should be straightforward. If you want more than 512GB storage, 8GB of memory or support for multiple external displays, you should opt for the MacBook Air. If you don’t need that much power or high specs, the Neo will do just great for you.

Here are all the differences between the two laptops. 

Apple unveiled the affordable MacBook Neo Wednesday — and on the same day Basic Apple Guy made a nifty set of wallpapers available for download. So if you’re not ready to buy the laptop or even wait a week or so for the wallpapers, you can still enjoy the related wallpapers — colorful and highly attainable — on your Mac and iPhone.

Apple introduced the MacBook Neo on Wednesday, unveiling the company’s most affordable laptop ever. It comes in four gorgeous, vibrant colors — silver, blush, indigo and citrus — and costs just $599 (or $499 with Apple’s education discount).

“We’re incredibly excited to introduce MacBook Neo, which delivers the magic of the Mac at a breakthrough price,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, in a press release. “MacBook Neo is a laptop only Apple could create. It features a durable aluminum design in four beautiful colors; Apple silicon-powered performance; all-day battery life. There is simply no other laptop like it.”

The MacBook Neo is available for preorder now and will be available on March 11.

Apple’s just-announced MacBook Neo as well as the new M5 Pro/Max-equipped MacBook Pros, M4 iPad Air, M5 MacBook Air and iPhone 17e are now available for preorder. The new Studio Display and Studio Display XDR are also available to order starting Wednesday.

All devices will start shipping and hit retail stores starting March 11.

Update: Apple launched the MacBook Neo on Wednesday. Learn all about it:

• A18 Pro-powered MacBook Neo brings power at lowest price ever

It looks like Apple itself spoiled this week’s biggest product reveal: A new laptop called the “MacBook Neo” briefly appeared on the company’s website Tuesday.

Apple quickly deleted the info after it leaked. While not confirmed, the name seems like it would align with the rumored features of the entry-level laptop. Rumors indicate it will come in fun colors, with a price tag low enough to compete with Windows laptops.