Apple’s John Ternus kicked off the company’s in-person experience in New York moments before the MacBook Neo unveiling. And it delivered on its promises – and then exceeded expectations. The long-rumored low-cost MacBook costs just $599, or $499 with Apple’s education discount, while still offering many of the features you’d expect from a Mac.
Ternus clearly explained Apple’s thinking ahead of the reveal: “Let’s be honest: life is better when you use a Mac.”
I’ve been on the platform for years, and there is some truth to this statement. The Mac has undergone a renaissance since the move to Apple Silicon, although it has almost always been positioned as a premium option. Never the cheapest, never the most affordable, but always a refined all-in-one solution.
For years, the entry point was the $999 MacBook Air. Earlier this week, Apple refreshed this laptop with the M5 chip, pushing the starting price to $1,099, although it doubled the base storage.
The MacBook Neo changes this equation. This is finally a truly affordable Mac, capable of competing with Windows PCs in the same price range and even competing with Chromebooks that cost less, the same price, or sometimes more. It’s arguably the ideal entry point into the Mac lineup and a clear step toward Apple’s goal of putting Macs in the hands of more people.
And it’s not an iPhone 5c-style compromise. If anything, the MacBook Neo seems to be the clearest expression of Apple’s value proposition. It still features aluminum construction – just like the MacBook Air or MacBook Pro – offering a sturdy design that weighs just 2.7 pounds. You also get convenient connectivity with two USB-C ports and a headphone jack.
Under the hood, the Neo runs on Apple’s A18 Pro chip – and yes, you might think it’s an iPhone chip. You’re right: it debuted on the iPhone 16 Pro, but it’s more than capable of running macOS. In some ways, it even improves on the M1 thanks to Apple’s newer silicon and newer core architecture, and it also enables hardware-accelerated ray tracing. Yes, you can actually game on a $599 Apple laptop.
The Neo comes with 8GB of RAM, which seems pretty intentional on Apple’s part as it positions the laptop for everyday use. In some demos, I saw it easily handle 15+ tabs in Safari alongside Mail, Messages, Pixelmator Pro, the Microsoft Office suite, and Canva all open at the same time. If you’re looking for heavier creative workloads, the MacBook Air or MacBook Pro will still be better suited, but despite this, the MacBook Neo will likely more than perform for many people.
And that includes people who might not have considered a Mac before, as well as those who are stretching their budget to upgrade to an Air or Pro. Apple Silicon has already given the MacBook Air – and the Pro – a sort of chrome-wheeled fuel injection, and now the Neo becomes the new entry point. This isn’t a cheap, underpowered solution, but rather an entry-level iPhone SE, iPhone 17E, or iPad – the one designed for most people.
It’s also the one that will likely attract the most attention. The MacBook Neo is available in four colors: Citrus, Blush, Indigo and Silver. They’re all stunning in person, and I can’t help but think back to college when people were constantly asking why Apple didn’t adopt fun colors for their laptops. Well, Apple has finally answered that question.
Blush is reminiscent of the rose gold iPhone 6s and is chic in the best way. Citrus is a mix of bright green and yellow, while indigo reminds me of the perfect pair of jeans. More of this, please, Apple.
For now, though, the MacBook Neo signals something bigger. Apple is finally getting serious about low-cost computing, and that will likely prove to be a major win for everyday consumers, whether they’re already deeply entrenched in the Apple ecosystem or are joining it for the first time.
Apple has always made great Macs, but the MacBook Neo might finally create one that almost everyone can afford.
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