Colorful MacBook Neo Released by Apple, Starts at $599

Apple has introduced the much-anticipated MacBook Neo, a colorful light and affordable 13″ Mac laptop, that starts at $599 retail, or just $499 for students.

The MacBook Neo runs on the A18 Pro chip, which is the same chip the iPhone 16 Pro runs on, which is apparently faster than the M1 chip. Base models include 256GB of storage, but for another $100 you can get 512GB storage and Touch ID on the keyboard.

All MacBook Neo models include 8GB RAM that can not be upgraded, which is realistically the biggest limitation for the Mac laptop, because you need at least 16GB RAM to run many pro level apps, including Apple’s own Xcode.

The Neo features an anti-reflective 13″ Retina LCD display at 2408×1506 resolution and has no notch (!). Despite not having the ugly notch, the Neo includes a 1080p front-facing camera. You will also get two USB-C ports, and a 3.5mm audio port.

MacBook Neo weighs 2.7lbs and is available in four color options, including silver, indigo (dark blue), blush (pink), and citrus (bright greenish yellow).

You can pre-order the MacBook Neo starting today for $599 (or $499 for students through the Apple education portal), and it ships next week.

The MacBook Neo will ship with macOS Tahoe preinstalled.

You can read Apple’s press release on the MacBook Neo here, and order one here.

This new Mac laptop will undoubtedly be very popular, both for the fun colors and the fantastic price point, just remember that the 8GB RAM limitation is going to limit heavy multitasking, heavy gaming, and power-user type usage. If you need more RAM for those tasks and more intermediate-to-pro level usage, you’ll want to jump up to the excellent MacBook Air series instead, which was just updated with the M5 chip and 512GB base storage, or the even more powerful MacBook Pro series, which also just got a series of M5 chip updates.

What do you think of the all new MacBook Neo? Can you imagine getting one? Do you see a use case for yourself or in your household? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments, as always.

MacBook Neo vs MacBook Air

MacBook Neo includes the A18 Pro chip which is quite capable, but the MacBook Air features the much more powerful M5 chip, which is 20% faster in single core tasks, and a whopping 80% faster in multi-core tasks. If you need processing capability and multitasking abilities at any capacity for intermediate to pro level workflows, you’ll want the MacBook Air.

MacBook Neo includes 8GB RAM, while MacBook Air includes 16GB RAM and can be upgraded to 32GB. More RAM makes everything feel faster, improves multitasking considerably, and is necessary for many pro level apps (including Xcode which requires 16GB or more), so the MacBook Air easily wins in this contest if you need more RAM.

MacBook Neo starts at $599 for 256GB storage, or $699 for 512GB and a Touch ID keyboard, while the MacBook Air starts at $1099 for 512GB storage and Touch ID on a backlit keyboard.

MacBook Neo vs iPad Air

Because the MacBook Neo and the iPad Air start at the same price of $599, there will be many users who are undoubtedly comparing the two in their purchasing decisions.

The iPad Air features a powerful M4 chip, but that chip is limited by iPadOS and the 11″ display (the 13″ iPad Air starts at $799, making it more of a MacBook Air 13″ competitor).

The MacBook Neo features the A18 Pro chip, which is not nearly as powerful as the M4 chip, and is limited to only 8GB RAM.

Therefore, for general computing usage, the MacBook Neo is far more capable and functional, despite having less RAM and a less powerful chip. For starters, there’s a keyboard and trackpad included in the Neo base price, plus two USB-C ports, and it runs MacOS. This makes the MacBook Neo a no brainer of a choice for users requiring a more traditional computing experience when comparing the MacBook Neo vs the iPad Air, unless you want to have a touch screen, Apple Pencil support, or if you prefer the iPadOS experience and app options.

Nonetheless if you’re shopping for an iPad, the iPad Air is still by far the best option for most users out of the entire iPad lineup.