Apple MacBook Neo: A18 Pro power at a $599 price point

Apple has confirmed long-standing rumor with the launch of the MacBook Neo, its A18 Pro-powered 13-inch entry-level laptop that starts at an astonishing $599.

It's been around six months since the first rumors of a low-cost, entry-level laptop first started circulating. Happily most of them were right on the money too, as the MacBook Neo has been launched today at the jaw-dropping price for Apple kit of $599.

Apple is expecting this to fly in the market. It's timed the live section of its week-long launches to coincide with its release and extended shop opening times and warned staff of heavier foot traffic and longer store opening times. And with a few caveats, it might be justified in that.

Key Points

• Powered by the Apple A18 Pro chip (as used in the iPhone 16 Pro)
• Up to 16 hours battery life on a single charge
• 256 GB and 512 GB storage
• 8 GB unified RAM
• 13 " Liquid Retina display
• 2408 × 1506 resolution
• 500 nits brightness
• 1080p FaceTime HD camera
• Dual-mic array with beamforming technology
• Dual side-firing speakers
• Available March 11

A18 Pro chip

Obviously, there are a number of compromises that have been made to get the MacBook Neo over the line at the $599 price point; an amount that was right at the bottom end of expectations.

The chip is one of these when compared to other M-series Macs, but perhaps not so much when measured up against Windows machines. The A18 Pro chip is the same silicon found in the iPhone 16 Pro, and it's more than capable of most tasks. Despite its mobile heritage, Apple claims it is up to 50% faster for everyday tasks such as web browsing than a same-specced 'bestselling PC' with an Intel Core Ultra 5. It also says it will be up to 3x faster for on-device AI workloads and offer 2x photo editing speed, though it is notable that it offers no comparison to its own M-series devices.

Geekbench scores rate the A18 Pro up with the M2 and M3 when assessing single-core performance, and score it higher than the M1 in multi-core use. GPU scores are similar to the M1 too.

The A18 Pro configuration here runs a 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, and 8 GB of unified memory. The machine is fanless too, which means either whisper-quiet operation or a danger of over-heating when pushed too hard depending on your point of view. 

Display and other compromises

So, if the A18 Pro is no slouch, the real compromises start with the display. This is a 13-inch Liquid Retina display that runs at 2408 × 1506 resolution with 500 nits brightness and support for 1 billion colors. It's not a disaster — "The display is both brighter and higher in resolution than most PC laptops in this price range," states Apple bullishly — but will definitely be a weakness compared to the rest of the Mac range.

Whether it's one that justifies spending an extra $500 for a new MacBook Air is probably a fairly knotty question. You also only get 8 GB RAM, though, which for many people will make that quandary a lot easier.

Connectivity is modest: two USB-C ports (USB 3 on the left, USB 2 on the right, with external display support on the left port only), a headphone jack, WiFi 6E, and Bluetooth 6. Rounding out the specs, there's a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, a dual-mic array with directional beamforming, and dual side-firing speakers with Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos support. Weight is 1.2 kg (2.7 lb).

One area where the company has not compromised thankfully is with the (sadly un-backlit) Magic Keyboard and large Multi-Touch trackpad with support for intuitive gestures. It even supports Touch ID, though this only comes with the larger 512 GB model and adds $100 to the price. 

The MacBook Neo ships with macOS Tahoe and supports Apple Intelligence. Colors are blush, indigo, silver, and citrus.

The sustainability aspects are impressive. Apple says the MacBook Neo contains 60% recycled content by mass — the highest of any Apple product to date — including 90% recycled aluminum and 100% recycled cobalt in the battery. Packaging is 100% fiber-based.

Pricing and availability 

The new MacBook Neo can be pre-ordered now in 30 countries and regions, including the US. Deliveries start Wednesday, March 11. MacBook Neo starts at $599, with an education price of $499, and is available in four colors — blush, indigo, silver, and citrus.