Apple releases its first-ever budget laptop: the MacBook Neo, costing $599
Apple has introduced its first laptop aimed squarely at the budget segment, the new MacBook Neo, priced at $599. The device pushes Apple deeper into territory typically dominated by inexpensive Windows notebooks. Compared with the latest MacBook Air, which costs almost twice as much, buyers give up some processing power and are limited to 8GB of RAM. In exchange, they still receive an aluminum chassis, Apple’s well-regarded displays, long battery life, and a lightweight design that weighs just 1.23 kg.
After months of speculation and leaked details, Apple has now formally revealed the MacBook Neo. With the new device, the company aims to demonstrate that a processor originally designed for a flagship iPhone can effectively run macOS for everyday computing tasks.
Apple positions the Neo primarily as a student device. The aluminum notebook weighs 1.23 kilograms, and comes in four finishes: silver, blush, indigo, and a new color called citrus. According to Apple, the battery supports up to 16 hours of video streaming or around 11 hours of wireless web browsing.
The MacBook Neo includes a 13-inch IPS display running at 60Hz. It keeps the Liquid Retina branding and maintains 500 nits of brightness, but its resolution is slightly reduced to 2,408 by 1,506 pixels. The panel also omits features such as the DCI-P3 wide color gamut and True Tone. The built-in camera records at 1080p and does not support the Desk View feature.
Connectivity is similarly pared back. The laptop offers one USB-C 2.0 port and one USB-C 3.0 port. The latter supports a single external 4K display at 60Hz using DisplayPort 1.4 equivalent specifications.
Memory and storage may prove to be the device’s biggest long-term constraints. Apple offers only a single RAM configuration of 8GB, while storage options are limited to 256GB or 512GB SSDs. Touch ID through a dedicated key is included only on the 512GB model, which costs $100 more.
Preorders for the MacBook Neo are already open. The base configuration with 256GB of storage starts at $599, while students can purchase it for $499. Retail availability begins on March 11. Apple has also recently updated the MacBook Air with the M5 chip and released MacBook Pro models equipped with M5 Pro and M5 Max processors. Reports suggest that a touchscreen MacBook is being developed, although it is not expected to be a 2-in-1 device.
Apple’s new entry-level laptop arrives amid growing pressure on the traditional budget notebook market due to memory shortages. The rapid expansion of AI data centers is consuming large amounts of DRAM and NAND capacity, which has pushed some low-cost laptop vendors to rely on alternatives such as eMMC storage, SD cards, or bundled cloud storage trials.
