Apple's MacBook Neo has arrived - Our initial impressions of the $599 MacBook
After we have reviewed Apple's new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lineup over the last couple of days, we can now take a closer look at Apple's brand-new budget MacBook Neo. With a starting price of $599 (or $499 for education customers), Apple wants to increase their market share. The 13-inch laptop is powered by Apple's own A18 Pro, the familiar smartphone processor from the old iPhone 16 Pro. But does it work?
We review the base model for $599 with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD storage in the new citrus color, which looks pretty fresh, but this is obviously a matter of taste. You can also get it in silver, Indigo or Blush. The SKU for $699 offers a larger 512 GB SSD as well as the Touch ID fingerprint scanner.
Our initial impression is promising. The new MacBook Neo just feels like a regular MacBook with a high-quality aluminum chassis as well as the familiar typing experience, but the lack of keyboard illumination is a big disadvantage. The new mechanic clickpad can be clicked across the whole surface and offers very consistent feedback, only the size is smaller compared to the MacBook Air. The IPS panel basically offers the familiar Apple quality as well with rich colors, clear images and good brightness including a brightness sensor, which is rare in this price range.
During the installation of the laptop we did not experience any issues and the subjective performance is also good thus far. Even some multitasking, such as installing apps from the App Store plus downloading files via Safari and copying apps from an external SSD was no problem at all. To be honest, we have not noticed a difference compared to the new MacBook Air 13 so far, either. And thanks to passive cooling, the Neo is also completely silent.
We will now perform our usual tests and measurements. Please leave a comment if you have special wishes or suggestions for the review.
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