OmniBook 3 vs MacBook Neo: Choose this one if you need a more practical laptop

When looking for an affordable laptop to buy in 2026, the Apple MacBook Neo is an easy choice. It offers a "good enough" performance, as well as long battery life, good screen and a high quality metal chassis. Why even consider an alternative? Well: of course, not everyone wants to work with MacOS. And the MacBook Neo also has some limitations and weaknesses.

Take the HP OmniBook 3 16 we recently reviewed as a possible alternative. Just like the MacBook Neo, the version of the OmniBook we reviewed uses an ARM-based processor, the Qualcomm Snapdragon X. And it is affordable, with a base price of around or below $700.

That is where similarities end, as the OmniBook is a 16-inch laptop, while the MacBook Neo is a small 13-inch device. This gives the MacBook the clear edge when it comes to size and weight, as the OmniBook weighs around 1.8 kg, while the smaller MacBook Neo weighs around 1.2 kg. While the Apple device is definitely more portable, the OmniBook makes use of its size by including a much bigger battery (68 Wh instead of 36.5 Wh). In our testing, the OmniBook achieves a much longer battery endurance of more than 18 hrs versus around 13 hrs for the MacBook Neo. 

In terms of performance, the MacBook Neo actually loses to the OmniBook on multicore performance, as the OmniBook is around 18 percent faster in the Geekbench 6.7 test, but the HP laptop is around 60 percent slower when it comes to single core loads, which means the MacBook Neo should feel snappier in everyday use. At least if you are not using too much RAM, since the MacBook Neo is limited to 8 GB, the OmniBook we tested shipped with 16 GB - and a 512 GB SSD instead of a meager 256 GB drive. Not to mention that the drive of the OmniBook is upgradeable.

Of course, the MacBook clearly wins in the screen department, as the cheap IPS screen of the OmniBook is one of its greatest weak points. And the plastic base cover of the OmniBook can not keep up with the metal one of the MacBook Neo in terms of stability. On the flip side, with the OmniBook, you get a dedicated numpad on the keyboard, and a whole array of ports that MacBook Neo owners can only dream about, like two USB-A and an HDMI.

Overall, the MacBook Neo wins on quality - but the OmniBook offers more usability and versatility. It is a package worth considering, especially if you use the laptop more at home than on the go.