The brand-new 13-inch MacBook Neo, powered by the A18 Pro chip, is now official, and it costs just $599.
Apple Announces MacBook Neo with A18 Pro Chip and an Extremely Low Price Tag of Just $599
It’s no secret that Apple was working on a cheaper version of the MacBook for a long time. Now that the MacBook Neo is official, we can finally see where the Mac is going in the future.
Incredibly Low Price of $599
First and foremost, the notebook is priced at just $599. That is a very ridiculously low price for a Mac, and it doesn’t matter what it is being powered by. You get the core macOS experience on the Neo.
The interesting thing is, there’s education pricing on this as well. If you’re a student, you can get this for just $499, and that’s insane value.
Colors
Apple is going to sell the MacBook Neo in four stunning colors— blush, indigo, silver, and citrus. And to make things better, the keyboard matches the color of the aluminum shell as well, unlike the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.
Design
The MacBook Neo features a durable aluminum casing, and it resembles the current MacBook Air in terms of design, though it has some subtle differences to make it stand out.
It’s extremely lightweight, and Apple says it’s just 2.7 pounds. Given Apple’s past reputation when it comes to ‘thin and light’ stuff, I’m not going to buy a scale and weigh this thing to confirm. The whole point of this notebook is portability.
In terms of colors, Apple is going to ship the Neo in blush, indigo, silver, and citrus. Basically, it’s pink, purple, silver, and yellow.
13-inch Liquid Retina display
The notebook ships with a 13-inch Liquid Retina display with a resolution of 2,408-by-1,506 pixels. It has a brightness of 500 nits, which is enough for the average user and good enough for use in most outdoor environments.
Apple says there’s an anti-reflective coating on the display to ensure better readability in many different types of environments too.
Unlike the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, this display does not have a notch at all. It’s a seamless display with rounded corners at the top, the way it should be for most people.
Power of A18 Pro
Who knew that the A18 Pro would be so powerful that it would carry the load of macOS. Yet, here we are.
Apple clearly says that this notebook is design to tackle daily tasks like web browsing, creating documents, streaming content, editing photos, and even take advantage of AI.
Apple says that the A18 Pro chip is 50% faster for everyday tasks than the ‘bestselling PC with the latest shipping Intel Core Ultra 5.’
If you’re looking for technical details, the A18 Pro chip used in the Neo features a 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, and comes with 8GB of RAM as standard.
16 Hours of Battery Life
Apple says the notebook achieves 16 hours of battery life on a single charge, and you can top it up using a USB-C cable and charger. Basically, you can charge this thing up on the go using your favorite power bank, if you so like.
Apple’s own website says the MacBook Neo features a 36.5-watt-hour battery, and the notebook ships with a 20W USB-C charger and a USB-C cable.
1080p FaceTime Camera
Apple ships the MacBook Neo with a 1080p FaceTime camera at the top. This makes it the perfect laptop for video calls and attending meetings in high quality, while the dual speakers and microphones ensure the best output and input audio performance throughout the day.
Apple even has side-firing speakers on the Neo, allowing users to experience Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio content. At this price, features like these feel like a huge bonus.
Touch ID (With a Catch)
The MacBook Neo does include Touch ID, but only if you go for the 512GB version of the notebook, which is $100 extra.
Ports and Wireless
Despite the low price of $599, Apple is not holding back when it comes to connectivity. The company says you get two USB-C ports on the side, while Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 6 cover the wireless aspect of the whole package.
Pre-Order and Availability
Apple says you can order the MacBook Neo starting today, and you can pick it up at a nearby store on the 11th of March in 30 different countries around the world.
Pricing
As mentioned before, the MacBook Neo starts at $599, and it comes with 256GB of storage. There is a 512GB model as well, and it will cost $699.
