MacBook Neo review: a compelling budget MacBook with durability worries

Apple's MacBook Neo is an affordable 13-inch laptop running on an iPhone chip, presented as a redefinition of what a MacBook could be. It starts at $599 and is aimed at making the MacBook experience more accessible. Under the hood the Neo uses an A18 Pro chip with a six-core CPU, five-core GPU and 60GB/s memory bandwidth, paired with 8GB of unified memory — enough for everyday tasks but not for pro workloads.

The 2.7-pound design echoes Apple's pricier models and comes in Citrus, Indigo, Blush and Silver; the Liquid Retina IPS display is 2408 x 1506 at 500 nits, the FaceTime HD camera is 1080p, the Magic Keyboard forgoes backlighting, the trackpad uses a mechanical design, and ports include two USB-C connectors plus a 3.5mm jack.

Dual speakers support Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos, and battery life is described as fantastic. Benchmarks place the Neo around the MacBook Pro M1: the A18 Pro wins single-core tests while the M1 holds an advantage on GPU performance.

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