As someone who grew up using a Mac throughout my entire childhood, I had a pretty good understanding of what Macs were capable of. Eventually, when I went to college, I ended up switching to a Windows laptop and have used a Lenovo ever since. While I now work at The Good Housekeeping Institute (where we use Macbooks every day), I still tend to prefer a Windows computer. With all that being said, I can’t ignore when Apple releases a laptop that’s half the price of their previous cheapest laptop, the Macbook Air. The Macbook Neo seems almost too good to be true… or is it?
Pros
- Very low priced laptop
- Works flawlessly with all iPhones
- Great battery life
- Bright new color scheme
- Extremely user-friendly
Cons
- Not as powerful as other Mac laptops
My First Impressions
The first thing you notice about the Macbook Neo is the color. This was Apple’s first laptop that branched away from Apple’s consistent laptop colors of silver or a dark blue/black. It threw me back to the original iMacs, which were so recognizable due to the bright and funky colors. My favorite of the Neos is the Citrus color, with the light pink Blush being a close second. There’s a total of four colors, so you can also get the laptop in classic Silver or Indigo. If you look closely, you’ll also notice the keycaps are tinted towards the color of the device as well.
Something I thought is very interesting about the Neo is the speakers. This is the first Mac laptop with dual side firing speakers. Traditionally, Mac laptops have the sound shoot upwards from the top of the keyboard. With side firing speakers, the sound is meant to immerse you, almost as if it’s surround sound while not actually being surround sound.
Thankfully, this Apple laptop still comes with a charging brick. It’s much lower rated than the other laptops, around 20w, while at minimum the Macbook Air would use a 40w brick. At 0%, if you are still using the Neo while it charges, it would take 4-5 hours to fully charge. When I was charging it without using it, the Neo would average between 2-3 hours before it was back to full charge.
How I Used the Neo
I use a Macbook Air with an M3 chip for work, and I decided to replace it with the Macbook Neo for a month to see if I felt any differences. My computer work ranges from email correspondence to writing stories such as this to utilizing Sheets or Excel to store data from any product test that is done. I took virtual meetings as well, to see how Zoom and Teams held up.
I was able to go about 8 to 10 hours before my computer would hit 0% when I was using it for work. Overall, it was basically like using my M3 laptop for work. While watching purely video content, such as on YouTube or Netflix, I was able to have the computer last 6 straight hours, all while having the brightness and sound at max. The sound quality was great, but the sound itself dies off unless it’s high. I needed it on max to feel comfortable watching anything because when it went under half, it’s like the sound disappeared completely unless my face was right over the screen.
In order to push the computer battery to the extreme, I utilized an AI platform to write me a script that would open up apps and websites, play sounds, and write text constantly, over and over until the computer battery died. This may not seem like a lot, but it’s important to remember that this computer is designed to introduce you into the Mac ecosystem. It isn’t supposed to run the most strenuous programs or handle the heaviest workloads. I did push the computer hard enough until it shut down multiple times, and I over-used the memory to the extent that the computer couldn’t open any more apps. With all of this, I was able to get the Neo to last 3 hours. That’s actually very good, as most other laptops I have tested usually last around that time when I push them to their limit.
As this laptop isn’t as powerful as any of the other Mac laptops that use any of the M-series chips, I wanted to see which Mac native apps could successfully run on this laptop. I downloaded a couple apps from the app store, such as Logic Pro, Pixelmator pro, and Canva. I also utilized the AI features as well that were part of these apps. I’m not an artist, but the apps ran fine without any lag or issues on the computer side.
I even played games on it that I would play normally on my personal laptop. I tried “League of Legends” and “Team Fight Tactics,” two similar, but different, multiplayer games. These two games ran well, if not just as good as on my personal laptop. It never became too hot to have on my lap, and because there’s no fan in the laptop, it never made any excessive noise.
Inside the Specs
The reason the Neo is able to reach such an affordable price is because of the difference in specs compared to the rest of the lineup. At this point, everyone knows that Apple uses their own special computer chips for their laptops, which are referred to as M-Series chips. Only Apple uses these chips. The Neo is also the only laptop without an M-series chip. They actually use the Apple A18 Pro chip, which is the chip within the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro. Yes, that’s correct: this laptop is running off an iPhone chip. (By the way, the iPhone 16 is more expensive than the Neo with 256 Gb of storage).
Speaking of storage, the Neo starts off at 256 Gb of storage, but you can get up to 512 Gb for about 100 dollars more. The storage isn’t anything to call home about; the newest iPhones all start at 256 Gb, and most other laptops can easily get up into the 1-2+ Terabyte range (1 Terabyte is 1000 Gb). That said, 256 Gb is still perfectly adequate for everyday use like browsing, emails, and streaming—it just leaves less room for heavy apps or long-term storage. Luckily, most people have access to the Cloud where it helps split up how much you store locally on the actual computer.
The screen has crisp and bright colors, as it does have the same liquid retina display even the best Macbook Air has. While the Neo is technically a 13-inch screen, the overall laptop is slightly smaller than the 13-inch Macbook Air. I noticed pretty quickly that the trackpad felt much smaller, and when I actually took out a tape measurer, I found out the trackpad on the M3 is 5 inches wide, but on the Neo it is 4.75 inches. On top of that, pretty much every dimension of the laptop was a quarter inch smaller. Overall, it’s not that big of a deal and didn’t affect the performance or usability of the laptop at all.
On top of testing it in everyday life, I ran this computer through a few different benchmark programs that tests the computer’s capabilities. These benchmarks are then measured against other computers that have also run the exact same benchmark program, to see how this computer does in comparison. Compared to the Macbook Air M3 (my work laptop), the Neo’s performance for single-core tasks was exactly the same, while the multi-core is where the Neo seemed to struggle. On top of that, the Neo only comes with 8 Gb of RAM, while in contrast, most laptops these days come with 16 Gb. A simple analogy to help understand all of this is to think of each core as a chef, and the RAM as the kitchen. A chef focused on a single task can easily get the work done, but when multiple tasks arise simultaneously, it’s hard for one chef to do it alone. So the more chefs (cores) you have to split the work up, the more efficiently those tasks get done. At the same time, the bigger your kitchen (the more RAM you have), the more space there is for your chefs to work concurrently. The smaller the kitchen, the more crowded it is, which leads to having too many cooks in the kitchen, and no one likes that.
My Final Opinion
For an introduction into the Mac ecosphere, it’s a great start. Everything that makes a Macbook a Macbook is showcased in this laptop: The recognizable but refreshed look, the simplicity of use, the portability, and, of course, the fact that the Neo works seamlessly with an iPhone.
Based on its storage, internal specs, and my experience using it, I’d recommend this laptop to individuals or businesses looking for an affordable, reliable machine for everyday tasks. If your day consists of emails, virtual meetings, browsing the web, and unwinding with Netflix, it’s a great fit. It’s also ideal for students who need something lightweight with solid battery life for taking notes throughout the day without constantly reaching for a charger.
Where it starts to fall short is when users have more intensive workloads. This isn’t the right laptop for heavy video editing, large-scale creative projects, demanding software, or anyone who needs a lot of local storage for big files. But for everyday productivity and getting an introduction to the Mac ecosystem, it delivers exactly what you need.
