Apple has officially shook things up with the release of the MacBook Neo, its most affordable laptop yet, starting at just $599. This is the first time the Mac family has used the A18 Pro chip (which was first used in the iPhone 16 Pro), and it makes the device 50% faster than competing Intel Core Ultra 5 laptops for everyday tasks. The Neo has a 13-inch Liquid Retina display that ditches the “notch” for a clean, iPad-style bezel design and weighs a mere 2.7 lbs (1.22 kg). It’s perfect for students and casual users, with up to 16 hours of battery life and four colorful options: We’ve got silver, indigo, blush, and citrus. It’s got a pretty simple port selection — just one USB-C 2.0 and one USB-C 3.0 port — and it’s Apple’s “greenest” product to date, made with 60% recycled materials. Pre-orders start today, March 4, 2026, at the special education price of $499.
Also, MacRumors says this is the first Mac with a mobile processor like the one in the iPhone.
The MacBook Neo uses the Apple A18 Pro chipset (the same one used in the iPhone 16 Pro). They say this chip makes the device 50% faster than the best-selling PC based on the current Intel Core Ultra 5 for everyday tasks. On top of that, the SoC makes AI tasks up to three times faster when you’re working on your device and makes photo editing up to twice as fast. The laptop comes with 8 GB of unified memory as standard.
Visually, the device looks different from older models. It has a 13-inch Liquid Retina display (resolution 2408×1506 pixels, brightness 500 nits) with an anti-glare coating. It also has an anti-glare coating and has completely lost the brand’s signature notch in the screen (“bangs”). Instead, the display is framed by uniform bezels, similar to those found on iPad tablets. The laptop weighs just 1.22 kg and comes in four colors: We’ve got silver, indigo, blush, and citrus. The same color scheme from the case extends to the Magic Keyboard, and the system wallpapers match.
The MacBook Neo can go for up to 16 hours on a single charge. It’s got a 1080p front camera, two directional beamforming microphones, and a pair of side speakers with Spatial Audio support for multimedia capabilities. Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 6 modules are used for wireless connectivity. The set of ports is pretty basic: there’s a 3.5 mm headphone jack and two USB-C ports (one works in the USB-C 2 standard at speeds up to 480 Mbps, and the other in the USB-C 3 standard at speeds up to 10 Gbps).
The company really focused on ecology, making this the “greenest” product Apple has ever produced. It’s made of 60% recycled materials, including 100% recycled cobalt in the battery and 90% recycled aluminum in the case.
The base model with 256 GB of storage and a standard Magic Keyboard will cost $599, but for schools, the price is reduced to $499. The higher-end version with 512 GB SSD and a keyboard with built-in Touch ID fingerprint scanner costs $699. You can pre-order starting March 4, and the retail sales will start on March 11, 2026.