The new MacBook Neo delivers performance comparable to the MacBook Air M1.

Apple unveiled a new budget laptop – the MacBook Neo

At the beginning of the month, the company announced the release of the compact MacBook Neo at a price of $599. As expected, its performance is comparable to the iPhone 16 Pro. This is because the laptop uses the same six‑core A18 Pro processor.

Tests and results

- Single‑core mode: 3,461 points

- Multi‑core mode: 8,668 points

- Metal (graphics test): 31,286 points

Because the MacBook Neo employs a version of the A18 Pro chip with a graphics core that has one fewer core than the version for the iPhone 16 Pro, the slight dip in Metal scores is understandable.

In multi‑core mode, the performance of the A18 Pro chip is comparable to the M1 processor, whereas in single‑core mode it is closer to the levels of the M3 or even M4.

Who will benefit from the MacBook Neo?

- The high single‑threaded power makes it ideal for everyday tasks: browsing web pages, streaming video, and working with documents.

- The laptop is not designed for resource‑intensive applications (video editing, music composition, 3D modeling), where strong multi‑core performance is required.

Apple’s strategy

Apple does not compare the MacBook Neo to other devices in its lineup. Instead, the laptop is positioned as a competitor to budget Windows laptops and Chromebooks in the same price segment. Advertising materials note that the A18 Pro chip runs up to 50 % faster on “everyday tasks” compared to the most popular PC based on the Intel Core Ultra 5. It can also be three times faster for local AI workloads and twice as fast when editing images.