As much as the base MacBook Air has been Apple’s relatively affordable laptop, Apple has so far ignored pleas for a truly cheap device built for internet browsing and lightweight tasks. Now, Apple has a truly cheap Mac called the MacBook Neo, with the same macOS Tahoe operating system as every one of its other laptops. It also comes in a calming suite of colors and has a chip made first for mobile—starting at $599.
Just as expected, the MacBook Neo comes in a few pleasing hues: indigo (blue), citrus (yellow), blush (pink), and silver. If you remember the long-defunct 12-inch MacBook, you may be wondering what’s truly different this time. It mostly comes down to the chip. Instead of an Apple M-series processor, like the M4 in the MacBook Air and the M5 in the most recent MacBook Pro, the cheaper MacBook Neo makes use of an A18 Pro chip. That’s the same CPU found in the iPhone 16 Pro. The new Mac also comes packed with only 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. While the base model costs $599, a model with Touch ID and 512GB of storage costs $699.
First look at MacBook Neo $599 pic.twitter.com/JZd0krIYJ9
— Ray Wong (@raywongy) March 4, 2026
As somebody who still misses the banana-shaded iPhone 14 from back in 2023, the similarly colored Mac may be my favorite shade of the bunch. The new device also harkens back to the 12-inch MacBook that first launched in 2015. That 12-inch design (along with the hated Butterfly keyboard) finally perished in 2023. The new laptop has a 13–inch IPS LCD display with a 2408 x 1506 resolution and 500 nits of brightness. Apple says battery life will be up to 16 hours and that the Neo comes with two USB-C ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
MacBook Neo $599 pic.twitter.com/ztv3Rq2Iim
— Ray Wong (@raywongy) March 4, 2026
Apple will be competing against other low-cost PCs and—most importantly—the Chromebook market. Google’s low-power, cloud-centric notebooks haven’t ever made a sweeping case for themselves due to limited available apps. The new MacBook has more potential simply due to the number of compatible apps already available on Apple’s existing ARM-based architecture. We still have to see for ourselves how it can run existing apps, such as the Apple Creator Studio or more intensive 3D applications.
Preorders for the Mac Neo start today and will begin arriving on March 11.
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