Apple has introduced a new entry-level laptop designed to bring the Mac experience to a wider audience, unveiling the MacBook Neo as the most affordable notebook in the company’s history.
The new device, announced Wednesday, starts at $599—nearly half the longtime $999 starting price that had been the lowest point of entry into Apple’s Mac lineup for years. The launch is part of a week of hardware announcements that also included updates to the iPhone 17e, iPad Air, and the MacBook Pro family.
The MacBook Neo is aimed squarely at students, first-time laptop buyers, and budget-conscious consumers, placing Apple in more direct competition with Google Chromebooks and entry-level Windows laptops that have long dominated the lower-priced computer market.
Unlike Apple’s MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models, which run on the company’s more powerful M-series processors, the Neo uses the A18 Pro chip, part of the same processor family that powers recent iPhones. Apple says the move allows the company to lower the cost significantly while maintaining performance suitable for everyday tasks.
Despite the iPhone-class processor, the Neo runs the full macOS operating system used across Apple’s laptop lineup.
The computer features a 13-inch display and weighs about 2.7 pounds, giving it a lightweight design comparable to other Apple notebooks. The screen reaches up to 500 nits of brightness, similar to the MacBook Air.
Apple is positioning the device as a more colorful and consumer-friendly option than its other laptops. The MacBook Neo will be available in indigo, blush, citrus, and silver finishes.
The base model includes 256 gigabytes of storage, while a version priced $100 higher doubles the storage and adds Touch ID for fingerprint login. The laptop also includes two USB-C ports, a headphone jack, and dual side-firing speakers.
Apple says the device offers up to 16 hours of battery life, slightly below the 18 hours offered by the MacBook Air.
The company is also offering education discounts as it targets schools and college students, a market segment where lower-cost Chromebooks have become common.
Preorders for the MacBook Neo began on Wednesday, with retail availability scheduled to begin on March 11.
The release comes as Apple pushes its artificial intelligence features—branded as Apple Intelligence—across more devices, including lower-priced models. The company says the Neo can run AI-related tasks up to three times faster than comparable PC laptops.
The new budget Mac arrives amid growing pressure on Apple’s Mac business. The company reported Mac revenue of $8.39 billion during the recent holiday quarter, down nearly 7% from the previous year and below analyst expectations.
Source: CNBC