Jim Rossman: Apple’s new cheap laptop. Wait, what?

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Apple has introduced a new low-cost laptop called the MacBook Neo.

I know Apple laptop and “low cost” usually don’t go together. Apple has never been a company known for inexpensive hardware.

Previously, Apple’s lowest price laptop was the MacBook Air (starting at $1,099), but the new $599 Neo is a full $500 cheaper.

So, why is the Neo so cheap and who is the target market?

The MacBook Neo has a 13-inch screen that’s the same LED panel used in the MacBook Air. It has a similar aluminum body with a Magic keyboard, but there is no backlighting on the keys. Also, the multi-touch trackpad is not haptic. It has a physical button underneath the trackpad that clicks.

Neo uses the same A18 Pro CPU used in the iPhone 16 Pro, instead of the usual Apple Silicon M processors. But in real use, the A18 Pro specs out slightly faster than the M1, and it has no problem running MacOS 26. It gets 16 hours of life from its battery.

Connectivity includes 2 USB-C ports, one USB-C 3.0 and one USB-C 2.0. The faster USB port can connect to a single 4K external monitor. It also has a headphone jack and side-firing stereo speakers. It has a 1080P FaceTime camera and comes in two configurations.

Both Neo models have 8 gigabytes of RAM. The $599 model has 256GB of storage. The second model costs $699, but you get a storage bump up to 512GB and get a TouchID fingerprint reader on the keyboard.

The Neo comes in four colors – silver, blush (pink), citrus (yellow/green) and Indigo (dark blue) and the keys are color matched to the body color.

Who should be looking to buy the Neo?

Casual users and students.

The Neo is going to be hugely popular on high school and college campuses. The Neo is the perfect choice for people who just need a laptop for the basics – internet surfing, email, online shopping, watching Netflix, casual gaming and all types of student activities like writing papers, creating spreadsheets and making presentations.

The Neo would be perfect for my wife (a preschool music teacher) or my mom.

If you’re worried at all that you might need more storage or more RAM, or if you make your living with a computer, you should be looking to buy a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro.

Lastly, if you are a college student, parent of a college student or a faculty or staff at any level school, you qualify for Apple’s education discount that drops the price of the Neo down to $499. That education price is available online or even in Apple retail stores.

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