Apple MacBook Neo review: Tested

Apple’s MacE-book Neo is the laptop computer I’ve been ready for and one I assumed may by no means present up. With a beginning worth of $599 (or $499 with an schooling low cost), the MacE-book Neo is probably the most thrilling piece of tech I’ve examined in years, with the potential to be the best MacBook for everybody who doesn’t already personal one.

This is why I used it as my principal laptop for each work and private enjoyable for the final 5 days, to see if its show is match in your favorites, if its audio system can bang with the most effective of them and if its battery life is value your money. Here’s what I take into consideration the MacE-book Neo, together with whether or not or not you can purchase one proper now.

Apple’s first funds laptop computer presents a premium design, nice battery life and a cushty keyboard.

I all the time really helpful the MacBook Air because the best laptop for many as a result of it will get the little issues proper, beginning with its design that features a little indentation within the lid that makes it straightforward to open with a single hand. That perk is right here as nicely, and in contrast to the ocean of largely plastic budget laptops with uncommon swaths of metallic touches (or plastic lids that faux a brushed-metal aesthetic), the MacE-book Neo has a superb aluminum construct similar to Apple’s pricier notebooks.

That sturdy chassis evokes confidence, however I’m extra in love with how the MacE-book Neo options a superb keyboard that feels just like that of the MacBook Air M5. Repeated side-by-side testing makes me assume the Air’s keys have barely extra vertical journey, one thing that permits comfier typing. Still, I had no points typing out most of this assessment and an entire version of my private e-newsletter on the MacE-book Neo over the past week. That’s one thing I’d by no means have wished to do on the funds laptops I examined beforehand, which had flimsy keyboard decks that flexed and bounced an excessive amount of.

I’m additionally an enormous fan of the MacE-book’s Neo multitouch trackpad, which is my favourite of any laptop computer I’ve examined in years. That’s as a result of it really clicks as an alternative of imitating a click on with haptic suggestions just like the MacE-book Air and Pro do. You may click on any level of its floor, moderately than simply the underside. So, for everybody who’s aggravated with how funds PC laptops have these diving board-style touchpads the place you may solely click on down on the underside half, know that the MacE-book Neo beats that too.

One of the opposite spectacular feats of the MacE-book Neo is that there are not any compatibility issues or limitations, resembling what we’ve seen with Windows on Arm and Microsoft’s laughable Windows S experiment that wouldn’t allow you to set up apps from outdoors its app retailer. Also, the iPhone Mirroring app nonetheless works, which allowed me to hold on a dialog in iOS software program that doesn’t have a macOS counterpart whereas I labored on this assessment with out having to maintain choosing up my telephone over and over.

The MacE-book Neo is bought in silver and three different barely subdued colour choices: Citrus (yellow), Indigo (blue) and Blush (pink). How these colours look to your eye will depend upon the sunshine within the room, as I’ve seen the pink look virtually silver at instances, which makes their hues paying homage to how some flavored seltzers are so refined they solely whisper the thought of a fruit to your style buds. I’m an enormous fan of how the Citrus MacE-book Neo I’m testing seems, and that’s not simply because this hue jogs my memory of popstar Charli XCX’s most up-to-date album sufficient that I discuss with it because the bratBook. The Indigo and Blush choices appear to be they are going to be extra well-liked, although, as they’re a bit much less attention-grabby. This remains to be higher than the largely impartial MacE-book Air, although.

Those involved with a laptop computer’s total footprint ought to be happy that it doesn’t take up a lot house in any respect. Compare the Neo with the 13-inch MacE-book Air and also you’ll see they’re of comparable measurement and weight, each weighing in at 2.7 kilos. Their size and width ratios differ, although, in order that they don’t slot in the identical protecting shells.

Excellent battery life and efficiency for a funds laptop computer

OK, the MacE-book Neo seems like a MacE-book and clicks like a MacE-book, however how does it run? The greatest information is that the Neo lasted 13 hours and 57 minutes on our looping 4K battery take a look at, which is simply two hours and 41 minutes shy of the 2026 MacE-book Air M5’s time. That’s a fairly respectable distinction at this worth. The MacE-book Neo lasted 15 hours and 10 minutes on the 1080p model of that take a look at, which we got here up with for funds laptops that sometimes play less-taxing video. That time looms massive over the most effective funds PC laptop computer time of a measly eight hours and 19 minutes, whereas the highest funds Chromebook time was nearer at 12 hours and 50 minutes.

As for recharging capabilities, it’s nothing that particular, as I solely received from zero to 23% after half-hour with the included 20W USB-C charger and twine. The MacE-book Air M5 managed 47% in the identical time with its included MagSafe energy adapter. Oh, yeah, if you happen to love MacBooks for that snap-on-snap-off magnetic charging, know that the Neo doesn’t have that port; it solely presents common USB-C ports.

For years, individuals have mentioned their telephone was their principal laptop, and so I’m not shocked that Apple’s MacE-book Neo arrived to ask “what if your main computer ran on a phone’s processor?” The Neo runs on the A18 Pro chip that Apple debuted within the iPhone 16 Pro, which I’ve discovered to be a stable performer below modest work. A dozen tabs in Chrome or Safari stayed responsive as I jumped round Drafts, Slack, Todoist, Photos and Messages whereas Music blasted Charli XCX’s “365” within the background.

Also, the MacE-book Air obliterates the sub-$500 laptops we examined on benchmarked efficiency with a rating of three,518 on the Geekbench 6 single-core take a look at. For comparability, the most effective rating from the funds laptops I examined was 1,839, although they’re all a pair hundred {dollars} cheaper — until you’re getting the MacE-book Neo’s academic low cost. That rating’s additionally fairly near the MacE-book Air M5’s 4,184, and higher than the M3 MacE-book Air’s mark of three,152 and the two,901 posted by the most recent Dell XPS 14.

I additionally discovered fairly shocking gaming chops on the MacE-book Neo, which ran video games from the Mac App Store just like the Resident Evil 2 remake, NBA 2K26 Arcade Edition, Balatro and Oceansong 3. Each ran easily sufficient for me to play to the most effective of my skills, however whereas close-ups of the New York Knicks’ Karl Anthony Towns appeared correct, Leon Kennedy’s hair appeared stringy in RE2 (simply because it did on iOS variations). That mentioned, don’t count on to run many AAA video games from outdoors the Mac App Store, as I solely received an unplayable 13 frames per second (fps) on Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which I put in from Steam.

The greatest funds laptop computer display and sound I’ve ever seen and heard

The most wonderful factor concerning the MacE-book Neo is how nice it’s for audio and video, one thing I by no means anticipated to say a couple of $599 laptop computer. While I solely discovered respectable image high quality on one funds Chromebook or PC laptop computer (the 11-inch Lenovo Chromebook Duet), most don’t maintain a candle to how “Top Gun: Maverick” seems on the MacE-book Neo’s 13-inch panel. Here, the beads of sweat glisten on Miles Teller’s face throughout a heartfelt dialog with Tom Cruise, and images of a home made soup of mine provide sturdy element on leaves of cooked kale. This is thanks, partly, to the MacE-book Neo’s sturdy show decision, as its 2408-by-1506 pixel panel is indistinguishably just like that of the the 13-inch MacE-book Air.

Colors additionally popped after I watched “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” on the MacE-book Neo, together with the brilliant yellow of the airplane that the ever-daring Tom Cruise strung himself throughout within the air. Color appeared a tad stronger on the MacE-book Air, which can be as a result of it helps the P3 colour profile that the MacE-book Neo doesn’t, however the Neo got here fairly shut.

When it got here time to write down this assessment, I booted up my favourite album to work to, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ rating for “The Social Network,” and I used to be delighted by the way it sounded on this funds laptop computer. The MacE-book Neo’s side-firing audio system pumped out the economic synths and orchestral strings of that album with equal accuracy, and I additionally seen that vocals sounded appropriate on Mitski’s “Nobody,” the Arctic Monkey’s “Do I Wanna Know?” and James Blake’s “Asking to Break.” Those audio system are much better than these of the sub-$500 laptops I’ve examined, each in total quantity and fullness, they usually gave me the power to concentrate on penning this assessment on a quiet Sunday morning. Just keep in mind to keep away from draping your forearms over the audio system, that are on the entrance sides of the MacE-book Neo, to keep away from dampening its bass.

I skilled an odd hiccup early in my testing, when a MacOS notification advised me I needed to power give up some apps as a result of they had been taking on too many sources. That solely occurred as soon as, and I’m chalking it as much as the SSD being practically full and the MacE-book Neo coping with a few data-heavy web sites and my egregiously massive Photos library that has 233,520 photographs and 9,801 movies. This is one motive you may need to get the 512GB mannequin. It additionally implies that individuals doing tons of video modifying of lengthy 4K information for feature-length initiatives ought to be getting a MacE-book Air or MacE-book Pro, and the identical goes for folk who need to obtain a bunch of video video games which have massive file sizes.

Also, a tip for future MacE-book Neo house owners: Its two USB-C ports differ considerably with regards to their capabilities. If it’s good to recharge when you use any data-centric accent resembling a show or USB-C hub, put your charger within the entrance USB 2-based enter and the cable for the monitor within the rear enter, which is USB 3.

Where, oh the place, is the 15-inch MacE-book Neo? Having spent over a decade protecting Apple {hardware}, I’m fairly assured that there are not less than one or two mockups of a bigger MacE-book Neo within the firm’s testing labs, and I actually want the corporate launched one alongside this 13-inch mannequin.

John Ternus, Apple’s senior vp of {hardware} engineering, advised the press on the MacE-book Neo launch that the corporate’s objective is to indicate extra of the world how “life is better when you’re using a Mac,” however I actually imagine the shortage of a bigger model goes to restrict this laptop computer’s attain. Maybe worth is an even bigger limiter than measurement, however I do know from expertise that some individuals solely need a massive show, whether or not it’s for leisure like watching movies or it’s for necessary accessibility causes like growing the scale of the textual content for legibility. Right now, these of us ought to get the 15-inch MacE-book Air, which is what I satisfied my mother to purchase.

Similarly, whereas 8GB of reminiscence will in all probability be positive for most individuals shopping for a $599 MacE-book, the choice to pay extra for additional RAM for extra multitasking musicle would have been nice.

When I first noticed the MacE-book Neo up shut, I rapidly thought to myself that I’d discovered my dad’s subsequent laptop computer. He’s my final remaining relative sticking with midrange laptops, they usually have a tendency to not stick round for that lengthy. I hope that Apple releases a bigger MacE-book Neo by the point his present machine kicks the bucket, as a result of with this colourful, sharp show and lengthy battery life, blended with efficiency that outdoes something he’s ever owned (except for his present telephone), he’s going to find it irresistible. But for everybody who’s searching for an excellent 13-inch laptop computer that doesn’t make you assume as arduous about your funds or financing choices, the MacE-book Neo is the one for you.

NCS Underscored has a group of expert writers and editors who’ve a few years of expertise testing, researching and recommending merchandise, and we guarantee every article is rigorously edited and merchandise are correctly vetted. We speak to prime specialists when related to make sure our product testing is correct as we converse to the professionals and cons of every merchandise.

NCS Underscored tech author Henry T. Casey has written critiques of tech products for over 10 years and has been protecting the vast world of Apple merchandise in addition to PC computers and laptops all through that decade. He satisfied his mom to get an M-series 15-inch MacE-book Air and has been doing his greatest to take away all of the generative AI options that she asks him to.