Apple targets affordability with its new MacBook Neo
Apple unveils its new MacBook Neo, and prices start at £599
Apple has officially unveiled its new MacBook Neo, an all-new laptop design that aims to deliver an affordable entry point into the Mac ecosystem. With prices starting at £599/$599.
This new MacBook features an aluminium enclosure, a 13-inch Liquid Retina display (2408×1504), and up to 16 hours of battery life. The device uses Apple Silicon and claims to be “up to 50% faster” than the “bestselling PC” with the “latest Core Ultra 5” CPU.
The MacBook Neo uses Apple’s A18 Pro silicon, which Apple fans will know is the SoC behind the iPhone 16 Pro. The device will be available exclusively with 8GB of memory, and either 256GB or 512GB of SSD storage. Apple’s A18 Pro silicon features a 6-core CPU and a 5-core GPU.
The New MacBook Neo will be available in four colours: Silver, Blush (Pink), Citrus (Yellow), and Indigo. The device features two USB Type-C ports, both of which can be used for charging. One of these ports offers USB 3 (10 Gbps) speeds while the other features USB 2 (480 Mbps) speeds. Only the faster USB port supports DisplayPort 1.4 output for up to 4K 60Hz displays. Note that these ports are not labelled, so users will need to use trial and error to find out which port is fastest.
With WIFI 6E and Bluetooth 6, this device features strong connectivity. However, its use of a smartphone SOC and its 8GB memory limit will limit the device’s overall usability. There is no 16GB version of this device, likely due to the nature of Apple’s A18 Pro silicon.
With this device, Apple hopes to hit Microsoft hard, especially within the education sector. With an aluminium shell and a Retina display, these devices will look and feel premium despite their lower cost. While the Neo will be useless for high-end users, this appears to be a solid entry-level device.
The MacBook Neo will be released on March 11th in the UK, the US, and other regions.
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