Apple has launched the MacBook Neo worldwide, bringing the A18 Pro chip to a 13-inch laptop starting at $599, with pre-orders open from March 5 and shipping beginning March 11.
Full confirmed specifications:
- 13-inch Liquid Retina IPS LCD, 500 nits brightness
- A18 Pro chip on 3nm process: 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
- Hardware-accelerated ray tracing and 60GB/s memory bandwidth
- 8GB unified RAM
- Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 6.0
- 1080p FaceTime HD camera
- Dual speakers and 3.5mm headphone jack
- One USB 3 port (10Gbps) and one USB 2 port (480Mbps)
- 78-key ANSI or 79-key ISO backlit keyboard with 12 full-height function keys
- Multi-Touch trackpad
- 20W USB-C power adapter included in the box
- Weight: 1.23kg
Pricing breakdown:
- $599 / Rs 69,900 — 256GB storage
- $699 / Rs 79,900 — 512GB storage with Touch ID
The MacBook Neo puts the A18 Pro — Apple’s current iPhone 16 Pro chip — into a laptop priced at entry level. That chip pairing with a full macOS environment at this weight and price point marks a notable step down from MacBook Air territory into a category Apple has not directly addressed for some time.
The port selection is the main practical trade-off: one USB 3 and one USB 2 port without Thunderbolt limits connectivity options for users who rely on high-bandwidth peripherals or external displays via cable.
The MacBook Neo runs on the A18 Pro, the same 3nm chip found in the iPhone 16 Pro lineup. It features a 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, and hardware-accelerated ray tracing — the first time this chip has appeared in a Mac laptop.
The base model at $599 comes with 256GB of storage. The $699 model doubles storage to 512GB and adds Touch ID for biometric authentication. Both models share the same A18 Pro chip, 8GB RAM, and full spec configuration otherwise.
No. The MacBook Neo ships with one USB 3 port rated at 10Gbps and one USB 2 port at 480Mbps — neither supports Thunderbolt. Users needing high-bandwidth external storage, Thunderbolt docks, or direct external display connectivity via cable will need to consider adapters or a different model.
The MacBook Neo weighs 1.23kg. The 13-inch MacBook Air M3 weighs 1.24kg, making the two nearly identical in weight despite the Neo sitting at a lower price point and using a different chip architecture.