The MacBook Neo is a laptop in the MacBook family developed by Apple. It is the first Mac to use an A-series chip previously used only in the iPhone and iPad, rather than the M-series used in other Apple silicon Macs. Announced on March 4, 2026, and released on March 11, 2026, it is positioned as the entry-level model in the MacBook lineup, below the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. , it is Apple's lowest-priced laptop. History
Development Reports about a low-cost MacBook started emerging after the WWDC 2025 event. Early rumors suggested the use of the A18 Pro chip and a screen size. In November 2025, it was reported that Apple was planning an affordable Mac notebook, to launch in 2026 to compete with less expensive Windows laptops, and Chromebooks.
In February 2026, MacRumors reported on color options, key features, and release timing.
A day before its launch, the rumored low-cost MacBook's name and model identifier were accidentally revealed a day early by Apple, revealing the name "MacBook Neo" via regulatory documents published on Apple's website.
Overview Apple introduced the MacBook Neo as part of its March 2026 product launches on March4, 2026. The laptop was described by reports as an entry-level model aimed at mainstream users and students. According to an Apple marketing executive, the name "MacBook Neo" was chosen to feel fun, friendly, and fresh.
The MacBook Neo is the lowest priced laptop that Apple has ever sold. At launch, the MacBook Neo sold with a starting price of US$599, or US$499 for those who qualify for education pricing, such as students and school staff. Pre-orders began on March4, 2026, with general availability beginning on March11, 2026. The starting price was increased by US$100 on June 25, 2026, amid global memory shortages.
To lower production costs, Apple used binned A18 Pro chips retained from iPhone 16 Pro production. On these chips, one of the six GPU cores was defective and had been rejected during manufacturing. With that core disabled, the chips were configured as five-core GPUs for use in the MacBook Neo. Because Apple had already paid for the chips during iPhone 16 Pro production, they carried no additional procurement cost.
Initial MacBook Neo production consumed Apple's entire stockpile of approximately five million binned A18 Pro chips. Apple subsequently expanded production to around ten million units in total, requiring an additional A18 Pro fabrication run.
The Neo was designed with several other cost-reduction measures to achieve its lower price point. The computer is limited to 8 GB of memory, and uses a less advanced screen, while omitting several features found on higher-end MacBook models, including a backlit keyboard and a Force Touch trackpad, instead using a mechanical trackpad mechanism.
Specifications Design The MacBook Neo features an aluminum body design like the MacBook Air models and a Liquid Retina display with black, uniform bezels. It is the first MacBook to have a notchless display since 2022.
Apple used an aluminum extrusion process for the MacBook Neo's enclosure, forming the material close to its final shape before machining. Higher-end MacBook models use aluminum blocks that are cut down to shape with CNC milling, a process that requires more machining time and removes more material, increasing cost.
The Neo is available in four colors: Silver, Blush, Citrus, and Indigo. The keyboard, trackpad, ports, and feet are color-matched to the chassis.
Hardware
The MacBook Neo has a Liquid Retina display with a resolution of pixels, a pixel density of 219 pixels per inch, 500 nits of brightness, and support for 1 billion colors. Compared with the entry-level MacBook Air, the display is slightly smaller, lacks True Tone, and uses the sRGB color space rather than Wide P3. Apple claimed the display offers higher brightness and resolution than competing laptops in its price tier. The MacBook Neo includes an anti-reflective coating to enhance visibility across different lighting environments. It includes a 1080p camera, while other current MacBook models use a 12-megapixel camera.
It includes two USB-C ports: one USB 10Gbps port with support for DisplayPort 1.4 and one USB 2.0 port. It also includes a 3.5 mm audio jack, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 6. The MacBook Neo supports one external 4K display at 60 Hz. It has two microphones with directional beamforming and two side-firing speakers with support for Dolby Atmos, fewer microphones and speakers than found on higher-end MacBook models.
The computer uses the Apple A18 Pro, a system on a chip (SoC), previously introduced in the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max. It has 8 GB of unified memory shared by a six-core CPU, consisting of two performance cores and four efficiency cores, and a five-core GPU. The MacBook Neo is the first Mac sold with an A-series chip rather than the more powerful M-series since the transition to Apple silicon. The A18 Pro's low power consumption allows the MacBook Neo to use a passive, fanless cooling system.
The 256 GB base model lacks Touch ID and uses a standard lock button in place of the fingerprint sensor. Touch ID is included on the 512 GB model.
Performance Early benchmark testing by Digital Trends recorded Geekbench 6 scores of 3,461 points in single-core performance and 8,668 points in multi-core performance, along with a Metal graphics score of 31,286 points. The same testing found higher single-core results than the M3 iPad Air.
Photographer and video editor Tyler Stalman tested the MacBook Neo during professional workflows and concluded that "Editing 4K video on this computer is totally fine, even with every other app running."
Repairability A report by iFixit found that the MacBook Neo is Apple's most repairable laptop in 14 years, citing features including a screwed-down battery, lack of parts pairing, screwed-down keyboard, and modular ports and speakers.
iFixit attributed these design choices to Apple's targeting of institutional education customers, where IT departments need to replace frequently damaged components in deployed devices. The company noted that modular parts could simplify repairs in those environments.
Technical specifications
Model MacBook NeoBasic infoHardware string Mac17,5Model number A3404Part number MHFA4, MHFH4, MHFD4, MHFF4 MHFC4, MHFJ4, MHFE4, MHFG4 Date Announced March 4, 2026 Released March 11, 2026Discontinued In production Unsupported Supported Operating system Initial macOS Tahoe 26.3.2 Latest MSRP US$699 US$799 Colors DimensionsHeightWidthDepthWeightSecure authenticationTouch ID DisplaySizeDiagonalVertical-by-horizontalResolutionVertical-by-horizontalDensity219 ppiAspect ratio16:10Scaled resolution support colspan=2 TechnologyLiquid Retina with IPSBacklightLED Refresh rate 60 Hz Max. brightness 500 nits Contrast ratio (typical) :1 Color Full sRGB colspan=2 Wide color (P3) colspan="2" Color depth 10-bit (FRC) with 1 billion colors True Tone colspan="2" Night shift colspan=2 Performance Cooling system Aluminum heat dissipator without fanChipChip nameApple A18 ProTechnology node 3 nm (N3E) Architecture ARM64Total CPU cores 6High-performance cores 2 × 4.04 GHzEnergy-efficiency cores 4 × 2.42 GHz Total GPU cores 5 GPU family Apple GPU Family 9 Hardware-accelerated ray tracing colspan="2" Neural accelerators in GPU colspan="2" Metal support Metal 4 Neural Engine 16-core (35 TOPS INT8) Media Engine Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWAV1 decode Apple Intelligence colspan="2" Unified memory Memory type LPDDR5X Sample rate 7500 MT/s Clock speed 3.75 GHz Bus width 64-bit Bandwidth 60 GB/s Size 8 GB Storage Storage type NAND flash using NVMe controller over PCIe connection Storage speed 1.7 GB/s Storage size 256 GB 512 GB Connector HDMI colspan="2" SD card slot colspan="2" USB-C 1 × USB-C port supporting USB 10Gbps and DisplayPort 1.4,1 × USB-C port supporting USB 2.0 Speed 10 Gbit/s (USB 3.2 Gen 2×1)480 Mbit/s (USB 2.0) External display 1 × 4K at 60 Hz Connectivity Wi-Fi Wi-Fi 6E (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Bluetooth Bluetooth 6 Keyboard Number of keys 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) Arrow keys Inverted-T arrangement Function keys colspan=2 Backlit keyboard colspan="2" Trackpad Type Mechanical Multi-Touch Force Touch colspan="2" Haptic Touch colspan="2" Camera Resolution 1080p Center Stage and Desk View colspan="2" Audio Speakers 2 Force-cancelling woofers colspan="2" Wide stereo sound colspan="2" Dolby Atmos playback colspan="2" Dolby Atmos with built-in speakers colspan="2" colspan="2" Microphone Dual-mic array with directional beamforming, Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes 3.5 mm jack colspan="2" Power Battery 36.5 W·h Power adapter 20 W USB-CFast charge capability colspan="2"
Reception and impact The MacBook Neo received generally favorable reviews following its release. Reviewers praised its price, aluminum enclosure, display quality, battery life, and performance for everyday tasks, describing it as a strong entry-level Mac and a competitive option for students and first-time Mac users. Reviewers also noted that the laptop retained Apple's build quality despite its lower price.
Criticism focused on the compromises made to reach its price point. Reviewers cited the fixed 8 GB of memory, lack of a backlit keyboard, mechanical trackpad, limited port selection, and the absence of Thunderbolt support and a wide-color (P3) display. Several reviewers found the A18 Pro processor well suited to web browsing, office work, and media consumption, while noting that sustained professional workloads were better served by Macs with M-series processors.
After using the MacBook Neo for a month, CNET reported that the base model's 8 GB of memory became a limitation when multitasking or using memory-intensive applications, although it continued to perform well for lighter workloads.
Following the MacBook Neo's release, Microsoft commissioned a study comparing Windows laptops with the MacBook Neo as part of a marketing campaign promoting Copilot+ PCs. Macworld characterized the campaign as an indication that Microsoft viewed the MacBook Neo as a significant competitor.
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