A truly budget-friendly MacBook is now a reality. On March 4, 2026, Apple announced the MacBook Neo, its $599 laptop with a 13-inch display, colorful aluminum chassis, and the A18 Pro processor. A modern Mac that costs half as much as the new MacBook Air with the M5 chip is a tempting offer, but before you pull the trigger, you should be aware of several differences between the new baby MacBook and the well-established, go-to MacBook Air. Here is our specs comparison.
The MacBook Neo is a textbook entry-level laptop. For $599, you get a 13-inch computer with a Retina display and a maximum brightness of 500 nits. It does not support P3 wide color, and it has no notch, with bezels noticeably thicker than those of the MacBook Air.
Most of the differences you will find inside. The computer runs the A18 Pro chip, a processor found in the iPhone 16 Pro lineup, paired with 8GB of RAM. Unlike the MacBook Air, 8GB is the only option here, and you cannot upgrade to 16GB, which is now standard in the MacBook Air lineup. Memory bandwidth is significantly lower at 60 GB/s vs. 153 GB/s in the MacBook Air. As for storage, you get to choose from 256GB in the base model or a more expensive 512GB variant.
When you bump the spec to 512GB, you get another perk, not just double the storage. Apple will also give you a fingerprint reader in the power button. That"s right, Apple is copying the Surface Laptop Go, which also had a fingerprint scanner in upper-spec models. Another interesting difference is the trackpad: despite multi-touch support and a pretty large size, it is not Force Touch, a technology that debuted eleven years ago.
The MacBook Neo has only two side-firing speakers (compared to the four-speaker system in the MacBook Air) and a dual-microphone array. The webcam is limited to 1080p without Center Stage support, which is present in the MacBook Air.
As for battery life, despite similarly-sized chassis, the MacBook Neo has a rather small 36.5 Wh Li-Ion battery (53.8 Wh in the MacBook Air). Apple says that it is enough for up to 11 hours of web browsing and 16 hours of video playback. That is a significant downgrade from MacBook Air"s 53.8 Wh battery, which is rated for up to 18 hours of video playback. But again, we are talking about a 2x price difference.
Finally, the MacBook Neo comes with Wi-Fi 6E (no Wi-Fi 7 support) and significantly capped input-output. One USB Type-C port is USB 3, while the second one is a puny USB 2. As for the bundled charger, it is only 20W, and the laptop itself does not support fast charging or MagSafe.
Here is a detailed spec-by-spec comparison:
| MacBook Neo | MacBook Air | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 13.0-inch Liquid Retina sRGB display 2,408 x 1,506 pixels, 500 nits brightness | 13.6-inch Liquid Retina P3 display 2,560 x 1,664 pixels, 500 nits brightness True Tone |
| Dimensions | 0.50 x 11.71 x 8.12 inches, 2.7 pounds 1.27 x 29.75 x 20.64 cm, 1.23 kg | 0.44 x 11.97 x 8.46 inches, 2.7 pounds 1.13 x 30.41 x 21.5 cm, 1.23 kg |
| Processor | Apple A18 Pro chip 6-core CPU (2P, 4E), 5-core GPU 16-core Neural Engine | Apple M5 chip 10-core CPU (4S, 6E), 10-core GPU Neural Accelerators 16-core Neural Engine |
| Memory | 8GB, 60 GB/s | 16GB, 24GB, 32GB, 153 GB/s |
| Storage | 256GB, 512GB SSD | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB SSD |
| Camera | 1080p FaceTime HD Camera 1080p video recording | 12MP Center Stage camera 1080p video recording |
| Audio | Dual-speaker sound system Dual-mic array 3.5 mm headphone jack | Four-speaker sound system Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking with AirPods Three-mic array 3.5 mm headphone jack with high-impedance |
| Keyboard | Magic Keyboard Magic Keyboard with Touch ID (512GB config) Multi-touch trackpad | Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID Ambient light sensor Force Touch trackpad |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 6 | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 |
| Ports | USB 3 Type-C USB 2 Type-C | 2x Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C |
| Battery | 36.5 Wh Li-Ion battery | 53.8 Wh Li-Ion battery |
| Colors | Silver, Plush, Citrus, Indigo | Sky Blue, Silver, Starlight, Midnight |
| Price | $599, $699 | $1,099+ |
Overall, the MacBook Neo feels like an iPad Air without a touchscreen and with macOS instead of iPadOS, which makes it a good deal when you consider the price of official accessories for iPads. If you need a "real computer" and spending over a grand on the MacBook Air is not an option, the Neo could be a tempting option. However, you should also consider previous-gen MacBook Air laptops, which could cost the same but offer a better screen, better performance, better battery life, and more.
The MacBook Neo will be available on March 11, with preorders open today.