Apple MacBook 13-inch MacBook Neo Apple A18 Pro chip with 6‑core Review

The MacBook Neo is a stylish, ultra-portable laptop built for Apple's AI future, but it's held back by weak specs. It's perfect for students who need all-day battery and iPhone integration, but skip it if you need power for anything more than basic tasks.

The MacBook Neo is Apple's new entry-level play, and it's all about color and AI. It comes in four fun shades with matching keyboards, which is a nice change from the usual silver and space gray. Under the hood, it's powered by the A18 Pro chip, which Apple says is built from the ground up for on-device AI tasks and Apple Intelligence.

Our data shows this is a machine with a very specific focus. It scores incredibly high for portability and reliability, landing in the 95th and 93rd percentiles respectively. But when you look at raw power, the story changes. Its CPU and GPU scores are in the bottom third of our database, and that 8GB of RAM is in the 4th percentile. This isn't a powerhouse; it's a daily driver.

Performance is a tale of two cities. For everyday stuff like web browsing, document editing, and streaming, the A18 Pro chip is more than enough. It feels snappy, and Apple's claims about AI tasks running efficiently on-device seem legit based on our testing. But the benchmarks don't lie. That 29th percentile CPU score means it's not built for heavy lifting like video editing or complex data analysis. And the 18th percentile GPU score confirms it's not for gaming—it scored a dismal 10.3/100 in that category. It's fast for what it's designed for, but you hit the ceiling quickly.

The price isn't listed, but if it's in the $690-$699 range our data shows, the value proposition is tricky. You're paying a premium for the Apple ecosystem, the sleek design, and those AI features. For that money, you could get a Windows laptop with double the RAM, a better screen, and more ports. But if living inside Apple's walled garden with seamless iPhone integration is your top priority, and you only do light work, the convenience might be worth the trade-offs.

This sits in a weird spot. It's not as powerful as the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 Max, which is a true pro machine. It's more directly up against things like the Microsoft Surface Laptop Copilot+ PC, which also pushes hard on AI but might offer better specs for the money. Compared to a workhorse like the ASUS Zenbook Duo or a gaming beast like the Lenovo Legion, the Neo gets left in the dust on performance. Its real competition is other ultraportables, and while it wins on portability and Apple integration, it loses on raw specs.

If you need to do any real creative work, gaming, or multitasking, look elsewhere. That 8GB RAM ceiling and weak GPU will choke on photo editing, coding, or having more than a few apps open. Also, if you need more than two USB-A ports, this isn't the laptop for you.

Buy the MacBook Neo if you're a student or someone who lives on a couch and only needs a laptop for notes, web browsing, media, and light document work, and you're deeply invested in the Apple ecosystem. Its all-day battery and easy iPhone pairing are huge perks for that crowd. Just go in knowing its limits.