Apple 2026 MacBook Neo 13-inch Laptop with A18 Pro chip: Built for AI and Apple Intelligence | 8GB

If I were picking nits, I'd trim a half star for some of the cost-saving choices Apple made with the Neo --- worst among them being the lack of a backlit keyboard (or at least printing the keyboard characters in a highly contrasting color --- like white-on-gray and not dark gray on lighter gray). Also, having only two USB-C ports in close proximity (rather than on opposite sides) seems a poor design choice and having one of those ports be USB 2 in this day and age seems unnecessarily cheap. However, as I said, these are minor annoyances and don't detract all that much from the elegance of the machine.What you are getting is the cheapest Mac money has ever been able to buy (cheaper even than most 2020 Macbook Air models on the used market. You're also getting a laptop that's highly portable, powerful, with great battery life, impressive graphics, Apple Intelligence and that can run iOS and iPadOS apps in addition to those for MacOS.I got the Neo as a (relatively) cheap, take-anywhere traveling companion for a trip to the Amazon and Galapagos Islands. I needed to be able to run my usual software and didn't want to expose my primary laptop to the risks of theft, canoe travel, jungle heat and humidity or wet landings. I took precautions, yes, but the Neo performed perfectly (as I would expect).For all its capabilities and price, I have no qualms about giving the Neo five stars...but Apple better do something about that keyboard in the next iteration.

I purchased the Apple 2026 MacBook Neo 13-inch with the A18 Pro chip for one of my employees, and it has been an incredible investment. She absolutely loves it and has thanked me countless times since receiving it. The laptop is fast, lightweight, and handles everyday work tasks effortlessly. The display is beautiful, battery life is excellent, and the AI-powered features make productivity even better. The combination of performance, portability, and Apple’s smooth user experience makes this an outstanding choice for both professional and personal use. If you're looking for a reliable, high-quality laptop that someone will truly appreciate, I highly recommend the MacBook Neo.

The media could not be loaded.

I absolutely love my new Apple MacBook Neo 13 A18 Pro chip! The Indigo color is stunning, the display is bright and crystal clear, and the A18 Pro chip delivers smooth, fast performance for everyday tasks. The battery lasts all day, and the lightweight design makes it perfect for work, school, or travel. Apple Intelligence features are a great bonus, making everything feel smarter and more efficient. Excellent value for anyone looking for a reliable and stylish laptop! 💻✨Based on available reviews and specifications, the MacBook Neo is praised for its premium design, sharp 13-inch Liquid Retina display, long battery life, and strong everyday performance at an affordable price.

I am blown away by the quality of this laptop. I paid much more for a MacBook in 2017 and this MacBook Neo is cheaper and much faster. The battery life is amazing and it performs well for what I use it for, which is mostly school work, streaming videos, creating presentations, and online tutoring. I also think the camera is very good for a laptop!

My first MacBook, bought a month ago, and I love it. Affordable way to learn about the Apple OS.Love the blue color, it works well with my four year old external monitor that I use with my 15 inch PC, and a small Logitech mouse - I cannot stand touchpads. I don’t mind this mechanical touchpad too much, though, yet I prefer my mouse.The only thing you need to be aware of, is that it might get a bit warm while charging. I use the Neo on top of a laptop cooling fan, mostly because this laptop is a bit too “slippery” on my lap due to its light weight , just over 2 pounds.My grandson will pick one up to use at college in the fall. It will be a great laptop for him to take notes in class. And it is a great first MacBook for those of us who want to eventually change to all Apple - I already have an iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.So, enjoy it - I sure do.

I’ve had my Neo about a week now and I love it. I was hesitant because it uses an iPhone chip instead of an M chip like other MacBooks. But my 2020 MacBook Air M1 started having display screen issues (vertical and horizontal lines, flickering) so I needed to get something before it failed completely. I didn’t want to spend $1,100+ for a new Air, so I researched the Neo. It’s actually faster than my old Air and I’ve had no problems at all using it for everything I always use my laptops for, which is mostly writing books, email, web browsing, Zoom meetings, and video streaming. I haven’t had any performance problems with a dozen or more tabs open at the sand time. I got the 8Gb, which is plenty even for the thousands of documents and photos I have saved. I have entire book drafts of 200+ pages saved, a doctoral dissertation, and hundreds of research articles saved for my dissertation. It’s more than adequate for my needs. It’s very light weight. The citrus color is pretty. The keyboard is very responsive and feels even better than the Air. The battery doesn’t last as long as the Air before needing recharged but it’s still long lasting. No complaints.

The Neo has quickly become one of my favorite pieces of tech, and a big part of that comes down to two things Apple consistently gets right: MacOS and build quality.This is my first MacOS product and it is a joy to use. Everything feels smooth, intuitive, and thoughtfully designed. From the seamless integration with other Apple devices to the clean interface and reliable performance, it just works in a way that lets me focus on what I’m doing instead of fighting with the system.Then there’s the build quality, which is honestly second to none. The Neo feels incredibly solid the moment you pick it up. The aluminum chassis is sleek yet durable, with no flex or creaking, and the attention to detail is obvious in everything from the hinge to the keyboard. It has that premium feel that makes it clear you’re using a quality device. The trackpad is large and precise, easily the best I’ve used on any laptop, and the keyboard strikes a great balance between comfort and responsiveness.Overall, the Neo delivers a polished experience that’s hard to beat. Between the reliability and elegance of MacOS and the exceptional build quality, it’s a laptop that feels worth the investment.

The neo is really impressive for $600. It has a nice screen, an incredibly rigid aluminum chassis, loads web pages and videos super fast, boots quick. Impressive Bluetooth and WiFi range and performance (Bluetooth is so much better then my old laptop), good speakers(for a laptop), good battery life, a decent keyboard, excellent trackpad, decent web cam, looks nice, low heat output and no vents to get blocked, compact and light. Highly recommended for anyone shopping for a compact web machine.The only negatives on the hardware are: lack of keyboard backlight, the interior edge of the chassis is sharp, not enough to cut you, but enough to be annoying when typing in some positions, not many ports just a normal USB C and a 2.0 speed USB C (both can be used for charging) and screen does not fold flat, so the laptop cannot be stood up against the wall.I was a bit unsure about the Neo because of it using a cellphone chip, but that was not a problem at all. The Neo is super snappy, as fast as my Workstation/Gaming PC when loading web pages and videos. Also I have not noticed any issues with the amount of RAM, 8GB seems sufficient for running a web browser, just as long as you do not go crazy on tabs in Chrome or if you use Firefox that actually manages tabs properly. As a web browser machine I doubt that this will have any performance issues. I am sure that you would hit limits of the mobile CPU if you do did something serious like video editing, but it is more then enough for more casual use.As someone who had never used a mac before I was a bit apprehensive about trying a different OS, but really it has been fine. I mostly just use my laptop to run a web browser, so I do not interact with the OS that much and MacOS is really pretty nice in many ways. The hardest thing to get used to will be the copy paste shortcuts using command instead of ctrl. Mostly MacOS functions about the same as windows, just better. You can just shut the lid on the Neo and it actually shuts off without hardly using any battery and instantly resumes when you open it again. When you do shut it down boot time is super fast. Mac's update system is pretty unobtrusive and just not stupid like windows update. Mac wants you to sign up to all of their AI and cloud stuff, but you do not have to. I did not even setup the app store. The only apps that I wanted were Firefox and a system wide EQ for my earbuds. I found eqMac on gethub, the free version works pretty well. Anyway don't let the different OS scare you away, MacOS is pretty decent and not really that much different then windows. I got used to it in 2 days of use. Also it should get 7 years of software support.Here is a comparison of the Neo with the 4 year old Lenovo Yoga 13 it is replacing. The Lenovo was $550 when new so a very similar price category from 4 years ago. Not sure if this will be useful to anyone so I am putting this at the end, but I figure that a lot of people will be in the same situation switching from a budget windows machine from a few years ago, Overall the Neo is better in almost every way, except for the screen not being able to fold around like the yoga and the lack of a backlit keyboard.The Neo is much faster, it way outperforms the AMD 4650u in my old lenovo when it comes to loading web pages and videos. My old laptop had started really chugging lately when loading YouTube and twitch videos. Not sure it there is something wrong my old laptop it or if web sites have just gotten that much harder to run.My old lenovo Yoga 13 has an absurd amount of flex in the plastic chassis, when you pick up one corner of the device the other edge sags visibly, the keyboard flexes noticeably when typing, the entire chassis will twist with very little effort. The chassis has also cracked in several places and I have been having to superglue it back together to keep the chassis from literally falling apart. The Neo on the other hand is completely rigid you can lift it anywhere, no flex in the keyboard, you would have to really try to do anything to this thing, it is amazing for a laptop of any price, much less a $600 one. Unless you really do something terrible to it I expect the Neo chassis to last well beond the lifetime of the hardware.The battery life on the neo is great, I would say it is about twice that of the lenovo, even though I just put a new battery in my lenovo 6 months ago.The Bluetooth range on the Neo is at least 2 times better, my earbuds would loose connection to the lenovo if I walked 20 feet away to go to the bathroom. I can walk anywhere in the house and stay connected to the Neo, range of about 40+ feet in the house and about 80+ feet outside. Not only the range is better but also Bluetooth connects faster and just works kind of flawlessly, while in windows I constantly had odd Bluetooth issues. This is with just some basic $30 Anker Bluetooth earbuds.WiFI range and throughput is also much better then my old laptopThe yogo 13 had a good screen, so I do not fi...