Apple's $700 MacBook Neo Packs an iPhone Chip, Offering a Budget Laptop Option
Apple's new MacBook Neo uses a scaled-down A18 Pro iPhone processor, delivering a low-cost laptop that performs adequately for everyday tasks.
Apple introduced the MacBook Neo as a budget-friendly laptop at $700, fitting a trimmed-down A18 Pro processor—derived from the iPhone 16 Pro—into a 13-inch chassis. The chip loses one GPU core compared to its phone counterpart, resulting in modest graphics performance, yet the device managed multiple browsers, streaming, Pixelmator Pro editing, and the game Oceanhorn 3 in the reviewer’s tests. Limitations appear with intensive 4K video effects and apps that require an M1 or higher, and the 8 GB of RAM can become a bottleneck.
Connectivity is restricted to a 10 Gbps USB-3 port, a 480 Mbps USB-2 port and a 3.5 mm jack, with no Thunderbolt or daisy-chain capability. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman predicts a 2027 update featuring the A19 Pro chip and 12 GB of RAM, which may alleviate some performance constraints. Prospective buyers are advised to consider a refurbished Neo now or wait for the next generation if they need more headroom.
Why it matters
The Neo shows how Apple can cut laptop prices by using phone-grade chips, affecting budget consumers and market competition.
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