MacBook Neo
Citrus-colored MacBook Neo on display | |
| Developer | Apple Inc. |
|---|---|
| Product family | MacBook |
| Type | Laptop |
| Released | March 11, 2026 |
| Operating system | macOS |
| System on a chip | A18 Pro |
| Marketing target | Mainstream users and Students |
| Related | |
| Website | apple |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| MacBook |
|---|
| List of Mac models by CPU type |
The MacBook Neo is a laptop in the MacBook series that is developed and manufactured by Apple Inc. It is the first Mac to use an A-series chip found in the iPhone rather than the M-series chips found in other Apple silicon Macs. The MacBook Neo is positioned as the entry-level MacBook, situated below the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. It was first announced on March 4, 2026, and released on March 11, 2026. It is currently the cheapest laptop Apple sells, with a starting price of US$599 for regular buyers and US$499 for those who qualify for education pricing.
Overview
Apple introduced the MacBook Neo as part of its March 2026 product launches on March 4, 2026.[1] It has been posited that the strategy behind the MacBook Neo centers on mainstream users and students, offering an accessible and affordable device within the Apple ecosystem.[2][3] According to an Apple marketing executive, the name "MacBook Neo" was chosen to feel fun, friendly, and fresh.[4]
The MacBook Neo is the least expensive laptop that Apple has ever sold, with a starting price of US$599 and US$499 for education pricing. Pre-orders began at launch, with general release beginning on March 11, 2026.[2][5]
The MacBook Neo's name and model identifier (A3404) was accidentally revealed a day early by Apple when regulatory documents for the MacBook Neo were published on Apple's website.[6][7]
Specifications
Design
The MacBook Neo features an aluminum body design like the MacBook Air models,[8] a Liquid Retina display with black, uniform bezels. It is therefore the first MacBook since the 2022 13" M2 MacBook Pro to have a notchless display. It is available in four colors: Silver, Blush, Citrus, and Indigo.[9] The keyboard and feet are color-matched to the chassis.[10]
| Color | Name |
|---|---|
| Silver | |
| Blush | |
| Citrus | |
| Indigo |
Hardware
The MacBook Neo features a 13-inch Liquid Retina display with a resolution of 2408 × 1506 and has a ppi of 218. It has two USB-C ports (one USB 10Gbps with support for DisplayPort 1.4, and one running at USB 2.0 speed), a headphone jack, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 6.[5] It uses an Apple A18 Pro chip (previously used on the iPhone 16 Pro),[9] and has 8 GB of unified memory (not upgradeable), shared between the six CPU cores (two performance, four efficiency) and five GPU cores. It is the first publicly available Mac released with an A-series SoC rather than an M-series chip since the transition to Apple silicon.[a][1] The 256 GB base models ships without Touch ID with a lock button in place of the fingerprint scanner; the 512 GB model includes Touch ID.[9] It can run one 4K display at 60 Hz (such as Apple's Studio Display at a scaled resolution).[12]
Because the Apple A18 Pro is an efficient low-wattage SoC, the MacBook Neo relies on passive fanless cooling and runs completely silently.[13]
Performance
Early performance tests done by Digital Trends show that the MacBook Neo outperforms the Macbook Air M1 with Geekbench results scoring 3,461 points in single-core and 8,668 points in multi-core tests, with a Metal score of 31,286 points in graphics benchmarks.[14][15] The MacBook Neo also outperforms the iPad Air M3 in single-core tests.[15]
A photographer and video editor 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."[16]
Technical specifications
| Model | MacBook Neo (A18 Pro, 2026) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic info | Hardware strings | Mac17,5 | ||
| Model number | A3404 | |||
| Part number | MHFA4, MHFH4, MHFD4, MHFF4 | MHFC4, MHFJ4, MHFE4, MHFG4 | ||
| Date | Announced | March 4, 2026 | ||
| Released | March 11, 2026 | |||
| Discontinued | In production | |||
| Unsupported | Supported | |||
| Operating system | Initial | macOS Tahoe 26.3 | ||
| Latest | macOS Tahoe 26.4 | |||
| MSRP (US$) | $599 | $699 | ||
| Dimensions | Height | 0.50 in (1.3 cm) | ||
| Width | 11.71 in (29.7 cm) | |||
| Depth | 8.12 in (20.6 cm) | |||
| Weight | 2.7 lb (1.22 kg) | |||
| Secure authentication | Touch ID | No | Yes | |
| Display | Size | Diagonal | 13.0 in (330 mm) | |
| Vertical-by-horizontal | 11.02 by 6.89 in (280 by 175 mm) | |||
| Resolution | Vertical-by-horizontal | 2408 × 1506 | ||
| Density | 218 ppi | |||
| Aspect ratio | 16:10 | |||
| Supported scaled resolutions | Yes | |||
| Technology | Liquid Retina Display with IPS technology | |||
| Backlight | LED-backlit | |||
| Nano-texture configuration | No | |||
| Refresh rate | Minimum | 60 Hz | ||
| Maximum | ||||
| ProMotion display | No | |||
| Supported fixed refresh rate | N/a | |||
| Brightness and contrast | SDR max brightness | 500 nits | ||
| XDR max brightness | N/a | |||
| Contrast ratio (typical) | 1,400:1 | |||
| Color | Full sRGB | Yes | ||
| Wide color (P3) | No | |||
| Color depth | 10-bit (FRC) with 1 billion colors | |||
| True Tone | No | |||
| Night shift | Yes | |||
| Performance | Cooling system | Aluminum heat dissipator without fan | ||
| Chip | Chip name | Apple A18 Pro | ||
| Technology node | 3 nm (N3E) | |||
| Bit | 64-bit | |||
| Total CPU cores | 6 | |||
| High-performance cores | 2 × 4.04 GHz | |||
| Energy-efficiency cores | 4 × 2.42 GHz | |||
| Online Configuration | N/a | |||
| Graphics processor | Apple G17P | |||
| Total GPU cores | 5 | |||
| GPU family | Apple GPU Family 9 | |||
| Hardware-accelerated ray tracing | Yes | |||
| Neural accelerators in GPU | No | |||
| Metal support | Metal 4 | |||
| Online Configuration | N/a | |||
| Neural Engine | 16-core (35 TOPS INT8) | |||
| Media Engine | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW AV1 decode | |||
| Apple Intelligence | Yes (except in mainland China) | |||
| Unified memory | Memory type | LPDDR5X-7500 (3750 MHz) | ||
| Memory bus width | 64-bit | |||
| Memory bandwidth | 60 GB/s | |||
| Memory size | 8 GB | |||
| Online Configuration | N/a | |||
| Storage | Storage type | NAND Flash driven by NVMe-based controller that communicates over a PCIe connection, Adapting QLC storage in some MacBook Neo product batches | ||
| Storage speed | 1.6 GB/s (read) | |||
| Storage size | 256 GB | 512 GB | ||
| Online Configuration | N/a | |||
| Connector | HDMI | No | ||
| SD card slot | No | |||
| USB-C/Thunderbolt | 1 × USB-C port supporting USB 10Gbps and DisplayPort 1.4, 1 × USB-C port supporting USB 2.0 | |||
| Transmission speed | 10 Gbit/s (USB 3.2 Gen 2 operation mode) 480 Mbit/s (USB 2.0) | |||
| External display[note 1] | 1 × 4K at 60Hz (via USB 10Gbps port) | |||
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | ||
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 6 | |||
| Keyboard | Type | Magic Keyboard | ||
| Number of keys | 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) | |||
| Arrow keys | Inverted-T arrangement | |||
| Function keys | With full-height | |||
| Backlit keyboard | No | |||
| Touch Bar | No | |||
| Trackpad | Type | Mechanical Multi-Touch | ||
| Force Touch | No | |||
| Haptic Touch | No | |||
| Camera | Resolution | 1080p | ||
| Advanced image signal processor with computational video | Yes | |||
| Center Stage and Desk View | No | |||
| Audio | Speakers | 2 | ||
| Force-cancelling woofers | No | |||
| Wide stereo sound | No | |||
| Dolby Atmos playback | Yes | |||
| Dolby Atmos with built-in speakers | Yes | |||
| Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking | No | |||
| Microphone | Dual-mic array with directional beamforming, Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes | |||
| 3.5 mm jack | Yes | |||
| Power | Battery | 36.5 W·h | ||
| Power adapter | 20 W USB-C (Not included in Europe) | |||
| Fast charge capability | No | |||
- ^ 5K at 60Hz is equivalent to 4K at 100Hz, 6K at 60Hz is equivalent to 4K at 144Hz, 8K at 60Hz is equivalent to 4K at 240Hz
Software
The MacBook Neo initially shipped with macOS Tahoe 26.3. A day-one update, 26.3.2, was released exclusively over-the-air for the MacBook Neo on March 10, 2026.[17][18]
Repairablity
A report by iFixit found that the MacBook Neo is Apple's most repairable laptop in 14 years, highlighted with a screwed-down battery tray, lack of parts pairing, screwed-down keyboard, and modular ports and speakers.[19]
Timeline
| Timeline of portable Macintoshes |
|---|
Notes
- ^ The first Mac to use an A-series chip was the Developer Transition Kit with the Apple A12Z Bionic. It was only available for developers to assist with the Mac transition to Apple silicon.[11]
References
- ^ a b "Say hello to MacBook Neo". Apple Newsroom (Press release). Apple Inc. March 4, 2026. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
- ^ a b Larsen, Luke (March 4, 2026). "The Colorful MacBook Neo Is Apple's Cheapest Laptop Ever". Wired. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
- ^ Owen, Malcolm (March 4, 2026). "MacBook Neo is Apple's new entry-level notebook". AppleInsider. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
- ^ "Apple is ready to fulfill your MacBook Neo desires — on demand, the name and more". TechRadar. March 4, 2026. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
- ^ a b Faulkner, Cameron (March 4, 2026). "Here's where you can preorder Apple's budget-friendly MacBook Neo". The Verge. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
- ^ Rossignol, Joe (March 3, 2026). "Apple Accidentally Leaks 'MacBook Neo'". MacRumors. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
- ^ Price, David (March 3, 2026). "Whoops! Apple accidentally reveals 'MacBook Neo'". Macworld. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
- ^ Hardawar, Devindra; Ingraham, Nathan (March 4, 2026). "The $599 MacBook Neo is Apple's cheapest Mac laptop yet". Engadget. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
- ^ a b c Charlton, Hartley (March 4, 2026). "Apple Announces $599 'MacBook Neo' With A18 Pro Chip". MacRumors. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
- ^ Cunningham, Andrew (March 4, 2026). "The $599 MacBook Neo is Apple's long-awaited colorful, lower-cost MacBook". Ars Technica. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
- ^ Welch, Chris (June 22, 2020). "Apple announces Mac mini powered by its own chips for developers". The Verge. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
- ^ Hardwick, Tim (March 5, 2026). "MacBook Neo Compatible With New Studio Displays, But There's a Catch". MacRumors. Retrieved March 5, 2026.
- ^ Andreas Osthoff (March 11, 2026). "Apple's MacBook Neo has arrived - Our initial impressions of the $599 MacBook - NotebookCheck.net News". NotebookCheck.net (notebookcheck.net). Retrieved March 12, 2026.
- ^ Vikhyaat Vivek (March 9, 2026). "Apple's budget MacBook Neo is already outrunning the M1 MacBook Air in early tests". MSN (msn.com). Retrieved March 9, 2026.
- ^ a b Vikhyaat Vivek (March 6, 2026). "Apple's budget MacBook Neo is already outrunning the M1 MacBook Air in early tests - Digital Trends". Digital Trends (digitaltrends.com). Retrieved March 9, 2026.
- ^ Mendes, Marcus (March 10, 2026). "Photographer Tyler Stalman tests the MacBook Neo with pro photo and video workflows". 9to5Mac. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
- ^ Hall, Zac (March 10, 2026). "Apple releases macOS 26.3.2 software update for MacBook Neo". 9to5Mac. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
- ^ Clover, Juli (March 10, 2026). "MacBook Neo Will Have Day One Software Update". MacRumors. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
- ^ "MacBook Neo Is the Most Repairable MacBook in 14 Years". iFixit. March 17, 2026. Retrieved March 17, 2026.