The cheapest Apple MacBook model is in town, and the Cupertino giant is being serious about taking a big slice of the budget laptop market.
First of all, don’t think about getting Apple’s powerful and efficient M-series processor for the MacBook Neo. Instead, it is the “last-gen” chip from the iPhone category, the A18 Pro.
No, they do not suck, since it runs a 6-core CPU + 5-core GPU + 16-core Neural Engine config, but you have to manage expectations accordingly. But anyways, the classic aluminium build is maintained, and there are 4 colors of Blush, Indigo, Silver, and the new Citrus option to choose from. It’s light too, weighing just 2.7 pounds, which is more or less similar to the MacBook Air.
Up front, you’re getting a 13-inch Liquid Retina display with a 2408 x 1506 resolution and 500 nits brightness on top of the anti-reflective coating for easy usage, no matter where you are.
Battery life is rated at up to 16 hours on a single charge, which means it should comfortably last through a full workday or school day without hunting for a socket. And for calls and media, it packs a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, dual beamforming mics to reduce background noise, plus dual side-firing speakers with Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos support.
It also includes Apple’s Magic Keyboard, a large Multi-Touch trackpad, and Touch ID (optional upgrade together with bigger storage). In terms of connectivity, you get two USB-C ports that can also handle charging, a headphone jack, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 6.
On the software side, it runs macOS Tahoe out of the box, with built-in apps like Safari, Messages, Photos, and FaceTime, along with deep integration with iPhone through features like Handoff, Universal Clipboard, and iPhone Mirroring.
Price
For most people, the starting price is RM2,499, but for the educational folks, RM2,099 is the bottom line. And that’s for the 8GB + 256GB. Doubling the capacity (Throw in Touch ID too), then it’ll start at RM2,899.
All in all, with that RM2,499 starting price, the MacBook Neo feels like Apple’s boldest move yet to bring more people into the Mac ecosystem without the usual premium barrier.
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