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Looking for a small, light, and budget-friendly MacBook that you can use at home, at work, or on the road? In the past, that would have been a simple decision, as you likely would have opted for a 13-inch MacBook Air. But with the introduction of the MacBook Neo, there are now two contenders in that space.
Both the Neo and 13-inch Air appear similar, at least on the surface. Both weigh in at 2.7 pounds and are almost the same size. (The Air is slightly larger, but not enough to make any practical difference.) Screen size differs a bit. The display on the Air measures 13.6 inches, while the Neo is a bit smaller at 13 inches. Both support Apple Intelligence if AI is important to you.
Peek beneath the surface, however, and more significant differences come into focus. The Neo starts at just $599, a price that seems hard to resist. The 13-inch Air starts at $1,099. Not bad, but maybe more than you'd want to spend, especially if you're on a budget.
Also: Apple's $599 MacBook Neo hands-on: This budget laptop makes me worried for Windows
For your $599, the Neo comes with just 8GB of RAM, which you can't upgrade, compared with 16GB on the basic Air. The Neo offers 256GB of storage. For $699, you can bump that up to 512GB. By spending that extra $100, you also get Touch ID, which doesn't come with the base version. The base Air starts with 512GB of storage and includes Touch ID.
Another major difference is in the processor. To cut costs, the Neo is equipped with an A18 Pro, the same chip found in the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. The Air has long been powered by Apple's M-class processors, with the latest model featuring an M5 chip.
From there, the differences are more subtle but still noteworthy. The Neo comes with a Multi-Touch trackpad, while the Air provides a Force Touch trackpad. The Neo comes with Wi-Fi 6E, while the Air comes with Wi-Fi 7.
Apple promises up to 16 hours of battery life on the Neo and 18 hours on the Air. On the fun side, the Neo comes in a range of vibrant colors -- Indigo, Blush, Citrus, and Silver. The Air is stuck with the usual paint jobs, including Sky Blue, Silver, Starlight, and Midnight.
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