Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
There's a new MacBook in town, and it's got even die-hard PC fans
like me taking a look. The MacBook Neo is Apple's long-awaited play
for the budget market. A few years ago $600 USD for a 13-inch laptop
might have seemed off, but considering that it's an Apple product
that's going for the same price as the newest iPhone, it's getting a lot
of attention.
There are some compromises. It's using an iPhone processor, not a
full M-series, and it only has 8GB of RAM and just 256 gigs of storage.
You'll need a $100 upgrade for more storage and a fingerprint reader.
But considering that it's a full aluminum chassis and PC makers are
struggling to offer any new laptop designs in this price range, it's
looking pretty good. Notably, Microsoft's cheapest Surface also uses
an ARM-based processor at $800…and it doesn't even come with a
keyboard.
I'm guessing that Apple is throwing its weight around in the supply
chain to get that price so low in the middle of the RAM crunch. And I'm
also guessing that several million students will be taking a hard look at
the MacBook Neo, in its three good colors and one bad one, when the
back to school season comes around. For more on the latest laptop
news, check out PCWorld — and if you're particularly interested in the
Neo, you might head over to our sister site Macworld.
pcworld.com/article/3077961/the-600-macbook-neo-is-
microsofts-nightmare.html
============
Read PCWorld!
Website: pcworld.com
Newsletters: pcworld.com/newsletters/signup
=============
This video is NOT sponsored. Some links may contain affiliate links, which means if you buy something PCWorld may receive a small commission.
There's a new MacBook in town, and it's got even die-hard PC fans
like me taking a look. The MacBook Neo is Apple's long-awaited play
for the budget market. A few years ago $600 USD for a 13-inch laptop
might have seemed off, but considering that it's an Apple product
that's going for the same price as the newest iPhone, it's getting a lot
of attention.
There are some compromises. It's using an iPhone processor, not a
full M-series, and it only has 8GB of RAM and just 256 gigs of storage.
You'll need a $100 upgrade for more storage and a fingerprint reader.
But considering that it's a full aluminum chassis and PC makers are
struggling to offer any new laptop designs in this price range, it's
looking pretty good. Notably, Microsoft's cheapest Surface also uses
an ARM-based processor at $800…and it doesn't even come with a
keyboard.
I'm guessing that Apple is throwing its weight around in the supply
chain to get that price so low in the middle of the RAM crunch. And I'm
also guessing that several million students will be taking a hard look at
the MacBook Neo, in its three good colors and one bad one, when the
back to school season comes around. For more on the latest laptop
news, check out PCWorld — and if you're particularly interested in the
Neo, you might head over to our sister site Macworld.
pcworld.com/article/3077961/the-600-macbook-neo-is-
microsofts-nightmare.html
============
Read PCWorld!
Website: pcworld.com
Newsletters: pcworld.com/newsletters/signup
=============
This video is NOT sponsored. Some links may contain affiliate links, which means if you buy something PCWorld may receive a small commission.
