Apple has revealed a new entry‑level MacBook that runs on the A18 Pro chip, the same processor inside the iPhone 16 Pro. Apple positions this machine as a cheaper introduction to the macOS ecosystem, making it a direct competitor to Chromebooks and other productivity-focused laptops designed for lightweight tasks. The A18 Pro chip uses a 3nm process, features a 6‑core CPU and a 6-core GPU, and includes a Neural Engine. In contrast, the M5 MacBook Air (also announced this week) uses a Mac‑class M5 chip with a 10‑core CPU, 10‑core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine, and much higher memory bandwidth—but it costs nearly twice as much as the Neo.The MacBook Neo starts at $599 for the 256GB model, though a 512GB, Touch ID-equipped variant is available for $699. It has a 13‑inch Liquid Retina display with uniform iPad‑style bezels (meaning the camera notch is smaller, but the bezels themselves are bigger), a 1080p front camera, up to 16 hours of battery life, and an aluminum body in Silver, Indigo, Blush, and Citrus colorways. Both storage options come with 8GB unified memory. The laptop also features two USB‑C ports, a headphone jack, and two side-firing speakers with spatial audio and Dolby Atmos support. It doesn't include Thunderbolt and can drive only one external display natively. Apple claims the A18 Pro in Neo is up to 50% faster than the bestselling PC with an Intel Core Ultra 5 and up to 3x faster on some on‑device AI workloads, which it purports to justify placing an iPhone chip in a MacBook.I could see myself buying this device if not for its lack of a backlit keyboard, which is a pretty big dealbreaker for me. I can accept that it comes with just 8GB of RAM, but keyboard backlighting feels like an essential feature I'd struggle to go without, even at this price.






