Apple products aren’t something we usually cover here at KitGuru, but when the MacBook Neo was announced as the cheapest MacBook ever, it certainly caught my eye. As a lifelong PC user and enthusiast, I was particularly curious to know exactly how a budget laptop running a mobile processor with just 8GB of RAM would perform – but if, like me, you’re expecting it to be underwhelming – I think you might be in for a bit of a surprise…

Timestamps

00:00 Intro
00:50 Pricing and key info
01:41 Design first impressions
02:30 Keyboard + trackpad
03:12 Webcam and speaker test
04:42 Screen analysis
06:03 Performance testing
07:23 8GB RAM discussion
08:15 Can it game?
08:58 WiFi + thermal camera
09:26 Battery life
10:10 Closing thoughts

Specification

• Processor: Apple A18 Pro (6-core CPU: 2 performance + 4 efficiency cores)
• Graphics: 5-core GPU with hardware-accelerated ray tracing
• Neural engine: 16-core Neural Engine
• Memory: 8GB unified memory
• Storage: 256GB or 512GB SSD
• Display: 13-inch Liquid Retina display (2408 x 1506), 500 nits brightness, 1 billion colours
• Pixel density: 219 PPI
• Media engine: Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; AV1 decode
• Camera: 1080p FaceTime HD
• Audio: Dual speakers with Spatial Audio support; dual microphone array
• Wireless: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth
• Ports: 2x USB-C (USB 3 / USB 2 mix), 3.5mm headphone jack
• Battery life: Up to 16 hours
• Keyboard: Magic Keyboard with multi-touch trackpad
• Security: Touch ID (on select configurations)
• Operating system: macOS
• Colours: Silver, Indigo, Blush, Citrus
• Dimensions: approx. 297.5 x 206.4 x 12.7 mm
• Weight: approx. 1.23 kg

You can buy the MacBook Neo directly from Apple HERE. The 256GB model is £599, while the 512GB model (with Touch ID) is £699. Education discount is also available for £100 off HERE.

Pros

• Beautiful aluminium body.
• Bright and accurate screen.
• A18 Pro gets the job done with ease for light tasks.
• Solid battery life.
• MacOS is as good as ever.
• Keyboard and trackpad perform well.
• Speakers offer good clarity considering it's just a pair of side-firing drivers.
• Very good value, especially if you get the education discount.

Cons

• More memory would be welcome.
• Just two USB-C ports, one of which is USB 2.0, and neither have MagSafe.
• Webcam is passable but not super high quality.
• Keyboard isn't backlit.

KitGuru says: Apple's MacBook Neo is an impressively well-rounded laptop considering the asking price. It's not designed for the power user, but if you want something that just works for general use, this is a great option.

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