3 Minutes
Skeptics scoffed when Apple put an A-series chip into a $599 laptop. The idea felt like a corner cut. Then the benchmark numbers showed up, and the story turned a little sharper.
MacRumors published Geekbench results that put the MacBook Neo at 3,461 for single-core and 8,668 for multi-core, with a Metal GPU score of 31,286. Those figures line up almost exactly with what you’d expect from the A18 Pro that powers the iPhone 16 Pro—minus one GPU core—and they’re not far off the phone’s own scores (3,445 single-core, 8,624 multi-core). By contrast, the original M1 MacBook Air posts roughly 2,346 single-core and 8,342 multi-core.
That single-core gap matters more than you might think. Single-core speed drives the snappy feel of everyday tasks: web browsing, video streaming, email, light photo edits. The Neo beats the M1 on that front, which helps explain why basic workflows should feel fluid despite the lower price tag. Multi-core is another story; the M4 MacBook Air peaks around 14,730 on Geekbench, well ahead of the Neo’s 8,668. But the M4 also commands a much higher price—about $1,099—so you’re paying a premium for those extra threads.
Apple is making some bold claims too. The company says the A18 Pro is up to 50% faster for everyday tasks than competing Intel Core Ultra 5 laptops in the same price bracket, and up to three times faster for on-device AI workloads. Those are Apple’s benchmarks, but the independent Geekbench numbers sketch a consistent picture: surprisingly strong single-core performance and competent GPU results for a sub-$600 machine.
Of course, there are trade-offs. The Neo is limited to 8GB of RAM with no upgrade path. The base model lacks a backlit keyboard. You can connect only one external display. For creatives, developers, and power users who rely on heavy multitasking or multiple monitors, the MacBook Air or higher-tier models remain the sensible jump.
For $599 you’re getting a genuinely capable ultraportable that prioritizes everyday responsiveness over raw multi-core power or expandability.
Practical details matter. The Neo replaces the M1 Air on shelves and goes on sale March 11. Students can pick it up for about $499—an attractive entry point if your workload is mostly browsing, documents, media, and light editing. If you routinely run virtual machines, batch video renders, or large datasets, that extra $500 toward an M4 machine will show up in your day-to-day.
So what should you take away? The MacBook Neo doesn’t pretend to be a MacBook Pro. It’s an exercise in aggressive price-to-performance trade-offs: top-tier single-core responsiveness, limited RAM and ports, and a competitive GPU for the price. For many users—students, writers, remote workers—the Neo will feel fast and well-priced. For others, it’ll be a stepping stone toward the more capable Air models.
Apple’s experiment with A-series silicon in an entry-level laptop is worth watching. It asks us to redefine what a $599 Mac can be, and the early numbers suggest it might have succeeded—depending on what you need it to do.
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