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Marques Brownlee
Macbook Neo Impressions: Reincarnated!
Macbook Neo Impressions: Reincarnated!
Marques Brownlee
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8:47 · Mar 4, 2026
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All
right,
so
Apple
is
doing
a
week
of
new
release
stuff
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0:02
All right, so Apple is doing a week of new release stuff
0:05
and it's all headlined by what I saw today,
0:07
which is the newest cheapest entry to the MacBook lineup, the MacBook Neo.
0:12
First of all, interesting name.
0:14
We've never heard that word from Apple before.
0:15
I thought when it was leaked it was maybe just a code name.
0:17
I would have bet it's just called the MacBook, but no,
0:20
it's actually MacBook Neo.
0:22
And the basics are this.
0:24
It is a 13-in laptop powered by the A18 Pro chip,
0:27
8 gigs of RAM,
0:28
256 gigs of starting
0:30
and it is a super thin
0:32
and decently light all aluminum laptop.
0:34
Two USB type-C ports on the left-hand side, not Thunderbolt.
0:38
There's a headphone jack on the left
0:39
as well and then there's some side-firing stereo speakers.
0:43
And it comes in four colors, indigo, blush, citrus, and silver.
0:47
They all have this sort of a whitish keyboard
0:50
that is kind of tinted to match the color of the laptop.
0:53
In person, maybe the lighting is terrible in here,
0:54
but it was kind of hard to tell when looking at a single laptop,
0:57
but you can when they're side by side with each other see
0:59
that the keyboards are tinted.
1:01
And there's a 1080p webcam up at the top hidden in that bezel,
1:05
no notch.
1:06
And most importantly, the starting price, $599.
1:10
And this is really interesting.
1:12
They actually hit the price.
1:14
This is now, you know, the cheapest entry-level Mac laptop.
1:18
It's the same price as a Mac Mini,
1:20
which has actually been one of the best deals in tech for a little
1:22
bit now and I think this one's also shaping up to be pretty good
1:25
value.
1:26
Now, the X-factor is how will the A18 Pro chip perform inside a computer?
1:32
Now, in case you don't remember,
1:33
the A18 Pro is the same chip
1:35
that was in the iPhone 16 Pros last year.
1:38
But actually, this is a bend version.
1:40
This is a five-core GPU version instead of six-core.
1:43
But I think in general,
1:45
there's a lot of tasks
1:47
that regular people do on regular computers
1:50
that clearly don't require a ton of power.
1:52
Web browsing, emailing, shopping, spreadsheet type of stuff, right?
1:57
And before I've done any testing,
1:58
just messing around on this thing for a few minutes,
2:00
it seems like it would be totally fine for that.
2:03
I would not expect to edit videos
2:05
or do anything really intensive on this thing.
2:07
That'd be kind of crazy.
2:08
But I also wouldn't be surprised if it could handle some light photo editing,
2:12
some multitasking, and just, you know, generally be a solid computer.
2:15
Think of it like a Chromebook, but the Apple one.
2:18
It's like a the Safari book, basically.
2:21
This is like it's a super basic computer.
2:23
If you're looking at this and and thinking, "Well,
2:25
I wonder if this has enough RAM for what I'm trying to do."
2:28
This probably already isn't for you.
2:30
This isn't the computer you should be looking at.
2:32
If you're thinking, "I wonder why they're, you know,
2:35
USB type-C ports and not Thunderbolt."
2:38
It's probably not for you.
2:39
You're You're watching an MKBHD video on the day
2:42
that it was uploaded cuz you're subscribed to a tech channel on YouTube.
2:46
This probably isn't the computer for you.
2:47
Now, I'm thinking the battery life could be interesting.
2:49
Obviously, it's the same chip as an iPhone,
2:52
but with a chassis and the battery size of a laptop,
2:55
so it seems like a good combo.
2:56
And I think they're quoting 16 hours right now,
2:59
which doesn't mean much to me except
3:01
that they also quote MacBook Air at 18 hours,
3:04
so it should be in the same ballpark.
3:06
So, why do they do this?
3:07
Why do they make this thing?
3:08
Well, I think the obvious answer is just to have something much more attainable
3:12
available.
3:13
Up until now, the cheapest laptop available was the MacBook Air
3:16
and that just got a price bump up with the M5.
3:18
That's an $1,100 laptop.
3:19
So, this is the cheaper one, but in my limited hands-on time,
3:22
it doesn't feel cheap, right?
3:25
Matter of fact, one of the advantages here is it's going to probably be
3:28
the best-built laptop at this price with this all-metal body,
3:32
this nice hinge weight.
3:33
Everything still feels very much like the other more premium MacBooks.
3:37
There's also a couple smaller things I noticed, too,
3:39
like the base version with 256 gigs doesn't have Touch ID.
3:42
It's just a lock button on the keyboard.
3:45
So, you spend another 100 bucks
3:47
and you get the 512 gigs of storage
3:49
and Touch ID.
3:50
The trackpad also is actually not a haptic trackpad like the rest of the
3:54
MacBooks.
3:54
It's a real moving, clicking, old-school trackpad, I guess,
3:59
but it also feels totally fine.
4:02
And then the display, it's okay.
4:03
It's not amazing.
4:04
It's 13 in corner to corner, pretty normal-looking bezels.
4:08
The rooms we're in are not very bright,
4:09
but this maxes out at 500 nits
4:12
and it's a little higher than 1440p resolution at 60 hertz.
4:16
And I also actually found myself thinking maybe it would be a little bit
4:19
lighter since it's on the small side,
4:21
but it's still all metal and spec for spec,
4:23
it looks like it's the same weight as the slightly bigger MacBook Air,
4:27
2.7 lb.
4:28
You know who this will really kill for?
4:32
Students.
4:33
Education.
4:34
Like and not just college students.
4:35
I think high school and even younger.
4:38
Especially where Chromebooks have been killing it for years.
4:40
Chromebooks have been cheaper
4:42
and have been just dominating in education
4:44
and I think Apple wanted a piece of
4:45
that pie.
4:46
Now, this isn't Chromebook cheap,
4:49
but it is a lot closer than the $1,100 MacBook Air is.
4:52
And with a student discount, if you look on their site,
4:54
this is also now a $499 laptop.
4:57
So, it's a little more appealing.
4:59
And it just plays into the classic Apple thing.
5:01
Like, "Oh, we offer something in the same category.
5:03
Would you rather get the thin
5:04
and light laptop from Acer
5:06
or the one from Apple?"
5:09
Well, the one from Apple works well with the iPhone you have.
5:11
And you know, up until now,
5:13
a lot of students I've seen were trying to undercut a MacBook Air with
5:17
either going cheaper,
5:18
refurbished, or with an iPad.
5:21
Thing about the iPad is it's actually not that much cheaper now.
5:23
If you go with the cheapest base iPad, that's $329,
5:27
but then the keyboard accessory that they make for it costs 250 more dollars.
5:32
So, before you even get a pencil, you're already at just about 600 bucks.
5:36
And that's only 128 gigs and an A16.
5:39
So now, this looks like a much better value to actually get a Mac.
5:42
Now, I have to bring this up.
5:44
Do you remember the original 12-in MacBook?
5:48
This, you know, some of you are younger,
5:49
you might actually not remember this from about 10 years ago,
5:52
but Apple tried to make, before Apple Silicon, a 12-in MacBook.
5:56
And that was supposed to be an even thinner
5:58
and lighter and smaller laptop than the MacBook Air.
6:02
And it was, but it also wasn't a very good laptop at all.
6:07
It was running a 1.1 GHz dual-core Intel processor
6:11
that throttled if you looked at it for too long.
6:13
And it cost $1,300 still.
6:15
But it was a smaller, thinner machine, ultra-portable, a 12-in display,
6:21
8 gigs of RAM, 256 gigs of storage.
6:24
And it was their first laptop with only USB type-C ports.
6:27
Sound familiar?
6:28
This was basically their first attempt at making a netbook.
6:31
So, that has obviously since been retired,
6:33
but my theory is
6:35
that once they spun up Apple Silicon
6:37
and their chips got much more efficient
6:39
and much better integrated,
6:41
they finally had the ability to make that machine but actually good.
6:46
There There was no way they were going to do
6:47
that well with Intel chips.
6:48
And so now, here we are in 2026
6:50
and this is basically
6:52
that old 12-in MacBook reincarnated.
6:55
Now, I also happen to think
6:56
that the old Intel-powered trash can Mac Pro had the same problem
7:01
and that the new Mac Studio is everything
7:04
that they wanted that machine to be,
7:05
which is why they're going to kill the Mac Pro.
7:09
But that's a story for another video.
7:12
Now, there's a couple other announcements this week, of course, too, from Apple.
7:15
There's a new Studio Display and Studio Display XDR to replace the Pro Display.
7:20
There's also an iPhone 17E with MagSafe
7:23
and double the starting storage
7:25
and a new pink color.
7:26
And a spec-bumped M5 Pro
7:28
and M5 Max MacBook Pro with slightly less text on the keyboard
7:32
and a spec-bumped M4 iPad Air.
7:34
So, let me know in the comments
7:35
which of that stuff you're most interested in seeing a review of.
7:38
And make sure you get subscribed to be among the first to see those
7:40
reviews when they do come out.
7:42
And shoutout to Ridge for sponsoring this video.
7:44
Ridge was started 13 years ago by Paul
7:46
and Daniel Cain with one pretty simple goal,
7:48
gear built better.
7:50
And that mission lines up pretty perfectly with why I've been working
7:53
and building with them
7:54
and why I've been the chief creative partner for the past couple years.
7:57
So, to celebrate after selling over 5 million wallets
8:00
and tech and travel gear
8:01
and more,
8:02
Ridge is offering up to 40% off almost everything on their website.
8:06
So, a few things I always suggest to everyone cuz it's good stuff.
8:08
The tracker card, which works with Apple Find My
8:10
and has a really loud chime to help you find it
8:12
when you're nearby.
8:14
Check it out.
8:17
There's also the extremely popular 5-in-1 power bank,
8:20
which I basically always have on me.
8:21
And it's MagSafe compatible, too,
8:23
so it just pops on the back of your phone easy.
8:25
And of course, the redesigned Ridge Wallet 2.0,
8:27
which is now available in two new colors.
8:29
These are iridescent and forge fetty.
8:33
So, don't wait or you'll miss out on up to 40% off.
8:35
Check it out at the link below, ridge.com/mkbhd.
8:38
Thanks for watching and I'll catch you guys in the next one.
8:41
Peace.
8:41
>>
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