185: MacBook Neo Is Here — Should You Buy Apple’s $599 Laptop?

Mar 13, 2026

They unpack first impressions of a $599 MacBook Neo that swaps M-series for an iPhone-class A18 Pro and trims features to hit the price. They debate whether 8GB RAM and the tradeoffs impact real-world performance and who should buy it. The conversation also covers a new 27-inch Studio Display XDR with mini-LED and 120Hz, plus the iPhone 17e’s tweaks like MagSafe and increased base storage.

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ANECDOTE

Windy Demo Showed Webcam And Mic Hold Up

Dan tested the Neo webcam and mics during a windy, tornado-watch day and listeners reported they couldn't hear background noise.
He noted the camera looked fine given gloomier lighting and said the microphone captured his voice clearly.

INSIGHT

Neo Redraws The iPad Versus Mac Decision

The Neo shifts the iPad vs Mac purchase calculus by offering a full macOS laptop at iPad-like prices, making iPad less compelling as a primary work device.
Hartley predicts the Neo will shrink the list of users who should choose an iPad unless they need touch, Apple Pencil, or portrait reading.

INSIGHT

Apple Ecosystem Is Converging Toward Overlap

Dan and Hartley see touchscreen Macs and foldable iPhones further blurring device roles: Mac may gain touch, iPhone may gain iPad-like multitasking.
They predict iPad could be squeezed into a niche companion role as Macs and iPhones converge.

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On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss first impressions of the MacBook Neo, Studio DisplayXDR, and iPhone 17e.

Following its announcement last week, the ‌MacBook Neo‌ arrived this week. Unlike every other Apple silicon Mac, the ‌MacBook Neo‌ is powered by the A18 Pro chip originally developed for the iPhone 16 Pro, making it the first Mac to use an iPhone-class processor instead of an M-series chip.

To reach its substantially lower price point, the ‌MacBook Neo‌ makes some compromises. Unlike the MacBook Air, it does not feature keyboard backlighting, a haptic trackpad, P3 wide color, True Tone, ambient light sensing, a camera indicator LED, MagSafe charging, Thunderbolt connectivity, or a 12-megapixel camera with Center Stage, nor does it come with Touch ID as standard. It is also thicker with a slightly reduced battery life, and has larger borders around the slightly smaller display.

That being said, it is $500 cheaper than a ‌MacBook Air‌ and is designed to compete with lower-cost Windows laptops and Chromebooks, while expanding the Mac lineup with a substantially more affordable option. We talk through the real-world impact of some of these compromises, including performance with the A18 Pro chip and 8GB of memory.

The ‌iPhone 17e‌ retains the same design and price as the iPhone 16e but adds the A19 chip, ‌MagSafe‌ support, Apple's second-generation C1X modem, and 256GB of base storage. Apple also introduced a new ‌Studio Display‌ XDR model, replacing the Pro Display XDR. The new model offers a 27-inch 5K mini-LED panel with up to a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR brightness up to 2,000 nits, and Thunderbolt 5 connectivity. We compare both of these new products to their predecessors, as well as the ‌iPhone 17e‌ and the ‌iPhone 16‌ as the two lowest-cost iPhones on sale today.

All of the newly announced devices became available to pre-order on Wednesday, March 4, with the entire lineup scheduled to launch and begin arriving to customers on Wednesday, March 11. The MacRumors Show has its own YouTube channel, so make sure you're subscribed to keep up with new episodes and clips.

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