The new MacBook Neo

Apple’s just released the long-rumored cheap Mac laptop, starting at the same US$599 as the Mac mini, or even cheaper for education folk, who’ll pay just US$499. Available in silver and three much fancier colors (pink/yellow/blue) this lowers the barrier to e…

Filmmakers go-to destination for pre-production, production & post production equipment! Apple’s just released the long-rumored cheap Mac laptop, starting at the same US$599 as the Mac mini. (It’s even cheaper for education folk, who’ll pay just US$499.) Available in silver and three much fancier colors (pink/greenish-yellow/blue) this lowers the barrier to entry for a Mac laptop significantly, and is almost sure to be a hit.

Should video professionals buy one? Maybe, but probably not as your primary Mac. Let’s dig in. To hit this much lower price point, the MacBook Neo uses not the M1 chip, but the A18 Pro, previously found in iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. On paper, this chip is actually faster than the M1 in CPU and AI tasks, though the M1 wins on GPU speed. A potentially larger limitation is that only 8GB of RAM is included, while all new M-chip Macs now include 16GB.

If you’ve edited on the first MacBook Air with M1, I’d expect this to be a similar experience from a performance perspective, but we haven’t had a hands-on experience yet. I used an M1 Air for a year or so at launch time and was certainly happy to edit video on it. Without hands-on testing — it’s still too new — it’s tough to say how much it’ll struggle. Besides the color choice (officially Silver, Blush, Citrus or Indigo) you only have two spec choices — 256GB and no Touch ID, or 512GB with Touch ID for US$100 more.

Everything else remains the same between the two models. The 13” Retina display has a resolution of 2408×1506 at 500 nits brightness, certainly a step up over the cheap screens found on most laptops, and recalling, once again, the screens on the older MacBook Air with M1. There’s no support for True Tone or P3 Wide Color, though — just sRGB. No ambient light sensor either. Another cost saving is that while there are two USB-C ports, only the rear port is fast.

That rear port is USB 3 (10Gbps) and fast enough for connected SSDs, a monitor or a hub, but the other port is only USB 2.0, for charging and slower accessories. The webcam is a 1080p model, with no support for Center Stage. Sound doesn’t seem to have been cut back, though. The speakers include Dolby Atmos, and a headphone jack, still crucial for audio and video production, is still present. For video playback and encoding, the A18 Pro does support hardware acceleration, including H.264/HEVC/ProRes/ProRes RAW plus AV1 decoding, but we’ll have to wait for more hands-on reviews to see how well it does overall.

If you had to summarize this in one line, it’s like a colorful new version of an old MacBook Air. Of course, yes, they do, most of the time, to most professionals. My current MacBook Pro with M3 Max lets me do great things with Final Cut Pro, Blender, and many Adobe apps, and of course, the newer MacBook Pro with M5 Max would do them even more quickly. While I could do most of those things on a MacBook Neo, I’d be doing them one at a time, and more slowly.

The big difference, of course, is the price. A new creator who wants to use a Mac may not see the value in spending at least US$400 more for a MacBook Air, or over US$1000 more for a MacBook Pro. Since so much video is being consumed and shot on phones at 1080p or so, many mobile-focused creators could be happy with one of these. Certainly, the editing experience on a laptop will be better than editing on a phone, and the entry-level MacBook Neo is cheaper than almost all current iPhones.

US$599 only gets you an iPhone 17e. Also interesting: the entry-level MacBook Neo and the Mac mini share the same US$599 price in the US, but here in Australia, the MacBook Neo is AU$899 while the Mac mini is AU$999. Tariffs? Exchange rates? Curious. If you’re a pro using a tool every day, spend more money — even on a used MacBook Air from the last year or so. You’ll appreciate the 16GB of RAM, Touch ID, speed, and fewer compromises overall.

But if you’re just starting out, not sitting in an edit bay all day, and money matters, maybe this is just fine. If your main Mac sits on a desk and you need something for mobile workflows and very occasional edits, it could suit that too. It’s also a great solution for any PC users who need a Mac for occasional Mac-only jobs. So sure, it’s not the best tool for multiple layers of 6K and 3D rendering.

Instead, it’s US$599.

Summary

This report covers the latest developments in iphone. The information presented highlights key changes and updates that are relevant to those following this topic.

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