Apple MacBook Neo Who Is It Really For?

Just two years ago if you had told me Apple would launch a MacBook that was cheaper than the cheapest iPhone I would have probably asked you to take a urine test. But as I wrote yesterday, the retail price of the top-of-the-line MacBook Neo (RM2899) is cheaper than the price of the iPhone 17e (RM2999).Apple is rarely labeled as an “affordable” company. Just like “Malaysia’s beloved club” and “JDT” would not appear in a sincere essay. Ha ha I’m kidding but 2026 has started with a surprise as this year the price of devices will increase due to the RAM ragnarok driven by the construction of AI data centers.After the price shock subsided, questions began to appear on every corner of social media. Is it powerful enough? Is it worth buying? For whom exactly?Is it powerful enough?This was answered this morning after the benchmark scores of the MacBook Neo appeared on the Geekbench site. The A18 Pro chip used is the same as the iPhone 16 Pro Max in 2024 and is actually more powerful than the Apple M1 chip launched in 2020. It's hard to believe that a chip for a 2025 smartphone is more powerful than the MacBook M1 chip.Please use the chart below to see how the MacBook Neo compares to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 17 Pro, MacBook Air M1, MacBook Pro M1 Pro (16-inch) and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.Single Core Multi Core DevicesMacBook Neo 3461 8668Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 3359 8129Apple iPhone 17 Pro 3560 8835MacBook Air M1 2346 8342MacBook Air M2 (10-core GPU) 2597 9709MacBook Pro M1 Pro (16-inch) 2441 12,910Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra 3651 10,819I currently use a MacBook Pro M1 Pro (16-inch) for my daily tasks and I can tell you that even though this laptop is almost 5 years old, it is still powerful enough for my daily work. The caveat here is that my laptop has 16GB of RAM and not the 8GB RAM used in the MacBook Neo.As a machine for typing, writing, doing basic Photoshop editing, producing CapCut videos and watching videos on a plane I find the MacBook Neo to be more than adequate. It's just that the number of tabs open on the web browser needs to be reduced.Before using this MBP M1 Pro I used a MacBook Air M2 with 8GB RAM. If you plan to open a lot of tabs on the web browser, 8GB RAM I honestly say is too minimal. Like the minimum specs requirements for video gamesIs it worth buying?Worth is something subjective and it varies between every user on earth. Below in my opinion are the Pros and Cons of the MacBook NeoPROSA MacBook with MacOS Tahoe 26.A laptop with a beautiful aluminum body instead of plastic.Beautiful design with a choice of cheerful colors (I was also tempted by the yellow color).Battery life up to 16 hours.A very nice Magic Keyboard to type on.Apple's best-in-class trackpad.Speakers with spatial audio.CONSThe keyboard is not illuminated.Only 8GB RAMThe trackpad has no haptic system.The small screen is only 13″ compared to 13.8″ on a MacBook Air.Only 1x USB-c 3 and 1 USB-C 2.0.These are the Pros and Cons but I feel that to say it is really worth it or not is to compare it to a Windows 11 laptop at a comparable selling price. After doing some searching I feel that the HP Next Gen AI Laptop 15-FD1102TU is the most compatible model to compare.HP Next Gen AI Laptop 15-FD1102TUMacBook Neo HP Next Gen AI Laptop 15-FD1102TU13″ Liquid Retina LCD screen2408 x 1506 pixels60Hz, 500 nits 15.6″ IPS LCD1920 x 1080 pixels60Hz, 300 nitsApple A18 Pro processor (3 nm)6 Core CPU5 Core Intel Core Ultra 5 125H GPU (7nm)CPU 14 Cores7 Core GPURAM 8GB RAM(Solder) 16GB RAM DDR5-5600 MHz(Solder)Storage 256GB / 512GB SSD(Solder) 512GB SSD M.2(Can be changed)Front Camera 1080p FaceTime HD 720p HP True VisionBattery 36.5 Wh 41 WhBoard Magic Keyboard(No backlight) Keyboard with Numpad(Backlit)Biometric System Touch ID (512GB model only) NoneTelecommunication Wi-Fi 6EBluetooth 6 Wi-Fi 6Bluetooth 5.3I/O 1x USB-C 3 (10 Gbps)1x USB-C 2.0 (480 Mbps)1x 3.5mm audio jack 1x USB-C 3 (10 Gbps)2x USB-A (5 Gbps)1x HDMI 1.4b1x 3.5mm audio jack1x AC power plugOperating System MacOS Tahoe 26 Windows 11 HomeWeight 1.23 kg 2.29 kgPrice RM 2499 (8/256GB)RM 2899 (8/512GB) RM 2649 (16/512GB)Based on the table above, I think you’ll agree that the phrase “the affordable Windows 11 laptop market is now destroyed” because of the MacBook Neo is simply unfounded. The HP Next Gen AI Laptop 15 has a larger screen, backlit keyboard, more I/O ports, a bigger battery, more RAM and an upgradeable M.2 SSD. If you look smart, there are Windows 11 laptops out there that offer more value for your money.Who is it really for?So who is the MacBook Neo really for? My answer is for parents who want to give their child their first MacBook. My son has been using an iPad and my old Intel MacBook since he was a child. For an upgrade, the MacBook Neo is a safe bet before he goes to a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro at university.It’s not for people like me because of the small screen, non-backlit keyboard, 8GB of RAM and a trackpad without haptics (if you’ve ever used haptics you can’t live without them). If you consider yourself a hardcore user, the MacBook Neo is definitely not for you.As an alternative, I found a MacBook Air M2 (8 core) with 16GB RAM and 256GB SSD for sale at RM3,299. A little more expensive but all the CONS I wrote above are solved with this model.