Apple unveils its cheapest-ever laptop

Apple has unveiled its cheapest-ever laptop, just days after revealing its latest less-expensive iPhone, as the company makes an unprecedented push into affordable products.

At $899, the MacBook Neo is still more expensive than some ChromeOS laptops, but it’s by far the lowest cost option for a new laptop available to Mac users, and even compares favourably in price to some older or refurbished MacBook Air models. And most notably, it’s positioned to aggressively compete with mid-range Windows devices.

Compared to the current 13-inch MacBook Air, which is twice the price, the Neo has a slightly smaller display, though it’s just as bright, and an identical weight at 1.23 kilograms. It comes in silver, yellow, pink or navy and has an aluminum finish. But on the inside, it differs quite a bit from other MacBooks.

Rather than use one of its M-series desktop-level chips, Apple has equipped the Neo with its A18 Pro, first seen in the 2024 high-end iPhones. It claims the chip has enough power to handle all general computing tasks and Apple Intelligence, while providing up to a 16-hour battery life.

Despite the different chip, the Neo runs the same Mac operating system as other Apple laptops, and has the same compatibility with the company’s wider hardware ecosystem. It should be able to run apps and games that other less-powerful Macs can handle, which could make it desirable to shoppers who use an iPhone and are looking for a lower-cost laptop.

The company is aiming the device at students, young creatives and users with fewer demands for their laptop, and has stripped out a few features compared to its high-end devices. The Neo has less storage than its siblings at 256GB, with the option to double it for an extra $200, and 8GB of system memory compared to at least 16GB. That memory is also slower.

The Neo does not have backlit keyboard keys, and only the 512GB option comes with a fingerprint scanner. It has fewer speakers and microphones. And while both the Neo and Air have two USB-C ports, on the Air, these are Thunderbolt 4, and on the Neo one is USB 3 and one USB 2. These don’t appear to be labelled, so users will have to remember which one supports external displays and faster speeds. It has maintained its 3.5mm headphone jack, but does not have a dedicated MagSafe port for charging. It’s unclear what other changes have been made to the keyboard, trackpad or hinge design.

In a statement, Apple’s hardware engineering chief John Ternus said that the MacBook Neo was a device only Apple could make and was built from the ground up to be more affordable for even more people. Assuming the device lives up to Apple’s regular high bar for build quality, it could stand to supplant the Air as its most popular laptop. It will be available on March 11.

The Neo caps a week of announcements for Apple, which unveiled the iPhone 17e and iPad Air on Tuesday, plus new models of MacBook Air and MacBook Pro on Wednesday. The overall lineup gives the impression that Apple is trying to widen the net of people it can capture in its various ecosystems, given the rise of more appealing low-cost Android phones and ChromeOS laptops. Apple also has many features and subscriptions that work across its devices, incentivising users to move to Mac if they have an iPhone, or vice versa.

Apple is rumoured to be preparing both a touchscreen MacBook model and its first-ever folding iPhone for later in the year, which could broaden its portfolio further.

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