Apple Unveils the MacBook Neo: A Budget-Friendly Laptop Powered by the A18 Pro
TL;DR: Apple has launched the MacBook Neo, an all-new budget-friendly laptop starting at RM2,499. It features a 13-inch Liquid Retina display, the powerful A18 Pro chip, up to 16 hours of battery life, and comes in four colours: blush, indigo, silver, and citrus.
Apple has officially announced the MacBook Neo, an entirely new entry into its laptop lineup designed to make the Mac experience more accessible than ever before. Starting at an unprecedented RM2,499, the device combines a fresh, colourful design with the powerful A18 Pro processor.
Vibrant Design and Display
Weighing just 2.7 pounds, the MacBook Neo features a durable and lightweight aluminium enclosure. Bringing a fun touch of personality to the lineup, the laptop is available in four striking colours: blush, indigo, silver, and a fresh new citrus. These colours also extend to the Magic Keyboard, creating a cohesive design aesthetic.
The device boasts a 13-inch Liquid Retina display with a crisp 2408-by-1506 resolution, supporting 1 billion colours and 500 nits of brightness. Apple has also included an anti-reflective coating to ensure a comfortable viewing experience across a variety of lighting conditions.
A18 Pro Performance and Apple Intelligence
Under the hood, the MacBook Neo is powered by the A18 Pro chip. Apple claims the laptop is up to 50 per cent faster for everyday tasks compared to the bestselling PC equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 5.
For more demanding workloads, the integrated 16-core Neural Engine significantly accelerates on-device Apple Intelligence features. Tasks like photo editing and summarising notes are up to three times faster than competing PCs. Impressively, the highly efficient architecture allows for a completely fanless, silent design while delivering up to 16 hours of battery life on a single charge.
Hardware and Connectivity
The laptop is equipped with Apple’s renowned Magic Keyboard featuring Touch ID for secure logins and Apple Pay authentications, alongside a large Multi-Touch trackpad.
For video conferencing, it features a 1080p FaceTime HD camera paired with dual microphones that use directional beamforming to reduce background noise. Audio is handled by dual side-firing speakers with support for Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos.
Connectivity options are streamlined but essential. The device includes two USB-C ports that both support charging, a traditional headphone jack, Wi-Fi 6E for fast wireless networking, and Bluetooth 6 for reliable peripheral connections. Out of the box, the laptop runs on macOS Tahoe, bringing deep integration with the iPhone and the latest Apple Intelligence tools.
Pricing and Availability
The MacBook Neo is built with 60 per cent recycled content, making it Apple’s lowest-carbon MacBook to date.
It will be available to order soon in Malaysia via the official Apple Store online and authorised resellers. Retail pricing starts at RM2,499, firmly positioning it as Apple’s most affordable laptop ever. A special education pricing tier brings the starting cost down even further to RM2,099.
