Meet the MacBook Neo, Apple’s colorful answer to the Chromebook, starting at $599

Apple on Wednesday unveiled a low-cost, entry-level laptop with built-in hardware MacBook Neomarking the first time the company has targeted a similar audience as Google did with its Chromebook.

Starting at $599, the MacBook Neo is aimed at students or users whose work does not involve intensive workflows such as video editing or 3D rendering. The 13-inch MacBook Neo is available in four colors: silver, blush, citrus and indigo. The base model has 256GB of storage, and upgrading to the $699 model gets you 512GB of storage, plus Touch ID.

Apple appears to be able to offer the Neo at this price because the laptop is powered by the A18 Pro chip, which powers the iPhone 16 Pro models, instead of the more powerful, expensive M5 chip used in the latest MacBook Air.

“Powered by the A18 Pro, MacBook Neo can perform everyday tasks, from browsing the web and streaming content, editing photos, exploring creative hobbies, or using AI capabilities across apps,” Apple wrote in a press release. “In fact, it’s up to 50 percent faster for everyday tasks like web browsing, and up to 3x faster when running AI workloads on the device, like applying advanced effects to photos, compared to the best-selling PC with the latest Intel Core Ultra 5.”

The laptop has a FaceTime HD 1080p camera and dual microphones, as well as speakers that are activated on each side of the laptop to support Spatial Audio. Apple says the laptop’s battery can last up to 16 hours on a single charge, which is delivered via one of two USB-C ports. The Neo also has a standard 3.5mm headphone jack.

The MacBook Neo uses a 5-core GPU and a 16-core neural engine, which can support similar levels of gaming and AI tasks on the device as a recent iPhone. It’s fanless, like the MacBook Air, and can run quietly.

With the ongoing RAM shortage making Apple’s most advanced models like the MacBook Pro up to $400 more expensive than their predecessors, the MacBook Neo has the potential to appeal to users who don’t need as many tech perks… or, for those of us who just can’t resist a pink MacBook.