Apple launches lower-end $849 MacBook Neo, threatening Windows PC market

NEW YORK – Apple rolled out the $849 MacBook Neo in its biggest push yet into low-end laptops, aiming to challenge Windows PCs and Chromebooks for budget-minded shoppers.  

The machine is $500 less than any new-generation laptop Apple has sold before, coming in well below the now $1,599 MacBook Air. The MacBook Neo will be offered in citrus, silver, indigo and blush colour options, potentially making it appealing both to students and mainstream consumers.

Pre-orders in Singapore begin on March 6, with each buyer limited to two MacBook Neo purchases.

The MacBook has a 13-inch screen, making it one of the company’s smallest laptops to date. The MacBook Air, in contrast, offers a 13.6-inch display. Another twist: The Neo runs on an iPhone A18 Pro chip, marking the first time Apple is using a smartphone processor in a Mac. 

The release is a major shift for Apple, which has been reluctant for decades to launch a low-end Mac laptop. But the speed of its iPhone processors allowed the company to bring prices down significantly without sacrificing performance.

In a statement, Mr John Ternus, Apple’s hardware engineering chief, said the MacBook Neo was “built from the ground up to be more affordable for even more people”.

The base model includes 256 gigabytes of storage, while a $999 upgraded version doubles the capacity and adds Touch ID for logging into and approving payments. There are also discounts on each model for education buyers.

The device has 16 hours of battery life, which compares with 18 hours for the latest MacBook Air – a model that has an M5 chip. The display runs at up to 500 nits of brightness, matching the Air, and the laptop comes in at 1.2kg.

Beyond targeting more budget-conscious shoppers, Apple will be able to pitch the computer as an option to corporate and institutional buyers – given its lower price and compatibility with both Mac and iPhone apps. 

The Neo runs at speeds powerful enough for daily tasks like web browsing, word processing, photo editing and videoconferencing. Even with the iPhone chip, the machine still runs the same macOS operating system found on other Macs. 

The MacBook Neo is still made from aluminium, the same premium material used in higher-end Mac laptops and desktops. It also has a full keyboard and trackpad, support for Wi-Fi 6E and a 1080P FaceTime camera, specifications that trail the Air and other Apple laptops.

The device has two USB-C ports and a headphone jack. Bloomberg News reported in November 2025 that the lower-cost MacBook was in the works. 

The machine is costlier than the cheapest Chromebooks and Windows PCs, which can sell for as little as US$200 (S$255) to US$600. But compared with those products, Apple’s offering is positioned as a far more premium device, given its design, features and internal components. The company says the machine runs artificial intelligence tasks three times faster than rival PC laptops.

Apple is expecting an influx of fresh customers to its stores to try out the new offering. It sees an opportunity to draw them into its product ecosystem. That could open up further opportunities to sell additional devices, such iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches. 

The Cupertino, California-based company is coming off a disappointing holiday season for the Mac, with sales of the computer line dropping 6.7 per cent to US$8.39 billion. Analysts had projected more than US$9 billion.

The launch caps off an extensive week of product releases, including the iPhone 17e and M4 iPad Air on March 2, as well as new versions of the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and Studio Display monitors on March 3.

Later in 2026, Apple is poised to break with tradition again with plans for a touchscreen Mac. Bloomberg