MacBook Neo

The MacBook Neo is the first Apple laptop to be powered by an A series chip, the A18 Pro, which is what's in the iPhone 16 Pro models. I thought we'd get here sooner than we did, given the A series has been in iPads and Apple TV hardware since 2010.

It starts at $799CAD for the 256GB model, and goes up to $999CAD for the 512GB with Touch ID configuration. It still sucks to see the promotional material from Apple talking up "starting at $599!" only to remember that that's USD pricing of course.

For the record, I think going for the 512GB model is the way to go if you can swing it. 512GB should be the minimum for a Mac laptop IMHO, and Touch ID gives you the ability to use Apple Pay on the MacBook Neo without having to authenticate in other ways which I miss a lot while using my Mac Studio with a Logitech keyboard instead of a Touch ID enabled keyboard. I really should look for a used Magic Keyboard and hack out the Touch ID button.

It still gives a much less expensive starting point for Apple laptops than the $1,499CAD MacBook Air.

I noticed on Apple's comparison chart they highlight that it's the MacBook Neo (A18 Pro), which makes it seem like it could be more powerful than a MacBook Air (M5) model. It's only interesting in that most folks looking for a cheaper MacBook probably aren't worried about which chip it has, or whether it's the "Pro" version or not.

Both models come with 8GB of RAM that isn't upgradeable.

It comes with 2 USB-C ports, though one is USB 3 and the other is USB 2 which feels like a weird thing to do since they both look the same on the outside.

Update: John Siracusa points out an important performance and pricing distinction between the MacBook Neo and the Mac Pro:

Pricing

As Manton noted in USD pricing, an iPhone 17e, iPad Air, Mac mini, or MacBook Neo are all the same $599USD price. In CAD pricing, they're all $799CAD except the iPhone 17e is $100 more at $899CAD for some reason.

Pick any of those and you're going to get a really great computing device for under $1,000. You don't have to be a hardcore Apple pundit to realize Apple's going to sell a lot of these, especially when factoring in the education pricing of $679CAD for the entry level MacBook Neo.