Apple's cheapest MacBook now costs $699 and is still a strong buy

Apple's cheapest laptop now costs $100 more, and CNET still calls it a near-perfect starter Mac. The MacBook Neo launched at $599 and rose to $699 in June. Apple blamed a global shortage of memory chips and rising part costs. CNET gave it an 8.3 and named it the best lightweight budget MacBook.

What you get for $699

The Neo has a 13-inch screen, an A18 Pro chip (the same one in the iPhone 16 Pro), 8GB of memory and 256GB of storage. CNET says it suits web browsing, movies and light photo and text editing. It is not meant for video editing or building AI tools.

The body is all aluminum, which is rare at this price. Most laptops near $700 use plastic for the keyboard area or bottom panel. The Neo weighs 2.7 pounds, the same as the MacBook Air, and is 0.5 inches thick versus 0.4 for the Air.

What is missing

To reach its price, Apple left out Touch ID, the fingerprint login. A $100 upgrade adds it and doubles storage to 512GB. The reviewer says most people would benefit from the extra storage and that everyone should want Touch ID.

The screen is slightly smaller than the Air's 13.6 inches and has thicker borders. Apple uses the larger top border to hide the webcam, so there is no notch cut into the screen. In CNET's tests the Neo reached 518 nits of brightness, just above its 500 nit rating and the Air's 500. Color accuracy was only mediocre, so people doing color-sensitive graphics work will likely want an Air.

How it compares on price

The M5 MacBook Air starts at $1,299, so the Neo is $600 cheaper. CNET notes that a Neo plus the cheapest iPhone costs no more than the cheapest Air alone. Students also get Apple's $100 education discount on the Neo. That is about 14% off, versus 8% on the Air.

Outside the US, the Neo starts at £699 in the UK and AU$1,049 in Australia.

Who it is for

• First-time Mac buyers who want to stay under $1,000
• Parents buying for teenagers who may not take great care of a laptop
• Anyone who mostly browses, streams and writes
• Not for filmmakers, AI developers or color-critical designers

CNET says the Neo has been a hit in the seven months since release and helped lift Mac sales.