But of course the customer has to live with some restrictions with the inexpensive MacBook Neo. Read here how the MacBook Neo compares directly with the MacBook Air in terms of specifications.
The processor
The MacBook Neo comes with an Apple A18 Pro with 6 processor cores (2x performance, 4x efficiency) and 5 GPU cores. The MacBook Air, which was just updated yesterday, uses an M5 with 10 processor cores (4x performance, 6x efficiency) and 8 or 10 GPU cores. The CPU cores of the A18 Pro are a generation older than those of the M5, which is noticeable in the single-core performance: In an iPhone 16 Pro, the A18 Pro achieves around 3,500 points – but the M5 in a MacBook achieves around 4,300 points. It is not yet clear how high the clock speed of the A18 Pro in the MacBook Neo is.
The MacBook Neo is also likely to be noticeably slower when it comes to the GPU: only half of the GPU cores are available – and these are also a generation older than the M5. It can therefore be assumed that the A18 Pro offers around 40 percent of the GPU performance of an M5.
RAM
The MacBook Neo comes with 8 GB of RAM – and there is no option to expand this at purchase or later. The MacBook Air, on the other hand, comes with 16 GB of RAM as standard – and can be expanded to 24 or 32 GB upon purchase. The first Macs with an M chip came onto the market in 2020 with 8 or 16 GB of RAM – and various tasks can be accomplished with 8 GB of RAM, especially since outsourcing to the SSD when there is a lack of RAM no longer takes as much time as it used to when using normal hard drives. Nevertheless, you should be aware that working with multiple, demanding programs becomes more difficult.
The SSD
With the MacBook Neo, the buyer can choose between 256 or 512 GB SSD – and the 512 GB version has Touch ID on the keyboard, which you have to do without with the 256 GB model. The MacBook Air always has Touch ID installed – and the standard version comes with a 512 GB SSD, which can be expanded up to 4 TB.
In both devices, expanding the SSD capacity is practically impossible because the memory components are firmly soldered to the logic board. Without the appropriate equipment and a lot of experience in soldering, expansion is impossible.
If you need more than 512 GB of storage space, your only option is to buy a MacBook Air – or connect an external hard drive or SSD.
The screen
The MacBook Air can be ordered with either a 13.6″ or 15.3″ screen – the MacBook Neo only has a 13″ display available for purchase. The 13.6″ display of the Air offers 2560×1664 pixels, the 15.3″ screen has 2880×1864 pixels. The 13″ MacBook Neo has 2408×1506 pixels. However, there is no difference in terms of brightness: Apple specifies 500 nits for all displays.
The MacBook Neo has two additional limitations: TrueTone is not supported, nor is the P3 color space. With the Neo you have to make do with the sRGB color space.
The battery
Macs with Apple Silicon all offer impressive battery life – but compared to the MacBook Air, you have to settle for a little less with the Neo: Apple states that the MacBook Air 13″ offers 18 hours of video streaming and 15 hours of wireless surfing – with the Neo this is 16 hours of streaming or 11 hours of surfing.
The A18 Pro is significantly more efficient here, as the MacBook Neo has a battery with only 36.5 watt hours – the MacBook Air has 66.5 watt hours. By the way, you don’t have to use fast charging with the Neo, as this is only supported by the MacBook Air with a 70-watt power supply.
