Apple MacBook Neo 评测

这本来是必然会发生的事，但我们仍然对Apple推出预算版Macbook感到非常惊讶。长期以来，入门级的Macbook Air（售价999美元）一直是笔记本系列中最实惠的。因此，当Apple宣布Macbook Neo时，打破了所有预期。

我们在过去几年中已经看到了一些明显的迹象——iPhone SE、iPhone 16e、iPhone 17e、Apple Watch SE，以及现在的MacBook Neo。

所以，让我们拆解 Neo，看看 Apple 的重点所在，以及它是如何妥协成一款 599 美元的 MacBook，让所有人再次兴奋起来的。

设计与建造

MacBook 采用与其他高端 MacBook 相同的设计基因。事实上，Neo 和 Air 看起来几乎完全相同，唯一的区别在于尺寸的细微差别。后者更薄（1.13cm 对比 1.27 cm），而前者更紧凑。两者的重量均为 2.7 磅（1.23 kg）。

在这方面，两者的占用空间几乎相同，因此在便携性方面没有任何优势。没有专用的 MagSafe 3 充电接口，配备两个较慢的 USB Type‑C 接口（USB 3.2 和 USB 2.0），两侧各有一个扬声器（靠近掌托），以及一个 3.5mm 音频接口。

Neo 的全铝一体成型设计与 Air 和 Pro 相同。非常坚固耐用，手感高端，表面抛光精致。无论是做工质量都没有任何妥协。Apple 还声称它采用纯回收铝材制造。

上一次MacBook没有背光键盘是在2010年左右的13英寸MacBook Air。遗憾的是，Neo没有背光键盘。

我仍然记得那些使用旧MacBook的日子，这一次，当我在从农场开车回家的途中写这篇评论时，我发现很难在车厢光线昏暗的情况下有效地打字。

键盘和触控板没有任何问题，这两者都非常精准，手感与普通 MacBook 相同。Neo 上的机械触控板可以被视为 Air 和 Pro 上 Force 触控板的廉价版，但如果你是长期使用 MacBook 的用户，你会感受到差异。

另外，Neo的基础版没有Touch ID，而512GB型号配备了Touch ID。这意味着在基础版上你需要更频繁地输入密码。这值得考虑，但并不是致命缺点。

这里最令人兴奋的部分是Apple决定将 Neo 推出四种配色：粉红、靛蓝、银色和柑橘。虽然没有 iMac 那么丰富多彩，但足以让人们为亮眼的柑橘配色流口水。

我本来希望Apple能够把显示尺寸实际缩小到仅12英寸，而不是13英寸。然后，理论上将重量降至约1.05至1.1 kg（2.3–2.4磅），这样在尺寸和重量上与Neo的差异会更明显。这样的差距会让人们在两者之间做选择时有更明确的理由，而不仅仅是价格和性能。

显示与多媒体

Neo 配备 13 英寸 Liquid Retina 显示屏，分辨率为 2408 x 1506 像素，最高亮度为 500 尼特。这与当前 MacBook Air 系列的显示屏相同。

该显示屏提供明亮、鲜艳且色彩准确的画面，非常适合室内使用，但在户外观看时会变得较难。

在 MacBook Neo 上，你首先会注意到的就是没有凹槽显示屏。摄像头巧妙地隐藏在顶部细窄的边框上。

MacBook Neo 支持外接显示器，但此型号仅限连接一台 4K 显示器，远不及 MacBook Air 能支持的双 5K 显示器。

立体声扬声器位于左右两侧靠前的位置，能够提供充足的音效，适合随意播放音乐、观看电影和游戏。音量相当大，音质清脆明亮，尤其在环境噪音较少时表现更佳。在封闭空间中，你可以真正感受到空间音频带来的环绕声效果。

当您想连接外部扬声器或耳机时，有3.5mm音频端口可供选择。这在使用 1080p Facetime 摄像头进行视频通话时也很有用。

性能与基准

这是我们首次看到iPhone芯片用于MacBook。曾经，Apple的iPad系列同时使用M系列和A系列芯片。最新的iPad Pro采用M5芯片，iPad Air采用M4芯片，iPad mini采用A17 Pro，而标准的iPad则采用A16芯片。

MacBook Neo 使用 Apple A18 Pro 芯片，配备 6 核 CPU、5 核 GPU 和 16 核神经引擎。如果您使用的是 iPhone 16 Pro，那么它就是我们所说的同款 Apple A18 Pro。

所以，下一个显而易见的问题是：iPhone 芯片能在 MacBook 上正常运行吗？ 简短的答案是可以，但有一个前提条件。

以下是更长的观察/解释。根据我们对 MacBook Neo 的日常实际使用以及我们进行的合成基准测试，A18 Pro 芯片与 M1 芯片非常相似，但在能效方面具有显著优势。

If you’re using the MacBook Neo as a casual school or office laptop, mostly doing web browsing, office productivity, photo editing and light video editing, 4k video streaming and casual gaming, it can easily handle such tasks with ease.

MacBook Neo A18 Pro
GeekBench 6.7 Single-Core score – 3,046
GeekBench 6.7 Multi-Core score – 8,202
GPU OpenCL – 19,391
GPU Metal – 30,701

Mac Mini M1
GeekBench 6.5 Single-Core score – 2,325
GeekBench 6.5 Multi-Core score – 8,061
GPU OpenCL – 18,837
GPU Metal – 32,859

MacBook Air M3
GeekBench 6.5 Single-Core score – 2,944
GeekBench 6.5 Multi-Core score – 11,208
GPU OpenCL – 30,924
GPU Metal – 48,199

I’d say the A18 Pro is comparable to the Apple M1 chip. That’s not bad at all for an iPhone chip with a performance of a 2020 to 2021 MacBook Air.

Note: The A18 Pro in the MacBook Neo is a binned version of the same chip used in the iPhone 16 Pro, with one GPU core disabled so it runs a 5‑core GPU instead of 6 cores. In chip binning, chips whose GPU does not fully meet the highest quality or performance targets have the faulty core fused off and are sold as lower‑tier parts rather than being scrapped. Apple repurposes these binned A18 Pro chips in the Neo, which helps cut silicon costs and makes the laptop’s aggressive entry‑level pricing possible.

OS, Apps and UI

The Neo came with macOS 26.3 Tahoe but automatically prompted for a 16.34GB update to macOS 26.4. Tahoe comes with a new Liquid Glass design system across windows, icons, and navigation, aligning macOS more closely with iOS 26 and iPadOS 26.

Once you open the Neo for the first time, you’re greeted with a bunch of tools, widgets, apps and pre-installed software that can get you started right away such as iMovie and Garage Band. No need to install Office as their counterparts are already present and come free with macOS (Pages, Numbers and Keynote).

Long-time macOS users also enjoy native features such as Spotlight search, Stage Manager, Time Machine, and Quick Look.

If you’re in the Apple ecosystem (MacBook, iPhone, iPad), you will also love Handoff, Universal Clipboard, iPhone Mirroring and even as simple as syncing Notes across Apple devices.

macOS Tahoe is a powerful operating system with most of the basic tools and apps are already available to the user right out of the box. The interface is relatively easy to understand and navigate with a complement of gesture controls. It also becomes very intuitive and powerful once you harness all the built-in functions and features.

Connectivity and Battery

In terms of connectivity, the MacBook Neo only comes with 2 Type-C ports, one with USB 3.2 while another is an older USB 2.0 which is outdated and rather slow. There’s no MagSafe charging port either so you’re going to have to go back to the “dongle life” with the Neo.

You also have Bluetooth 6 and WiFi 6E for wireless connectivity.

As for the battery, the Neo only comes with 36.5Whr (or 9,516mAh) lithium‑ion battery which is far smaller than the 53.8Whr battery of the Air. That’s a 32% reduction in battery capacity which might be a big deal with many users but in real-world tests, the A18 Pro is more power-efficient that battery life isn’t that far apart.

In one of our test video playback, the MacBook Neo got 15 hours and 40 minutes running a 1080p movie at 50% brightness and 50% volume with WiFi turned on. That’s not as long as the 22 to 24 hours & 26 minutes we got on the MacBook Pro M5 but certainly nothing to cough about.

The MacBook Neo also charges via USB-C with a slower 20W charger included in the box. Should you use a faster charging brick, you can get up to 45W of charging which is quite decent.

During our charging test, we managed to get from 20% to 80% battery charge in just 62 minutes; then, it slows down after 80%. Based on this observation, we reckon the normal charging time would be around 2 hours and 5 minutes to get from zero to 100%.

In order to bypass this trickle charging, you will need to go into the Settings (Battery Health) and disable the “Optimized Battery Charging” option. This way, the charging time is theoretically shortened to just 1 hours and 45 minutes.

* Charging test was done at 50% brightness and WiFi turned OFF.

Conclusion

The MacBook Neo is a masterful way for Apple to take a big chunk of the pie in the sub-$600 laptop market (or under the Php 40,000 price category, if we’re talking Philippine settings). There’s technically nothing really new in the Neo but the fact that Apple was able to make a reasonable compromise and set their entry-level MacBook at this price point poses a serious threat against similarly-priced Windows laptop.

The MacBook Neo is a great looking laptop, built in the same high quality level as any other premium MacBooks, with a commendable performance but at almost half the price of the previously most affordable Apple laptop (i.e. MacBook Air).

The Neo is ideal for people are starting out on a MacBook for the first time, for students who needs a typical computing device that’s capable but affordable or for those who travel a lot and have to have their laptop with them for some short and quick work tasks.

I reckon hard-core users who favor the 16-inch MacBook Pro would also prefer to get the MacBook Neo as a secondary laptop to carry around and just leave the heavier one at home or office for serious work.

Should you go for the Neo or the Air?

The Neo starts at Php39,999 and goes up to Php46,999 for the 8GB + 512GB variant. The entry-level MacBook Neo is a great option if you are starting out on a Mac and don’t have a huge budget.

However, if you have a budget below Php50,000, then there’s the option to go for the Macbook Air M2 (starts at Php49,990) or the Air M3 (starts at Php48,500). Based on local Apple Retailers (Power Mac Center), here are the options you can get at that price point.

Macbook Neo (8GB + 512GB) – Php46,999
Macbook Air M2 (16GB + 256GB) – Php48,500
Macbook Air M3 (8GB + 256GB) – Php49,990

Either the M2 or M3 MacBook Air is a strong alternative to the Neo around the Php50k budget. Aside from the performance gain, you get better display and audio, Thunderbolt ports, MagSafe support, and better battery life.

Ultimately, what Apple is doing here is giving consumers more option when going Mac with a much lower starting price. And that can only be good for everyone.

What we liked:
* Great build quality like any other MacBooks
* Nice brilliant display
* Attractive price point as an entry-level device
* Nice color options

What we did not like:
* Slow charging
* Minimal ports
* No backlit keyboard (that I missed the most)

Apple MacBook Neo specs:
13-inch Liquid Retina display, 2408 x 1506 resolution, 500 nits brightness
Apple A18 Pro chip
6-core CPU @ 4.04GHz base clock speed
5-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine
8GB RAM
256GB, 512GB storage
1080p FaceTime camera
Spatial Audio, Dolby Atmos speakers
Magic Keyboard, Touch ID
1x USB-C 3.2 port
1x USB-C 2.0 port
WiFi 6E
Bluetooth 6
macOS 26.3 Tahoe
36.5Whr lithium‑ion battery
Blush, Indigo, Silver, Citrus (colorways)