MacBook Neo's real killer feature: Its $499 education pricing

Apple's budget laptop, the MacBook Neo, is here. There has been lots of hype around Apple's cheapest ever MacBook and its price point starting at $599. At that price range, it finally puts Apple's MacBook line into financial reach for many potential users who just couldn't see themselves spending $1,000 or more for a laptop.

While $599 is a pretty affordable deal for a MacBook, knocking off another $100 would really give the budget PC laptop market some stiff competition. And, that's exactly what Apple has done with its education pricing.

If you go to Apple's Education Store for students and education professionals, Apple is selling the base MacBook Neo which comes with 256GB of storage for a discounted price of $499. If you want to double the storage to 512GB and add Touch ID, then the education price is only $599 or the exact same price as the 256GB base model without the education discount.

This is the real killer deal that makes the MacBook Neo a real problem for Windows laptop manufacturers. In fact, looking at Apple's MacBook Neo announcement, it is the only new product the company announced where Apple mentions the $499 education pricing in its announcement and not just in its pricing bullet points.

A $599 MacBook is certainly cheap, but a sub-$500 one, even just psychologically puts it within reach for way more potential buyers.

At $499, Apple opens the door for a whole new user base of students and other first-time Mac owners who aren't necessarily in creative industries or art schools and don't require a super powerful laptop to handle 3D modeling, video editing, or graphic design work.

There's also that not-so-secret "loophole" that many will undoubtedly take advantage of when buying the MacBook Neo: Apple does not check or verify whether consumers are eligible for the education discount. Technically, anyone can order the $499 MacBook Neo in Apple's Education Store.

By mentioning that $499 education pricing in their announcement though, maybe Apple doesn't even mind in exchange for taking over the budget laptop market with the MacBook Neo, the company's most affordable MacBook yet.