MacBook Neo: Here's everything reviewers didn’t like

We've already reviewed (and loved) the MacBook Neo, the newest member of Apple's laptop family. Its positive aspects include that $599 price point (or $499 with open-to-all education pricing), fun colors such as citrus, and a powerful A18 Pro chipset. And that sentiment is pretty much unanimous amongst tech reviewers.

Still, amongst all the adulation for Apple's most affordable laptop ever, there are drawbacks. These aren't necessarily flaws — Apple had to pick and choose what to include and what not to include in order to make its low-cost MacBook a reality. The positives outweigh the negatives, but it's still important for consumers to know what they're getting into. Here's why the Neo might not be your cup of tea.

Only 8GB of RAM

Most outlets, from Mashable to The Verge, have pointed out that the MacBook Neo only comes with 8GB of RAM. Regardless of which model you buy, there's no option to upgrade your MacBook Neo's memory nor is it possible to upgrade it at a later time. For most general use cases — writing documents, browsing the internet — 8GB will be more than enough. But if they need to multitask — or perform processor-hungry video editing, say — users will likely feel the need for a few more GB.

Few ports in a storm

The MacBook Neo is seriously lacking ports. As our review notes, the MacBook Neo doesn't have a Thunderbolt 4 port, meaning that it can only offer transfer speeds of up to 10Gb/s. Compare that with 40Gb/s for the latest MacBook Air.

As for the Neo's two USB-C ports? Well, as Macworld writes, they aren't exactly equal. One is for 10Gb/s data transfer and displays, while the other one is only a 480Mbps port — which should be used mostly for charging purposes.

Single-core processes: Good. Multi-core processes? Ehh.

The MacBook Neo and its A18 Pro chip are surprisingly faster at many single-core processes than even the more powerful M Series chipsets. In 9to5Mac's benchmark tests, the Neo was faster than the M1, M2, and even M3 MacBook Air laptops when used for tasks like web browsing and basic photo editing. 

However, the MacBook Neo is significantly slower when it comes to more complex use cases like video exporting and AI processing  that require multi-cores. 9to5Mac found that the MacBook Neo was only slightly faster than the more than a 5-year-old M1 MacBook Air, and slower than the rest of the M Series chips.

Want slim? Consider the MacBook Air

Bloomberg, as well as our colleagues at CNET, make an interesting point. While the MacBook Neo is small thanks to its 13-inch display, it is still thicker than the MacBook Air. This makes sense — when you're paying the extra for an Air, you're paying for a slim build. But it means the Neo isn't quite as easy to tote around as you might think. (The Neo and the 13-inch MacBook Air both weigh the same, around 2.7 lbs.)

CNET also found that the MacBook Neo's battery life didn't last as long as some other MacBooks, including the MacBook Air.

MacBook Neo's base model may not be enough

As many reviewers noted, the $599 model only comes with 256GB of storage space and does not have Touch ID. In this day and age, 256GB of storage space isn't much. System data will take a chunk of that space off the bat; once you install apps, there might not be too much left for documents and downloads. Touch ID is really handy, meanwhile; it removes the need to type in most passwords.

Apple does provide an upgraded MacBook Neo model which doubles the storage space to 512GB, and includes Touch ID, for an extra $100. But that takes away the allure of the base model MacBook Neo's extremely low pricing.

As BGR points out, it seems Apple sent most early reviewers the 512GB model with Touch ID. That hints at which MacBook Neo model Apple considers standard. 

Bottom line: the MacBook Neo appears to be a powerful computer at an amazing price as long as you're using the device for basic, everyday tasks. In more advanced use cases, it may still fit your purposes — but we recommend taking a look at what else Apple has to offer, just to be sure you're buying the appropriate MacBook for your needs.