I was genuinely excited when the Apple MacBook Neo arrived today. On paper, it sounded like one of the most interesting budget laptops Apple has ever released. A $599 Mac with Apple silicon could have been a real problem for cheap Windows laptops.
After spending some time with it, though, I’ve already decided it’s going back.
To be clear, the MacBook Neo isn’t a terrible computer. There are things about it that I genuinely like. But once you start actually using it, the compromises become hard to ignore. For me, those compromises add up to a laptop I simply don’t want to keep.
The biggest problem is the trackpad.
Apple normally makes the best laptop trackpads in the business, so I was surprised by how unreliable this one feels. The MacBook Neo uses a mechanical trackpad instead of Apple’s usual haptic system, and the difference is obvious. Multitouch gestures feel inconsistent. Two finger scrolling sometimes stutters. Pinch to zoom occasionally fails to register.
Sometimes it works perfectly. Other times it doesn’t. That kind of inconsistency gets frustrating quickly.
Then there’s the display.
The MacBook Neo has a 13 inch screen, and while the resolution sounds decent on paper, the panel itself left me disappointed. Colors look noticeably washed out compared to other Macs I’ve used. It just lacks the punch people usually expect from Apple displays.
The size also feels cramped. Thirteen inches might be fine for quick tasks, but once I started working with multiple windows, I found myself wishing for more screen space.
The speakers were another letdown.
I fired up some hip hop tracks to see how the MacBook Neo would handle music, and honestly, it didn’t sound great. The audio comes across thin and tinny, with very little bass. Songs that usually sound rich on other Macs end up feeling flat here. They’re fine for YouTube videos or casual listening, but if you enjoy music, the speakers probably won’t impress you.
One thing that surprised me was the weight.
For such a small laptop, the MacBook Neo feels heavier than I expected. At about 2.7 pounds it isn’t objectively heavy, but in the hand it somehow feels dense. When you first pick it up, it doesn’t have the airy feeling you might expect from a compact machine.
The keyboard is another annoyance.
I knew going in that the MacBook Neo doesn’t include a backlit keyboard. Apple was clear about that. Still, actually using the laptop in a dim room reminded me how much I rely on keyboard backlighting. It feels like a strange omission in 2026, even on a budget Mac.
And then there’s the color.
I bought the citrus version because I thought it looked fun in photos. In person, though, the novelty wears off pretty quickly. The bright yellow shade leans a little too close to what I’d jokingly call “pee yellow,” and after a few hours the color stopped feeling playful and started feeling a bit gimmicky.
To be fair, there are things the MacBook Neo gets right.
Performance is actually quite impressive.
The A18 Pro chip makes macOS feel fast and responsive. Apps launch quickly, web browsing is smooth, and the laptop handled everyday tasks without any hesitation. For writing, email, browsing, and light photo work, the performance is more than adequate.
And of course, macOS itself remains a huge strength. Even on lower priced hardware, macOS is still polished and enjoyable to use.
But for me, the overall experience just doesn’t add up.
Between the unreliable trackpad, washed out display, underwhelming speakers, lack of keyboard backlighting, and a color that loses its charm quickly, the MacBook Neo ends up feeling like a rare Apple product that cuts a few too many corners.
The idea of a $599 Mac is exciting.
The reality, at least for me, isn’t quite there yet.
So back in the box it goes.
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