Don't ask how, but we got ahold of a brand new Apple MacBook Neo (2026). These things are selling like hotcakes, so we're just as surprised we got one as you are. After spending 15 minutes with one, the minimum amount of time to get to know a laptop, we wrote up this review. We hope it helps you decide if the Apple MacBook Neo (2026) is for you.
Price:
We got a really good deal. If you can get one too, it's a steal. If you see Mick at the Best Buy on 34th St, tell him you're looking for the "Fell Off The Truck Special". $800 cash.
Design (4/5):
It's a laptop. 14" screen, keyboard, trackpad, the works. 3.42 lb (4.444 kg) starting weight. A mix of aluminium and plastic for the shell. The biggest highlight of the new design is that it doesn't blend because no one makes a blender big enough to fit a laptop. Which I guess is true for other laptops, but it's especially true for the MacBook Neo because we didn't think about it until now.
Performance (2/5):
Why Apple decided to put Windows on this machine instead of MacOS is beyond us. Even running a modified iPadOS would have been better. It takes way too long to start up and loses so much battery life in sleep mode.
A.I. 1/5:
Being a Co-Pilot+ PC isn't that useful yet. Every big tech company is having trouble adding A.I. features to their OS, and Apple is one of them. Windows Recall didn't work as advertised and the added effects in different apps for photo editing or live translations didn't work reliably. The only "A.I." feature we could count on was the co-pilot key. Pressing that button on the keyboard always brought up the co-pilot window.
Branding 3/5:
Apple took its signature low-profile branding even further with the MacBook Neo. Gone is the big Apple logo on the back, now it's replaced by the mysterious new phrase, "DELL". We were confused by the addition of hardware stickers inside the clamshell. Particularly the Intel Inside sticker because we were expecting Apple silicon.
Final Verdict:
It's still better than a Windows laptop. If you need something new, go for it. But when it comes to computers, buying the cheapest thing on the market usually isn't worth the hassle. If we had these same issues with any other manufacturer we would be rating the laptop so much lower. But because of our trust in Apple to improve the experience over time, we give this laptop a 4 out of 5.