MacBook Neo vs. MacBook Air (M5): Comparing Apple’s laptops
MacBook Neo vs. MacBook Air (M5): Comparing Apple’s laptops
https://mashable.com/comparison/macbook-neo-vs-macbook-air-m5
Publish Date: 2026-03-07 05:33:00
Source Domain: mashable.com
The MacBook Air has been Apple’s entry-level offering since 2011, but as of this week, it’s now a mid-tier upgrade. On March 4, the company announced that it’s launching an all-new budget laptop called the MacBook Neo, which starts at just $599 — giving Chromebooks and cheap Windows laptops some fresh competition.
There’s a $500 gap between the MacBook Neo and the latest base MacBook Air, which was just updated with the M5 chip. That accounts for some pretty big differences on their spec sheets related to processor types, RAM and storage options, display quality, battery life, and more. Let’s dive right into a MacBook Neo vs. MacBook Air comparison.
MacBook Neo vs. MacBook Air (M5): Pricing and specs
The MacBook Neo (pictured here in indigo) comes in two configurations.
Credit: Timothy Beck Werth / Mashable
The 13-inch M5 MacBook Air starts at $1,099, while the 15-inch version starts at $1,299. The Apple Store’s education discount knocks $100 off for college students, their parents, and school staff.
Both sizes of the M5 MacBook Air are kitted with the following specs:
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Processor: M5 chip with a 10-core CPU and an 8-core or 10-core GPU
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Memory: 16GB, 24GB, or 32GB RAM
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Storage: 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB SSD
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Display: 13.6-inch or 15.3-inch Liquid Retina display
The M5 MacBook Airs have double the starting storage of their predecessors — 512GB instead of 256GB. While they don’t come in that lesser configuration anymore, they’re $100 cheaper than their M4 counterparts with 512GB of disk space. Their 4TB storage upgrade is also new.
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Laptop specs explained: A jargon-free guide to what’s inside your computer
The M5 MacBook Air’s MSRP gave Apple a lot of breathing room in pricing the MacBook Neo, but it’s even cheaper than some analysts expected. The base configuration with…
