{"id":224433,"date":"2026-03-17T00:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T04:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/17\/i-ditched-the-macbook-air-for-a-macbook-neo-for-48-hours-and-im-shocked\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T01:10:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T05:10:09","slug":"i-ditched-the-macbook-air-for-a-macbook-neo-for-48-hours-and-im-shocked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/17\/i-ditched-the-macbook-air-for-a-macbook-neo-for-48-hours-and-im-shocked\/","title":{"rendered":"I ditched the MacBook Air for a MacBook Neo for 48 hours \u2014 and I’m shocked"},"content":{"rendered":"

I ditched the MacBook Air for a MacBook Neo for 48 hours \u2014 and I’m shocked<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/computing\/macbooks\/i-ditched-the-macbook-air-for-a-macbook-neo-for-48-hours-and-i-was-shocked<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-03-17 00:15:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.tomsguide.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Although Apple recently released the powerful MacBook Air M5 and the even beefier M5 Pro and M5 Max models, the laptop I\u2019ve found most interesting is the MacBook Neo.<\/p>\n

Starting at $599, this entry-level MacBook matches or exceeds the best Windows laptops in that price range. With RAMageddon still forcing companies to raise costs across the board, this budget-friendly MacBook is a welcome relief, and one I can easily recommend to most people.<\/p>\n

In our MacBook Neo review, we called it the best budget laptop ever, thanks to its premium design, bright display, and solid A18 Pro performance. There are some trade-offs, but for $599, it\u2019s a compelling purchase for anyone looking for a wallet-friendly laptop.<\/p>\n

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I just spent 48 hours with the MacBook Neo as my main computer, and the experience was insightful, to say the least. Though it\u2019s a fantastic machine for what it costs, it also has some trade-offs \u2014 especially if you\u2019re used to more powerful MacBooks. Here are my hands-on thoughts.<\/p>\n

MacBook Neo: What I like<\/span><\/h3>\n

Design<\/h2>\n

\n

(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)<\/span><\/p>\n

The MacBook Neo is a striking laptop, and not just because it\u2019s available in several fun colors. Instead of the usual cheap plastic designs you see at this price, the Neo has an elegant all-aluminum frame like its pricier MacBook siblings, complete with the same rounded corners. It\u2019s a beautiful machine that feels great to hold.<\/p>\n

On paper, the MacBook Neo weighs 2.7 pounds, the same as the 13-inch MacBook Air. However, it feels slightly heavier because it\u2019s a bit bulkier (and slightly thicker). Still, it\u2019s a laptop you can easily slip into your backpack and forget it\u2019s there.<\/p>\n

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\"MacBook\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)<\/span><\/p>\n

I really enjoy the Neo\u2019s Magic Keyboard, which has the same snappy feedback as the one on the MacBook Air. It\u2019s roomy and comfortable to type on, even if you have big hands like me. There\u2019s no Force Touch trackpad here, but the…<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I ditched the MacBook Air for a MacBook Neo for 48 hours \u2014 and I’m…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":224434,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/xvJgTcuknLbUZo9QawcVzi-2560-80.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[50],"class_list":["post-224433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-macintosh","tag-macbook-air"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224433"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224433"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":224435,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224433\/revisions\/224435"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}