Apple has officially launched the MacBook Neo, its first-ever MacBook designed specifically for budget-conscious buyers. For more than a decade, the entry-level MacBook experience started with the MacBook Air, but the MacBook Neo shatters that ceiling with a starting price of just Rs 69,900. For reference, the MacBook Air, which is simultaneously also getting an update, starts at Rs 1,19,900.
This low-cost MacBook has been swirling around the rumour mills for a while now and, as luck would have it, Apple’s own documentation revealed – presumably by accident –the “Neo” branding just hours before the official announcement. The launch seemed imminent and now that it is here, we can say for sure that the leaks were right, some more spot-on than others. But be that as it may, the idea is loud and clear: Apple wants to make its presence felt more than ever inside classrooms and households worldwide, places that have largely been dominated by low-cost Windows laptops from Asus, HP, and others and even Chromebooks for that matter.
MacBook Neo specs, features and everything else to know
The MacBook Neo isn’t just cheaper. It is more colourful, too. Apple is borrowing a page from the iMac and iPad Air playbooks launching the Neo in a vibrant palette of colours including Indigo, Citrus and Blush, alongside the classic Silver.
Despite the lower price, Apple isn’t cutting corners on the premium feel either. The Neo features a sleek, durable recycled aluminium enclosure and a fanless design, a lot like the MacBook Air. It sports a 13-inch Liquid Retina display with a 2408×1506 pixels resolution and 500 nits of peak brightness, though to keep costs down, it lacks the ProMotion high-refresh rate found on more expensive models.
In a technical first, the MacBook Neo is powered by the A18 Pro chip, the same chip found in the iPhone 16 Pro, rather than the standard M-series chips used in the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. It has a 6-core CPU with 2 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores along with a 5-core GPU. RAM is 8GB and storage can go up to 512GB. The Neo has a 36.5 Wh battery and is rated to deliver up to 16 hours video streaming on a single charge. Apple is shipping a 20W charger in the box.
To hit the low price point, Apple did make a few deliberate cuts. The MacBook Neo features a non-backlit keyboard and two USB-C ports (USB 3 and USB 2 standards), removing the MagSafe charging port found on higher-end models. It comes with an HD camera and only two speakers, even as the MacBook Air doubles things up to a 12-megapixel and quad speaker setup. Touch ID is an option, but it is limited to the higher-end model with 512GB storage. Base storage starts at 256GB.
MacBook Neo India price and availability
The MacBook Neo price in India starts at Rs 69,900 for a version with 256GB storage, going up to Rs 79,900 for a variant with 512GB storage. It is available for pre-order starting today on Apple’s website and will be available for buying from March 11, 2026.
