This is the MacBook Neo, and at $600 it’s a very different kind of Mac—especially in the middle of the “RAM crisis,” where everyone else is raising prices or cutting corners (or both). In this video I break down what the Neo actually is: an A18 Pro (yes, iPhone 16 Pro chip) running macOS, with 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a 13-inch Retina display for $599. Step up to $699 and you get 512GB plus Touch ID, and that’s basically the whole lineup. The big question for me was: what did Apple have to cut to hit this price, and are those cuts dealbreakers? I compare the Neo against a solid budget Windows pick (the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3X) and also against the old legend, the M1 MacBook Air. The Neo wins hard on the “feels like a real MacBook” stuff: all-aluminum build, great screen, surprisingly nice physical click trackpad, and strong single-core performance that makes it feel snappy in everyday use. But it’s not perfect: no backlit keyboard, no MagSafe, weird USB-C port situation (USB 3 + USB 2), 8GB RAM with no upgrade path, and a slower SSD that can bite you in heavier multitasking. Still, for almost anyone shopping sub-$1,000, this became my default recommendation—unless you specifically need Windows or serious gaming performance.