By Allan Tépper
Publication Date: 2026-06-01 09:40:00
This is not a review on the MacBook Neo, the first MacBook to be sold as low as US$499 pre-tax—for those who qualify for educational pricing in the United States—or as low as US$599 pre-tax for those who don’t. The only two States of the US which truly offer tax-free sales are Delaware and Oregón. There are plenty of available reviews about the MacBook Neo, in addition to being praised by iFixit as Apple’s most repairable laptop in the past 14 years. The MacBook Neo does not compete with MacBook Air or MacBook Pro models (of which I own a Pro). Instead, the MacBook Neo competes—and beats—Chromebooks and Windows laptops at the same price level and even higher. For those who really need to run Windows apps, the MacBook Neo can indeed run Windows 11 ARM using virtualization and this is also highly rated by trusted reviewers, although the Windows performance on the Neo will be much better if you apply the special techniques I clarified in two recent articles (linked ahead). This is my buyer’s guide for those who have made the decision to purchase a MacBook Neo, not a recommendation to buy one. If you really need a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, you know who you are and why you should get one of those instead.
What qualifies Allan Tépper to publish a MacBook Neo buyer’s guide, since he doesn’t own one?
- Even though I have used other operating systems too, including ChromeOS (Chromebooks), Linux and Windows, I have been a Mac (macOS) user since it was…