Operating System: Squaring Off Over Software
Priced at $599, the MacBook Neo clearly targets the same market segment as the Google Chromebook Plus family, providing a budget-friendly Mac option for students and shoppers who previously found the entry price of the Apple ecosystem too steep. Several of the models on our list of the best Chromebooks sit right in that $500-to-$700 price range, including our top pick, the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 (2025), as well as the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 and the CTL Chromebook Plus PX141GXT.
First off: What's "Chromebook Plus," as opposed to just a regular Chromebook? When you see the Chromebook Plus name, you can expect higher-power CPUs, more RAM, larger storage drives, and higher-quality displays than you'll see in the cheaper Chromebooks in the sub-$400 range. Chromebook Plus is a Google program launched in 2023 that mandates minimum hardware specifications for a Chromebook to ensure a snappy, premium experience. Plus models start at $399, though most fall in that $500-to-$700 zone.
The choice between the Neo and these amped-up Chromebooks now pivots on a specific trade-off between hardware and software. The MacBook Neo runs a full version of macOS, supporting all the apps Macs are known for, including Microsoft Office products and Apple's Final Cut. It may not have the processing power of a MacBook Pro, but the operating system and the apps are all there. Chromebooks, meanwhile, rely on a web-focused OS, ChromeOS. While they’ve expanded to include Android apps, most of the professional tools you expect on a laptop aren't available, so you end up using cloud-based alternatives instead.
I've never been too upset about that, since web alternatives have gotten quite capable, and most Chromebook shoppers are buying them primarily to get online. Still, the fact that Apple delivers a full macOS experience in this price range is impressive. By bringing a no-compromise OS to an under-$600 price, Apple has effectively removed the biggest barrier to entry for students and creative hobbyists.
Winner: Apple MacBook Neo
Performance: Apple’s Binned Chip Is a Savvy Move
The Chromebook Plus line features better processors than the lightweight CPUs that the cheapest Chromebooks were long known for, stepping up to chips like the Intel Core Ultra 5 115U in the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 or the MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 in the more recent Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514. That's a major evolution for Chromebooks, elevating their performance. These chips deliver a level of snappiness once unheard of at $600. However, Apple’s strategy with the MacBook Neo isn't just to match these chips—it’s to beat them on efficiency.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)The engine driving the MacBook Neo is the Apple A18 Pro processor. This chip is the same one found in 2024’s iPhone 16 Pro, but it is likely a "binned" chip—one that didn't quite meet the manufacturing specs for the iPhone, specifically samples that have one GPU core that doesn't work, or that doesn't test up to snuff. Disabling that core lets the chip run like an A18 Pro minus one GPU core.
Calling the MacBook Neo an iPhone in a laptop's body, while somewhat accurate, undersells it. In our benchmarking, the A18 Pro held its own against low-end Intel and midrange Qualcomm Snapdragon X processors. And using this chip is a smart move by Apple. Instead of designing an all-new processor, Apple repurposed the cast-off chips of a massively popular product. Apple had the production line for this processing hardware up and running before the 2024 launch of the iPhone 16 Pro, and it has since made millions of iPhone 16 Pro phones, including the chips. It's a business move that Apple is uniquely poised to pull off.
Most important, the A18 Pro drives reliable basic performance. While we don't have directly comparable benchmark tests between macOS and ChromeOS, our MacBook Neo shows the A18 Pro going toe-to-toe, under Windows, with some of the same low-end processors that are used in Chromebooks, scoring well against these budget-friendly Intel chips. (When compared with Qualcomm Snapdragon X processors, however, the other budget-friendly choice in the laptop world, it had a tougher fight.)
The one metric we can compare across the Mac and Chromebook categories is battery life...
In our video rundown tests, the MacBook Neo lasted more than 15 hours, whereas many of the best Chromebook Plus models didn't quite hit that 15-hour mark. (The Samsung here is a notable exception.)
Winner: Apple MacBook Neo
Build Quality: Aluminum vs. Plastic
In my hands-on time with the MacBook Neo, I was surprised at how much the construction makes a difference. The Neo uses a lightweight, rigid aluminum unibody design that feels sturdy and premium. Most budget-friendly Chromebooks use a fair amount of plastic, leading to flexing and a typing surface that just feels cheap. Even highly ranked Chromebooks, like the Editors' Choice-award-winning CTL Chromebook Plus PX141GXT, stick to plastic construction.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)The Neo also brings something rare to the Mac line: color. You can choose from four: Indigo, Blush, Citrus, and Silver. (Those names translate to dark blue, pink, a verdant yellow-green, and the basic plain silver of every other MacBook.) Colors like these might be familiar to iPhone and iPad shoppers, but aside from the iMac, the Mac lineup hasn't had this range of rainbow options since the Bondi Blue iMac G3 in the late 1990s.
(Credit: Brian Westover)These bold choices extend to the keyboard, the rubber feet on the underside, and even certain onscreen UI elements. It’s a bright contrast to the sea of sedated hues that dominates the Chromebook market, where plastic construction is the rule, usually dressed up in shades of black or metallic gray. Just take a look at our list of the best Chromebooks, where you won't see a single pop of color. Even many of the premium Chromebook Plus models, such as the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514, blend plastic and aluminum for a bare-metal look.
Winner: Apple MacBook Neo
Display: A Color Clash, and Apple’s Missing Touch
The Liquid Retina display is perhaps the MacBook Neo’s greatest strength, but it also harbors a notable omission: no touch input. Apple has equipped it with a 2,408-by-1,506-pixel Liquid Retina panel pushing 500 nits of brightness. Compare that with the average Chromebook Plus, which usually tops out at 1080p and a much dimmer 300 nits. The Neo’s screen is objectively more vivid, reaching 100% coverage of the sRGB spectrum, and it's more visible when used outdoors.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)However, a few Chromebooks in this price bracket include OLED displays (such as the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus) and, more crucially, touch screens or 2-in-1 convertible designs. (The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 is a fitting recent example.) Apple remains firm: no touch input on the Mac.
If you’ve grown accustomed to tapping through Android apps or flipping your laptop into a tent for a movie, the Neo’s superior—but static—panel might feel like a step backward from a touchable, bendable 2-in-1 Chromebook. However, the Neo's screen is technically a better-quality panel than most Chromebook displays.
Winner: Apple MacBook Neo
Connectivity and Ports: Apple’s 'Strictly USB-C' Policy, vs. a Bigger Mix
Connectivity is another area where Apple has streamlined the experience, but perhaps to a fault. The MacBook Neo features two USB Type-C ports, but here’s the catch: One of them is limited to USB 2.0 speeds and will mostly just charge the machine. Also, neither port supports Thunderbolt.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)In the Chromebook Plus world, it's common to find a more versatile array of legacy ports. At $600, many Chromebooks still include a USB Type-A port for your thumb drives or mouse, and an HDMI output for plugging directly into a monitor, a TV, or a classroom projector without a $30 dongle. With the Neo, such a dongle is required to connect to a panel or projector with an HDMI input.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)Wireless connectivity is the one area where the MacBook Neo and Chromebooks are on even footing. Wi-Fi 6E is the rule for these machines, which is plenty fast, but not the superior Wi-Fi 7 you'd get on higher-end MacBooks or more premium Windows laptops. Similarly, Bluetooth 5.3 is what you'll find on most Chromebooks, and Bluetooth 6 on the MacBook Neo.
Winner: Chromebook Plus
Keyboard and Touchpad: Typing (and Tracking) in the Dark
In a move that seems all about the budget, Apple hasn't included keyboard backlighting on the MacBook Neo. While backlighting is a feature many of us take for granted, it’s one of the first things to go when you're trimming to hit a certain price. Backlit keyboards aren't standard fare in the Chromebook Plus category, either, but you can find them. If you’re a student pulling an all-nighter in a dark dorm room, the lack of glowing keys is a trade-off you’ll feel every single night.
(Credit: Brian Westover)The touchpad is a fascinating point of differentiation. Most budget laptops, including Chromebooks, use what’s called a “diving board” mechanical design for the touchpad. Since the hinge is at the top, it takes more force to click near the top edge, leaving only the bottom half of the pad functional for clicking.
Apple avoided this via a floating plate mechanism. While the Neo's pad still delivers a physical, mechanical click (rather than the haptic vibration found on the MacBook Air and Pro), the entire surface is clickable. You lose the Force Touch features, like the contextual menus that pop up when you press harder, but you gain a touchpad that feels significantly swankier and more usable than the stiff-hinge designs found on its rivals. That said, I don't see touchpad click quality being the deciding factor for which laptop someone buys, so access to backlighting wins out.
Winner: Chromebook Plus
AI Capabilities: Local vs. Cloud Processing
The MacBook Neo supports Apple Intelligence with the same 16-core neural engine found in the iPhone and current Macs. This hardware powers some offline AI features, such as document summarization and email drafting. Specifically, features like Contextual Rewrite, Tone Adjustment, Intelligent Proofreading, Summarization, and Key Point Extraction all run right on the device, the same as they would on an iPhone or a more powerful MacBook. The neural engine also handles Apple’s Image Playground and Genmoji features on-device. Siri also received updates that allow Contextual Awareness (screen reading and cross-app data context), as well as advanced image signal processing for better FaceTime calls.
(Credit: Zain bin Awais/PCMag/Apple)While Google’s Chromebook Plus has its own AI via Gemini, most of those features are cloud-based. Gemini handles some tasks locally, similar to Apple's AI, like Advanced Video Call Features, Gemini Nano in Chrome for summarization and writing help, and local Smart Actions within the operating system. But the most impressive Gemini tools are abilities like Deep Research, NotebookLM knowledge management, and Agentic browsing, which all require Gemini in the cloud.
The bottom line here is that, when it comes to AI features, Apple simply has more offline functionality than Google does, but that gap is shrinking.
Winner: Apple MacBook Neo
Biometrics: Apple’s $100 Question, and Where Chromebooks Stand
To discuss biometric login options, we need to start with storage. The base-model ($599) MacBook Neo lacks Touch ID and has 256GB of solid-state storage. For $699, the step-up model includes Apple's fingerprint reader and a 512GB SSD. On a Mac, local storage matters more for both local apps and files, and the Neo can tap into available storage space to supplement its 8GB of unified memory via the “Swap” feature.
In the Chromebook world, storage is secondary because of Google Drive. In cheaper models, it's still common to find Chromebooks with just 64GB of storage, or with Universal Flash Storage (UFS) memory, a format borrowed from phones that doesn't handle system-level paging as gracefully.
Fingerprint scanning is also a nice-to-have feature, letting you sign in to your machine, authorize purchases, or secure a file with just a fingerprint. However, you won’t find biometric login tools on many Chromebooks, either. Models like the Asus Chromebook CX9 or the HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook have them, but as a rule, Chromebooks don't usually offer biometric security. While I don't think biometric login is a make-or-break feature for a budget shopper, the extra storage is a worthwhile expense in the Neo’s case. But it does bring the Neo toward the top of the Chromebook Plus' price range.
Winner: Draw
Education Use: Apple Tries to Take Back the Classroom
Here’s a question: Why has the famously premium Apple released a budget laptop? Why this product, and why now?
Though nobody has gone on record to say so, Apple clearly wants a bigger piece of the Chromebook-dominated education market. Early on, Apple invested heavily in schools to cultivate a generation of users. Since the early 1980s, when the Apple II's ubiquitous presence in schools minted a generation of faithful Apple customers, the company has leveraged education to introduce kids to the Apple ecosystem. Apple did the same for Macs in the 1990s and 2000s, and the iPad after it launched in 2010.
Then came Google. When the Chromebook launched in 2011, it quickly gained popularity as a student laptop, with prices low enough to outfit elementary schools and an emphasis on management tools for both school IT administrators and teachers. Google Classroom is free with G Suite for Education, appealing to both budget-conscious bureaucracies and student-oriented teachers. By ditching the heavier hardware requirements of Windows for a still-manageable web-centric OS, Google took over the classroom—especially during the 2020-2022 pandemic, when Chromebooks actually outsold Macs for a brief period.
The MacBook Neo looks like a sharp pivot that puts Apple products back in more students' hands. It’s a gateway product designed to bring new customers into the ecosystem long-term, and at $499 for education buyers, it finally gives the Chromebook a real price challenge. We might see Chromebooks continue to dominate elementary schools given those machines' rock-bottom prices, but middle schools and beyond could quickly become Apple’s domain once again.
Winner: Draw