MacBook Neo: SSD significantly slower than M5, SoC behind iPhone 17e
First tests of the new entry-level MacBook show where the hardware is positioned. The question is whether limitations affect everyday use.
MacBook Neo in pink, also known as "Blush": Yes, it's not the fastest.
(Image: Apple)
Today is the day: The MacBook Neo begins delivery to pre-order customers, and it's also coming to Apple Stores and retailers. The cheapest macOS notebook ever comes with some compromises, as our review of the Macbook Neo shows. Buyers should be aware that for a price starting at 699 Euros (a maximum of 799 Euros with 512 GB instead of 256 GB and Touch ID function), they are not getting a top-tier device. Nevertheless, the overall package is likely to shake up the market.
Comparisons with other Macs – and Apple's entry-level smartphone
SSD, for example: The 256 GB variant, in particular, is sluggish. Modern Mac SSDs, such as the one in the MacBook Air M5, achieve four times the speed, and in individual benchmarks, up to eight times more performance is possible (MacBook Pro M5 Max with 4 TB). One test showed that the MacBook Air with M1 and 512 GB could read twice as fast. However, we don't yet have data for the 512 GB variant of the Neo. Typically, larger SSDs are faster than smaller ones because Apple connects them differently. Whether this is also the case with iPhone chips like those in the Neo remains to be seen.
It's also not surprising that the chip (SoC) in the Neo is already surpassed by the iPhone 17e, Apple's current entry-level smartphone. The Neo features an A18 Pro, which corresponds to the one in the iPhone 16 Pro, minus one GPU core (5 instead of 6). The iPhone 17e, on the other hand, uses the newer A19 from the iPhone 17. In the Geekbench comparison, the 17e achieves a multi-core score of up to 9541, while the Neo scores slightly below that. The 17e also leads the Neo by a good 200 points in the single-core test.
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The MacBook Air M4 is a good tip
The question now is what that means for practical use. In the Mac & i review of the Neo, it became clear that Apple has created an interesting notebook with the Neo: The build quality is typically high for Apple, and the display is unrivaled in the entry-level class. Other testers found the device perfectly adequate for everyday use, even for – relatively smooth – video editing.
However, it remains a good tip to also consider the MacBook Air M4, which Apple has now put on sale, but is still readily available in stores. The hardware is even better built, just as light, has better ports, a backlit keyboard, and is significantly faster. The price: Under 900 Euros for the 256 GB model, the 512 GB variant costs under 1000 Euros.
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