The $599 MacBook Neo runs an A18 Pro (iPhone 16 Pro chip) that scores between M3 and M4 in single-core but throttles 87% after 60 seconds of sustained load.
Key Takeaways
Geekbench 6 single-core: 3,569 cold, 476 post-thermal-soak – same chip, 87% drop after 5 minutes all-core stress in a fanless chassis.
A18 Pro single-core beats Intel Lunar Lake Ultra 5 226V by 38% and Snapdragon X Plus by 43% at the $600 price tier.
Multi-core (8,668) trails the Snapdragon X Plus (11,345) and Intel Ultra 5 226V (9,702); only 6 cores vs. 8-10 on competitors.
$599 price floor is enabled by A18 Pro wafer costs amortized across ~230M iPhones/year; no other laptop OEM has equivalent TSMC leverage.
The 8GB unified RAM is soldered with no upgrade path; one of two USB-C ports runs at USB 2.0 (480 Mbps).
Hacker News Comment Review
Thin discussion so far, but the one substantive voice treats the Neo as a genuine value proposition for casual out-of-home use, not a niche compromise.
Notable Comments
@havaloc: “If the Air is good enough for 99% of the population, the Neo… approaches good enough for 90%” at half the cost.
