Goodbye, MacBook Neo. (The $699 Problem Nobody Mentions)

Apple says "Hello, Neo." I'm saying goodbye. The $699 MacBook Neo might be the best value laptop Apple has ever made. Aluminum build, the A18 Pro chip out of the iPhone, full macOS, and the whole Apple ecosystem for six hundred bucks. I bought one to be my light, grab-and-go machine. A few weeks later I returned it. ⚠️ Heads up: since I filmed this, Apple bumped the Neo from $599 to $699, and prices are creeping up across the entire lineup. Everything in this review still holds, the value math just got a little harder to defend at the new price. 00:13 I bought it and returned it 00:46 Everything the Neo gets right 02:17 The small nitpicks 03:05 The flaw nobody is talking about 05:15 Who should actually buy it 06:26 The verdict 07:40 Outro Not because of the price, the screen, or the speed. Because of one design decision almost no reviewer is putting at the top of the list, and it's the kind of thing you only catch after you actually live with the laptop. In this video I give the Neo full credit for everything it gets right, name the one flaw that made me send it back, and tell you exactly who should still buy it and who should grab an M2 or M3 Air instead. New to the Mac world, or just want to squeeze the most out of your Neo? Watch my Mac apps video next. It covers the apps that do what macOS should have done out of the box, and it'll make any MacBook, Neo included, way better to live with: 👉 UNLOCK YOUR MAC: 6 Apps That Change Everything    • UNLOCK Your MacBook (Apple Forgot These Apps)   Still deciding which Mac to actually buy? Here's my full MacBook lineup breakdown, where I land somewhere different from most reviewers: 👉 Every 2026 MacBook Has a Flaw, Only One Is Forgivable.    • Every 2026 MacBook Has a Flaw, Only One Is...   What I cover: Everything the MacBook Neo gets right at $599 The screen and bezel nitpicks (and why they're minor) The one flaw nobody is talking about Who this laptop is actually built for The better-value Mac to buy instead If this saved you a trip back to the Apple Store, subscribe. I cover tech, AI and the small details most reviewers skip right over. New videos every week. Did you buy the Neo? How are you living with it? Drop it in the comments. #MacBookNeo #AppleMacBook #TechReview