March 6, 2026
Phone brains, laptop brawls
First MacBook Neo Benchmarks Are In
iPhone power in a $599 laptop—fans cheer, creators roll eyes
TLDR: MacBook Neo’s first tests show iPhone‑like speed: great for everyday stuff, not built for heavy editing. The crowd is split—Linux fans are hyped, teachers and budget users cheer, while creators argue you can still do “real work” without pricey pro chips.
First benchmarks for Apple’s $599 MacBook Neo just dropped, and the numbers basically mirror the iPhone 16 Pro: strong single‑core speed (think “how fast one brain can do everyday stuff”) and modest multi‑core muscle (better for heavy editing). The Neo uses the same A18 Pro phone chip, with one fewer graphics core, so its “Metal” graphics score is a hair lower—no shocker. Apple’s hype says it beats popular Intel laptops for everyday tasks and is faster for on‑device AI, but the internet immediately asked: is this just an iPhone with a keyboard? Apple says it’s built to beat cheap Windows and Chromebooks, not pro Macs.
Cue the drama. Tinkerers rushed in yelling “Linux on this!”, budget shoppers cheered “$600 and fast enough,” and one dev asked if this is safe for Xcode and JUCE projects. Meanwhile, creator types pushed back on the “not for content creation” warnings, with one scoffing that they did serious work on old Intel boxes and their M1 still suffices. A teacher’s spouse declared Chromebooks “nope,” praising the Neo as the perfect Gmail/Docs machine for the classroom. The meme of the moment: “Phone brains, laptop body.” Verdict from the crowd? If your life is browsing, docs, and streaming, this is the sprinter you want; if you’re cutting films or building 3D worlds, look to beefier Macs. Preorders are live now, launch March 11.
Key Points
- •MacBook Neo, using a 6‑core A18 Pro with one fewer GPU core, scores 3461 (single‑core), 8668 (multi‑core), and 31286 (Metal).
- •Its CPU performance closely matches the iPhone 16 Pro’s A18 Pro results, with a slightly lower Metal score due to fewer GPU cores.
- •Multi‑core performance aligns with the M1 MacBook Air, while single‑core performance is closer to M3/M4 levels.
- •The device is positioned for everyday tasks rather than heavy multi‑core workloads; Apple compares it to Windows PCs and Chromebooks.
- •Apple claims the A18 Pro is up to 50% faster than a bestselling Intel Core Ultra 5 PC in everyday tasks; Neo costs $599, preorders open, launches March 11.