One of my students just got a Macbook Neo. I’m a longtime Macbook user, but the Neo’s something new — instead of the Apple Silicon M-series processor, it’s actually running off of an A18 mobile processor, like you’d find in an iPhone. Here’s some of the advice I gave him on getting it set up, up and running.
The A18 Pro in the Neo is the same chip Apple uses in the iPhone 16 Pro. It’s not a laptop chip.
That’s a deliberate choice on Apple’s part — and it explains a lot about what this machine is and isn’t.
It’s not a laptop chip. That’s a deliberate choice on Apple’s part — and it explains a lot about what this machine is and isn’t.
The first thing you notice is that there’s no fan. None. The A18 Pro runs cool enough at laptop-level loads that Apple didn’t need one. For most tasks — web browsing, writing, running apps — it barely gets warm. It’s an impressive piece of engineering.
For anything that pushes the CPU or GPU hard and sustained, you’ll notice the chip throttle back. It’s not dramatic, but it’s there.
Getting It Running Right the First Time
The thing I made sure to tell my student before any of that:
Run through these four things before you install anything else.
- Go through Apple’s setup assistant completely. Don’t skip the iCloud sign-in — it syncs your settings, passwords, and photos automatically. Full guide at apple.com/mac/setup.
- Run Software Update immediately. Go to System Settings > General > Software Update. The machine may ship with a build that’s a few patches behind.
- Set your display scaling. Go to System Settings > Displays > Resolution and pick “More Space.” The Neo defaults to a conservative resolution for the screen size. You’ll want more room.
- Enable FileVault. System Settings > Privacy & Security > FileVault. On a laptop, this is non-negotiable.
The Port Thing
Here’s the gotcha I most want to flag. The MacBook Neo has two USB-C ports. They look identical.
They are not.
The rear port — the one closest to the hinge — runs USB 3, full speed. 10 Gbps. That’s where you want your external drives, your docking station, anything you need real throughput on.
The front port runs USB 2. 480 Mbps. That’s about five percent of the rear port’s bandwidth.
The front port runs USB 2. Five percent of the rear port’s bandwidth. Nobody tells you this. The ports look the same.
Nobody tells you this. The ports look the same. Apple doesn’t label them on the machine. If you’re copying video off a card or running an external SSD, you need to be in the right port — or you’ll wonder why everything is so slow.
Also worth noting: neither port is Thunderbolt. If you’re coming from a MacBook Pro, you’re used to Thunderbolt 3 or 4 — massive bandwidth, the ability to chain devices. The Neo doesn’t have it. A USB-C hub will work, but don’t expect Thunderbolt performance out of it.
External Display
The Neo supports external displays, but with one catch. It will drive a 4K display at 60Hz through the rear USB-C port. Completely fine for most uses.
The middle ground is apparently a mess.
If you’re trying to run a 1440p monitor, there are reported compatibility hiccups — some monitors work fine, some show issues with resolution scaling or refresh rate. Worth checking your specific monitor against Apple’s support docs or the iFixit forums before you buy one.
The Keyboard
There’s no backlight. This is one of the cuts Apple made to hit the $599 price point.*
If you’re a touch typist, it doesn’t matter. If you’re not — or if you work in low light — it’s worth knowing before you’re surprised by it in a coffee shop at 7pm.
The Camera
The FaceTime camera uses Apple’s Center Stage feature, which uses the Neural Engine to track your face and keep you centered in the frame. It’s good — genuinely good — but it can make you look zoomed in more than you expect.
If you’re recording anything formal, go into your video app settings and turn Center Stage off. You’ll want the full frame.
The Neural Engine
This is actually where the A18 Pro surprises you. The Neural Engine in this chip runs at 38 TOPS — trillions of operations per second. A MacBook with an M1 chip runs at 11. That’s a significant jump, and you feel it in anything Apple Intelligence-related: transcription, on-device text suggestions, image tools in Keynote, that kind of thing.
38 TOPS vs. 11 in an M1. You feel it in anything Apple Intelligence-related.
What you don’t feel it in: rendering. GPU-heavy workloads — video export, long 4K timelines, complex After Effects renders — are not what this chip is built for. It’ll do them.
It won’t do them fast.
Worse at rendering a 4K timeline, better at AI.
Come to think of it, that might be the whole story of the Neo in one sentence.
If you’re a student, a writer, a teacher, or someone who lives mostly in a browser and wants a machine that handles everything Apple Intelligence can throw at it without sounding like a jet engine — the MacBook Neo is a solid choice. Just be deliberate about that rear USB-C port.
*Education pricing brings the Neo down to $499. Worth checking if you qualify at apple.com/education-pricing.
