Apple MacBook Neo: A Roundup Of First Impressions And Reviews, From Acerbic Commentary To Gushing Paean Rohail Saleem • at EDT Add on Google Opinion remains divided over Apple's MacBook Neo. Some can't stop panning Apple over a myriad of compromises that it undertook to price the MacBook Neo at a base price of $599. Others can't stop gushing over the fact that Apple just launched a fairly decent, if somewhat spartan, budget MacBook, one that is near-perfect for browsing, social media consumption, and research. In our roundup of the Apple MacBook Neo's first impressions and initial reviews, we've tried to cover all of the bases, bringing you appreciative brownie points as well as merited criticism. Related Story A Daring YouTuber Took The MacBook Neo For An Ultimate Gaming Test, Ran Cyberpunk 2077 To Yield Some Surprising ResultsHere is everything that is being said about Apple's MacBook Neo CNET's Matt Elliott is certainly appreciative of the entire package that is MacBook Neo, but feels the base model is not worth having: "As cute and colorful as it is, the $599 MacBook Neo is more than just a laptop for kids. It's also equipped to get college students through four years of school, and it makes a great laptop for anyone who wants an extra laptop for kicking back on the couch at night to browse the web, watch a show or movie, perform some light edits on the photos you took earlier in the day on your iPhone and text using all 10 fingers on a keyboard than just two thumbs on your iPhone. Sure, it's missing a few features so that Apple could hit the $599 price, but you can address two of the biggest omissions with the lone $100 upgrade that doubles the storage and adds Touch ID. I hope next year's Neo includes Touch ID in the base model and adds MagSafe charging, but right out of the gate, the first-gen Neo is the most well-rounded $600 laptop around." 's Nathan Edwards is a bit more direct, suggesting that you should definitely opt for an older, refreshed MacBook Air than go for the MacBook Neo: "The Neo starts at $599 with an A18 Pro processor, 8GB of memory, and 256GB storage, and ends at $699 with the same specs plus TouchID and 512GB of storage. It has two USB-C (not Thunderbolt) ports, a pretty basic-looking screen, a mechanical trackpad instead of haptic, and various other cost-saving measures. It’s the cheapest new MacBook you can get now." Edwards then goes on to note: "If you could still get a new M1 Air from Walmart for $700, it’d be a pretty tough call between that and the Neo. That machine came out in 2020, but is still better in most respects. Unfortunately, they’ve been out of stock since last month — probably because of the Neo — so that’s the end of that. You can probably find a refurb one. Same with the M3 and M4: if you can find one for around the same price as the Neo, especially with 16GB of RAM, you should get one of those. But they’re pretty thin on the ground, and I’d expect them to become thinner." PC Mag's Joe Osborne sits at the other end of the spectrum, with nothing but praise for Apple's MacBook Neo: "The transition to an A-series chip for the MacBook Neo is part of where Apple is cutting costs, but it also makes a big statement. By powering it with the A18 Pro processor, Apple proves its software is truly silicon-agnostic at this point. The Neo also starts off at a price that's hard to quibble with: $599, with a $699 upgrade option. (Education buyers can snag the base model for $499.) Plus, the fun new color options (Blush, Citrus, and Indigo) are a playful, nostalgic nod to past iBooks in Apple's line." On the contentious topic of the USB-C ports, Osborne adds: "The Neo also lacks the MagSafe charging port found on the other MacBooks, requiring you to use one of its two left-hand USB Type-C ports for recharges. One port is a 10Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 with DisplayPort video-out capability, while the other is on the USB 2 standard. Both can charge the laptop, but I think you’ll want to keep the rear USB 3.2 port open. You’ll also find a headphone jack here, on the same side as the other ports." Overall though, Osborne feels that "Apple is about to make MacBook Air and MacBook Pro owners a bit jealous" with the MacBook Neo: "Apple also includes a 1080p FaceTime webcam for meetings and keeping up with friends and family. In the process, Apple is about to make MacBook Air and MacBook Pro owners a bit jealous, maybe: the MacBook Neo drops the deeply divisive camera notch. In its place is simply a thicker bezel all around, but some Apple watchers might prefer that to how MacBook screens have been "notched" for the past several years." Finally, we have Mashable's Timothy Beck Werth, who thinks Apple will sell millions of MacBook Neo devices: "After Apple unveiled the MacBook Neo, two competing opinions started to spread in the tech world. The MacBook Neo, with its fun colors and killer price, would either disrupt the entire Windows laptop market, or it would be an under-powered waste of space with a measly 8GB of RAM. After trying it for myself, I'm sticking with my first impression: If I were a Windows laptop that cost under $1,000, I'd be shaking in my boots. The MacBook Neo brings the premium features of a MacBook — Liquid Retina Display, the intuitive macOS, a sleek aluminum design — to an entirely new market segment: the budget laptop." Beck Werth adds later on: "A lot of commentators are hung up on the fact that this device only has 8GB of RAM, but in my testing, it performed surprisingly well. Available starting March 11 for $599 — a version with Touch ID and 512GB costs $699 — I have zero doubt that Apple is going to sell millions of these things. And if you qualify for the $499 education discount, this is truly a laptop with no viable competition, full stop." For those wishing to study each aspect of the new Apple MacBook Neo in detail, head over to our dedicated post where we've discussed the device's performance, pricing tiers, and features in detail. Follow on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds. 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