Apple's $599 MacBook Neo first look: The budget Mac we've been waiting for?

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ZDNET's key takeaways

• Apple just announced a new "cheap" MacBook for $599.
• It's called the MacBook Neo, and it comes in multiple "playful" colors.
• It uses the A18 chip -- the same processor found in the iPhone 16 Pro.

After months of rumors and speculation, Apple just announced its latest entry-level addition to its MacBook lineup: the MacBook Neo. Priced at $599 and equipped with an A18 processor (the same chip found in the iPhone 16 Pro), Apple takes aim at budget PCs and Chromebooks in the low-end PC market -- an area in which it historically has had virtually no market share.

Entry-level MacBook

The MacBook comes at a particularly interesting time, amid soaring RAM prices, update fatigue, planned obsolescence, and AI dominating the industry -- for better or for worse.

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