Apple launches MacBook Neo at ₹69,900, its cheapest laptop yet in a decade

Apple has introduced the MacBook Neo, its lowest-priced laptop so far, starting at ₹69,900 and ₹59,900 for students. The pricing puts it in the same bracket as the iPhone 17e, showcasing Apple’s push to draw more first-time buyers into the Mac lineup.

The laptop is powered by the A18 Pro chip, marking a shift from the M-series processors used in the MacBook Air and Pro models. The A18 Pro chip was the heart of the previous iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Apple says the device delivers up to 50% faster performance in everyday tasks such as web browsing compared to leading PCs with Intel Core Ultra 5 chips. For on-device AI functions — including advanced photo edits, and performance can be up to three times faster, the company claims.

Battery life is rated at up to 16 hours. The device includes a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, dual microphones and side-firing speakers with Spatial Audio support. It also features Apple’s Magic Keyboard and a large Multi-Touch trackpad.  MacBook Neo also includes a headphone jack for wired audio.

Running on macOS Tahoe, the MacBook Neo supports Apple Intelligence features and comes with built-in apps such as Messages, Pages, Calendar and Safari. Apple is positioning the laptop at students and users looking for a more affordable way to enter the Mac ecosystem, with tighter integration across iPhone and other Apple devices.

Pre-orders are open starting today, and sales begin March 11.

“With MacBook Neo, we wanted to make the Mac experience accessible to even more people,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, adding that the device combines Apple silicon performance and all-day battery life in a lower-priced package.

What does this launch mean for Apple

With the Neo, Apple is stepping into a segment dominated by Windows laptops under ₹70,000 — a category where it has historically had limited presence. The last time Apple introduced a new product to otherwise binary portfolio of Air and Pro was in 2015. Back then, the MacBook, with multiple features deleted from the Air version, still was poorly priced. It carried a $1299 price tag, which compared poorly to the $899 11-inch MacBook Air and $999 13-inch MacBook Air. This time, Apple might have gotten it right with its pricing finally, as all the compromises in the Neo have been factored in which brings the price down—lower than an iPhone 17.

According to a TidBITS report, by targeting low-end Windows laptops and Chromebooks, Apple is taking aim at the education market, specifically grade-schoolers. “These days, all middle- and high-schoolers need a laptop, and Apple may be losing a bunch of sales later in life to people who were issued a Windows laptop in school and stuck with it,” the report said.