Not everyone can afford a flagship computer. A maxed-out MacBook Pro pushes past $4,000, and even a mid-range Windows workstation will cost you at least $1,500. It’s like I always used to tell my specs-obsessed father when he was looking to buy a new computer: You don’t need all that power.
Plus, for most of us, a laptop isn’t a secondary device; it’s our main PC. I spent years plugging my MacBook Air M1 into my widescreen monitor with an external keyboard and mouse. A quick unplug and I was portable with the same setup and files as my home workflow.
No matter how much I love Linux, it’s still something most users install to breathe new life into older hardware. If the goal is saving money, a much cheaper, less capable laptop can keep you productive (and save your wallet hundreds of dollars).
Now Apple has dropped the Neo, an entry-level macOS laptop aimed at the budget and education market. At $599 (the same price as a mid-range Chromebook or budget Windows laptop that can’t match Neo on hardware), Apple’s colorful new laptop disrupts the whole conversation around affordable machines.
The Linux reality check
The configuration tax and software gap
Linux is a genuinely great operating system. The open-source OS is amazing for something not backed by a for-profit company, and it’s only gotten better in the last several years. That said, it’s still not a system that works great for everyone. I couldn’t give a Linux-based laptop to my mom, for example, who is tech savvy enough to use an iPhone and iPad, but really doesn’t have the chops or the interest to dig into an OS to get things done. She just wants it to work. Configuring drivers, messing around on forums to find the right Terminal commands, and troubleshooting touchpad gestures — none of these things help Linux work for the average person.
Linux has closed the software gap on a lot of proprietary software, and offers alternatives that work even better than their corporate counterparts. LibreOffice handles most of what Microsoft Office can, GIMP covers photo editing at least as well (if not as easily) as Adobe Photoshop, and video editing apps like Kdenlive and DaVinci Resolve make using Linux pretty darn viable. And yet, apps like Final Cut Pro. Adobe Creative Cloud , or MIcrosoft 365 (some jobs require these) don’t support Linux.
With a mainstream system like macOS on a $599 machine, you can run all of these apps and more, right out of the box with no configuration issues to be found. Again, it just works.
And don’t get me started on updates that break things. Routine system updates on Linux are notorious for messing up drivers and other configuration files. Who wants to mess with that?
Who is Linux actually for?
You know who you are
There are a ton of folks who enjoy using Linux, and it’s the right system for them. Developers who want full control of their application stack, sysadmins who live in the Terminal, or even folks ideologically committed to open-source software are all in the right spot when they use Linux. There are many folks, too, who enjoy tinkering with the tech or giving an older machine new life, myself among them.
The MacBook Neo isn’t going to stop any of these people from using or enjoying Linux as their preferred OS.
MacBook Neo specs and performance
Apple’s most accessible Mac ever
The MacBook Neo starts at $599 for a 256GB model, with a $699 configuration that doubles the storage and adds a Touch ID key. Both run on the A18 Pro chip — the same silicon found in the iPhone 16 Pro — and come with 8GB of “unified memory” and a 16-core Neural Engine. Neo’s 13-inch Liquid Retina display offers 2408×1506 resolution, support for one billion colors, and 500 nits of brightness. It also comes in four fun colors: silver, blush, citrus, and indigo.
That’s a lot of computing for something that costs around 75% of the lastest base model iPhone 17 (or roughly 60% of the iPhone 16 Pro which has the same silicon).
Apple claims its new budget laptop is up to 50% faster than a PC with an Intel Core Ultra 5 chip, which matters because that’s the price that a budget-conscious Windows consumer would be looking at. CNN reports Neo can last around 14 hours of a looping 14K video in an independent battery test, which is around five more hours than an equivalent PC.
John Gruber at Daring Fireball took the TouchID model for a run, finding that he could run a dozen apps at the same time without a hitch. That 8GB of unified memory does a lot more than a comparable budget laptop of any stripe.
Sure, there’s no backlit keyboard on the base model, no True Tone or Force Touch trackpad, and you’ll only be able to support a single 4K 60Hz monitor. That’s not terrible for the things it can do.
Stop installing Linux on cheap laptops and get a Neo
Look, the budget laptop market has always been a disappointing place. You’ll find the best bang for your limited pricerange, install Linux to squeeze out as much performance as possible (requiring a ton of configuration tweaks at the least), and then just accept your lot. Apple’s MacBook Neo doesn’t want you to settle. At $599, you get a killer machine made from aluminum, not plastic, a display that’s actually nice to look at, a killer battery that lasts without Terminal commands, and an OS that was made for the hardware it’s running on.
If you’re a developer, an enthusiast, or Open Source software fan, Linux is still the way to go. For the rest of us, though, this budget MacBook doesn’t make you settle for less than great.
