MKBHD: 'Think of It Like a Chromebook, But the Apple One'

This is basically the 12-inch MacBook reincarnated. Apple tried to make something like this with Intel chips and it was terrible. Once they had Apple Silicon, they finally had the ability to make that machine — but actually good.

— Marques Brownlee (MKBHD), MacBook Neo Impressions, March 4 2026

MKBHD was at Apple's event and his impressions video is the clearest summary of who this laptop is — and isn't — for. His verdict: if you're watching an MKBHD video on launch day because you're subscribed to tech YouTube, this laptop probably isn't for you. You already care about Thunderbolt speeds, RAM ceilings, and port configurations. The MacBook Neo is built for everyone else. He framed it as a spiritual successor to the 12-inch MacBook Apple tried (and failed) to make a decade ago with Intel [1]. Back then it was a throttling mess at $1,300. Now with an A18 Pro inside, it's genuinely capable and priced right. His prediction: this will destroy Chromebooks in education. Apple's student discount brings it to $499, which makes the iPad + keyboard combo look like a worse deal — and that keyboard accessory alone runs $250. The one honest concern MKBHD flagged: anyone asking themselves "will 8GB of RAM be enough?" already has their answer. This isn't their machine.

Dave2D: The Laptop Industry Was Worried — And They Were Right

Every laptop company I've interacted with — all the major players and chip manufacturers — at one point or another asked me: 'Hey Dave, do you know anything about this budget MacBook that's supposed to be coming out?' They never said it outright, but it always felt like they were worried.

— Dave Lee (Dave2D), MacBook Neo — Only Apple Could Do This, March 4 2026

Dave's video opens with something I haven't seen anywhere else: he reveals the laptop industry has been quietly bracing for this for over a year [2]. OEMs and chip manufacturers alike were asking him off the record if he had intel on this "budget MacBook" that was supposedly coming. They knew it would be disruptive. They just didn't know when. His most compelling point is about why only Apple could have pulled this off. It's not just that they have the A18 Pro — it's that they own the whole stack. Hardware, chip design, and operating system all under one roof means Apple can squeeze efficiency out of that chip in ways no competing combination of companies could match. Give another manufacturer the same chip and pair it with Windows and you won't get the same result. Dave also raised the durability question others glossed over: aluminum is premium, but it dents. Plastic Chromebooks crack at the hinges (he showed one taped up after his kid's dropped it), but aluminum dents permanently and you can't fix it. At scale in schools, that's a meaningful tradeoff. Not a dealbreaker, but something districts will need to think about. His overall take: this is genuinely disruptive. The kids who grow up on MacBook Neos in school may become Mac users for life — and that's exactly Apple's play.

Linus Tech Tips: 'Makes It Hard to Recommend Almost Literally Anything Else'

Apple just came flying in out of left field, dropping a $600 MacBook that honestly makes it hard for me to recommend almost literally anything else to a laptop shopper.

— Linus Sebastian (Linus Tech Tips), "I Can Only Recommend MacBooks Now…", March 5 2026

Linus's take is the most emphatic [3]. In a video that covers Apple's entire event week — new MacBook Pros, iPhone 17e, Studio Display XDR — he keeps coming back to the Neo as the headline story, the machine that changes the conversation. His counterpoint to the "8GB is e-waste" crowd: Apple controls the software, so they're stuck with the same limits. And their long-term support track record means this machine will receive OS updates for years longer than any similarly-priced Windows laptop. He also noted the fanless design (no active cooling needed thanks to the efficient A-series chip), the included 20W charger, and the fact that 36Wh battery is small enough to be doubled with a compact power bank — making this an extremely portable setup. The port situation is the only thing Linus dinged hard. Two USB-C ports, no Thunderbolt, no USB-A — you're in dongle land. But his response to complainers is sharp: "2015 was over 10 years ago. Everything from external drives to gaming headsets to office monitors now comes with USB-C." And on the education angle, he points to a Reddit thread from a school IT admin who was genuinely considering the MacBook Neo over Chromebooks because of Apple's buyback and support programs.

Where the Reviews Agree (And One Honest Disagreement)

• Aluminum body at this price is shocking — all three creators flagged it as exceptional build quality for a sub-$600 machine
• Chromebook killer — unanimous; the education market shifts with this launch
• A18 Pro is fast enough for everyday tasks — web, email, light photo editing, Apple Intelligence features
• Battery life will be strong — fanless design + A-series efficiency + laptop-sized battery = a great combo
• 8GB RAM ceiling — MKBHD and Dave both flagged this as the limiting factor for anyone who pushes their machine
• No keyboard backlight — Linus called it "strong 2010 vibes"; Dave put it in the intentional product segmentation bucket
• No Thunderbolt ports — only Linus went full "dongle life" on this; MKBHD and Dave mentioned it but didn't dwell

The Bigger Picture: Apple's Long Game

What's clear after watching all of this coverage is that the MacBook Neo isn't just a product — it's a strategy. Apple is planting a flag in education and the first-time laptop buyer market, segments they effectively ceded to Chromebooks and cheap Windows machines for years. The $599 price tag (and $499 with the education discount) is aggressive enough to force real conversations in school districts, households, and offices where "just get the Chromebook" has been the default answer for a decade [5]. And once someone is in the Apple ecosystem — integrated with their iPhone, locked into the App Store, running macOS — the upgrade path is more likely to be a MacBook Air than a Windows machine. Dave2D said it best: "I think the price point is so good and just so powerful at swaying a purchase decision... only Apple has access to such an inexpensive but also very capable chip, and more importantly, only Apple has control of the full stack" [2]. This is the machine the 12-inch MacBook was always supposed to be. It just took Apple Silicon to finally make it real.