The Apple MacBook Neo was a storming success on its March release this year. But then a shortage of chips meant that Apple hiked up the excellent starting price by £100. Today, there's a slew of deals that have taken the popular budget Apple laptop back down to the original asking price.
The 256GB model is down from £699 to £599 at LaptopsDirect.
The 512GB (with Touch ID) is down from £799 to £699 at Amazon.
If you're a student, chronic content consumer, or occasional photo editor, all you really need from a laptop is a gorgeous screen, a battery that really lasts all day, and an OS that doesn't stutter when you have a dozen tabs open. Oh, and that is fun and easy to physically interact with.
That used to require spending over a grand on a MacBook Air, but Apple became a bonafide budget brand with the Neo.
Why would you need anything more?
With the A18 Pro chip and a glorious 13-inch Liquid Retina display, this is my favourite MacBook model for one main reason – it brings the premium Apple laptop experience down to an accessible price point.
For students writing essays/endlessly watching TikToks, or creatives sketching out light design work, the A18 Pro offers snappy performance. It handles multitasking between Pages, Spotify, and loads of Chrome tabs, and the 16-hour battery life means you can genuinely leave your charger at home.
Most importantly, the second deal above gets you the 512GB model, which is essential. It gives you the storage headroom to actually download your project files and movies without things screeching to a halt. Even better, it includes the physical Touch ID button, instantly unlocking your device and passwords without the hassle of typing them out every time you sit down in a lecture hall.
It's lightweight, totally silent, and remains the most affordable way to get a gorgeous, modern Apple MacBook in your life. And, most importantly, it's probably all you need!
