Apple Revives the 12-Inch MacBook With iPhone Guts Inside
The MacBook Neo packs an A18 Pro chip, 8GB RAM, and a headphone jack to take on Chromebooks.
Apple just resurrected the ultra-portable MacBook — and it's powered by a phone chip.
The new MacBook Neo runs on the A18 Pro processor, the same silicon that debuted in the iPhone 16 lineup. It pairs that with 8GB of RAM and yes, a headphone jack. Apple killed the 12-inch MacBook back in 2019, so this marks a notable return to the ultra-compact form factor.
The play here is obvious. This is Apple's answer to Chromebooks and budget Windows laptops — an entry-level machine designed to undercut the rest of the Mac lineup on price.
Stuffing mobile silicon into a laptop isn't new for Apple. The company's been on an ARM-based tear since the M1. But using an iPhone-class chip signals this thing is built to hit a price point, not benchmark charts.