Matthew is a seasoned writer and editor who has spent the last decade covering Android, gaming, e-readers, and a multitude of other mobile technologies.
Apple has done the unthinkable — the one thing critics and fans alike have been clamoring for. The company has finally leaned into the budget market with its new, clocking in at $700 for the 512 GB model, and an even cheaper $600 for the 256 GB model.
The newly-released budget laptop sports an A18 Pro chip , a 3 nm SoC with comparable performance to the M4 in the iPad Air. In other words, for $100 less than a base 13-inch iPad Air, Apple's new budget laptop offers similar performance in a work-appropriate clamshell design. While Apple is definitely at the forefront of squeezing the most out of its chips, there are other laptops on the market that clock in at around $600 or even under, all while offering better specs than the MacBook Neo. From its limited RAM to its expensive storage, smallish screen, and lack of keyboard backlight, there are plenty of reasons why the MacBook Neo may not be right for you, despite its boundary-pushing price point. By leveraging our expertise covering laptops while considering user and professional reviews for a larger sample size of opinions, we've rounded up five of the best examples of laptops that bring better specs than the MacBook Neo, all for less. So if you're not interested in jumping on the Apple hype train, but you're still looking to get the most bang for your buck when purchasing a new laptop, this list is for you.Chromebooks are known for their cost effectiveness, and that's because ChromeOS was initially designed to rely on the cloud rather than expensive hardware. The truth is, ChromeOS has been moving away from native Chrome Web Store apps for some time , preferring Android and Linux apps these days, which can add up to a fairly powerful system by combining the two — but only if the laptop's specs are good enough to run non-native apps.. It offers a handful of better specs compared to the MacBook Neo, like its backlit keyboard, at a better price to boot, currently $560 on CTL's store . You get a larger screen with the CTL, which clocks in at an inch bigger than the MacBook Neo's 13-inch display. The CTL Chromebook Plus also offers double the RAM, at 16 GB , which will help keep demanding apps and games running smoothly under a full workload. Apple is notorious for charging more for extra storage, and the MacBook Neo doesn't stray from this trend: Your options are 256 GB at $600 or 512 GB at $700. On the flip side, the PX141GXT only offers 256 GB, but it also comes with a microSD slot that lets you expand the storage beyond anything the Neo offers. So if more RAM, a larger screen, and expandable storage are the kinds of specs you care about in a laptop, you may be better served by the CTL Chromebook Plus PX141GXT, where reviews even call out the extra RAM for helping with multitasking, with users agreeing it's a highly responsive laptop., listed at Costco for $600 at the time of writing, should be on your radar with its Intel Core 5 210H. Overall, it's a solid MacBook Neo alternative that offers a selection of better specifications, like its 15.3-inch screen, which is not only larger than the 14-inch Chromebook above, but also more than two inches bigger than the Neo. In other words, the Lenovo is a good choice for those who need ample screen space on their laptop to run multiple applications. As far as storage is concerned, you get a whopping 1 TB with the IdeaPad Slim, and there's also a microSD slot available to expand beyond the Lenovo's limit. Compared to the MacBook Neo's paltry 256 GB and 512 GB storage options that top out at $700, you can store much more data with the cheaper Lenovo. You also get 16 GB of RAM with the IdeaPad Slim, another win for anyone looking to run a handful of demanding apps at the same time. At the end of the day, if you prefer Windows as your operating system and require a much larger screen than the MacBook Neo, and you could also benefit from a bunch more storage, double the RAM, and the ability to work in the dark with a full-size backlit keyboard, the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim is a solid contender sporting a smattering of specs that are better. Reviews even call out the Slim's light travel weight and its solid performance, with verified Costco users agreeing with that sentiment. For a budget Windows laptop, the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim outclasses the MacBook Neo in several key areas.Even as Apple's adoption of AI is slow, the company dipped its toe in with the A18 Pro chip, which ships with the MacBook Neo and features a neural engine designed to handle local AI computations. This is what powers tools like Apple's Image Cleanup. So if you're into the Neo for its AI, you may also be interested in the, a laptop built with local AI use in mind, for $50 less than the base Neo model, retailing for $550. While the Acer Aspire 16 AI runs Windows, it's neither an Intel nor an AMD machine. It's actually running a Snapdragon X from Qualcomm, similar to how the MacBook Neo uses a mobile ARM chip instead of anything built on x86-64 . This makes it easier to compare the two, since they are running on the same architecture. There's been plenty of testing on both chips to see how each stacks up, and, on paper, the Snapdragon wins with a higher clock speed. Professional reviews note the Acer Aspire's incredible value, and verified Amazon users call out how well it's suited for home use. Acer offers a 65-watt-hour battery that, with general use, can last up to 21 hours. The MacBook Neo only offers a 36.5-watt-hour battery, averaging 16 hours of life. So not only does the Snapdragon X offer better general performance, but you also get much better battery life thanks to the Aspire 16 AI's larger capacity. And that's not all — you even get 512 GB storage and 16 GB RAM, plus a giant 16-inch 1920 by 1200 IPS touch display that offers a high refresh rate at 120 Hz , which will be handy for gaming while offering buttery-smooth OS animations.Speaking of gaming, if you're interested in an x86-64 machine running an AMD CPU and a discrete Nvidia GPU for diving into the depths of Windows PC games, theis an incredibly solid budget option for a gaming-focused laptop at $600. Its Ryzen 5 7535HS CPU punches above its weight with entry-level cost that delivers mid-range performance, and that's paired with an RTX 2050 GPU, which ensures this laptop can deliver reliable 1080p gameplay with titles like"GTA 5" and"Fortnite," and it can even run games like"Cyberpunk" with the help of DLSS, which the GPU supports. Put simply, the MacBook Neo's integrated graphics can hardly stack up to a modern discrete Nvidia GPU, and even if the A18 Pro could, playing PC games on an ARM chip still requires emulation that would eat up much of its performance. With big gaming comes a big screen; the Victus offers a 15.4-inch 144 Hz FHD anti-glare display for lag-free gameplay at high refresh rates. You also get a 512 GB storage drive that can hold more than a few games, plus there's a high-speed UHS-I SD reader, which means you can even expand your storage to help with gaming or working with large 4K video files directly. So, not only do you get more storage than the base MacBook Neo, but you can also expand it with an SD card — plus, you get a much better screen for gaming. Overall, if on-the-go gaming is a top priority for your next laptop purchase, this is a great option. For the same price as the base model MacBook Neo, you can snag an HP Victus that can access and play PC's best casual indies and hardcore AAAs.Typing on the go can be frustrating, especially with compact devices, and at 13 inches, the MacBook Neo certainly qualifies. So if you're big on full-sized keyboards, ones that offer a number pad on the side, you'll want to check out the $550. The build quality is excellent, and while this is a device that leans towards business users , complete with a fingerprint reader for extra security and an Ethernet port that should prove handy for IT work, it's also a fine device for watching 16:9 media on its 15.6-inch 1920 by 1080 IPS screen. It's nice and big for work and play, easily outclassing the MacBook's 13-inch 16:10 screen that'll letterbox 16:9 content. Since this is a Windows machine running on an Intel Core 7 150U, you can expect plenty of app compatibility for x86-64, from ancient offerings to yourin the Microsoft Store, vastly outnumbering the amount available for the Mac App Store. Samsung's base model also comes with 512 GB storage and 16 GB RAM, double the base MacBook Neo, and you can find models with 1 TB and even 2 TB of storage if you require more. And if you're worried all of this adds up to a large machine, think again — it's pretty darn thin, with reviews positively commenting about its slender design. Even verified users on Amazon agree that the machine is high quality. The Samsung Galaxy Book4 offers plenty of value, with plenty of room to upgrade your specs. You can even change your screen size, as there are 14-inch, 15-inch, and 16-inch models under names like Book4 Edge and Book4 Ultra , the latter offering a discrete Nvidia GPU for those who game.To uncover the best laptops with better specs than the MacBook Neo that also retail for less, we not only relied on over a decade of expertise covering the subject and its constant evolution, but we also combined this knowledge with a cross-section of professional and user reviews across the web, ensuring that we can get a much fuller picture by collating all of this information into a single article. This way, you can rest easy knowing each laptop in this roundup was hand-chosen to ensure the most reliable options available on the market right now.
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