The new MacBook Neo, which was first announced by Apple Wednesday, is a colorful, lightweight laptop starting at $599. Its compactibility is very enticing to students nationally and on campus.
“If this were an option when I first started college and got a laptop, I definitely would have looked into it a lot more,” said Kylie Hanson, a junior music industry major. “[It’s] refreshing to see a premium tech company try to lower [the cost of] something.”
The Neo has a 16 hour battery life and comes in silver, blush, citrus and indigo. The new computer features Apple Intelligence and has the ability to pair with any user’s iPhone to unlock a host of features.
Other notable components include several writing tools, Apple Intelligence, a 13-inch display and a design composed of recycled aluminum.
Unlike the MacBook Air and Pro designs — which operate on M-series processors — the Neo contains an A18 pro chip, identical to those found in the iPhone. This effectively decreases the retail price of the Neo even though the device can “run artificial intelligence tasks up to three times faster than PC laptops,” according to Apple.
“If it works well, I think there is a good chance of students purchasing it,” said Hanson.
While Hanson called the decision for the tech company to offer competing prices, “bewildering,” she said it was great to see the company expanding its lower-priced offerings.
“[Just] seeing the $599 price-point, that’s cheaper than a phone,” Hanson said.
“As a student, it would be nice to have a cheaper alternative that I can use … [also] the colors are pink and yellow, which are so cute.
But Rochelle Sandiford, a junior dramatic arts major, said that she doesn’t consider the lower price any more enticing as someone on a budget — rather, she felt it might be an indicator of where the economy will move.
“I definitely feel like the middle and lower class are kind of merging right now,” Sandiford said. “It can get extreme sometimes to the point where people can say a buzzword like recession indicator and it is fear-mongering.”
For those in the market for a new laptop, the USC Bookstore will debut the MacBook Neo next week in its technology department located on the third floor.