Versus Engine
Apple MacBook Air (M5) vs Apple MacBook Neo
Specs, price and the one trade-off that actually decides it — Apple MacBook Air (M5) against Apple MacBook Neo, side by side.
Cheaper to start
Apple MacBook Neo
Starts about $400 lower.
Rated higher
Apple MacBook Air (M5)
9.6 vs 8.8 on our design scale.
Standout
Apple MacBook Air (M5)
Completely silent under normal load
Apple MacBook Air (M5)
The fanless efficiency benchmark: desktop-class work in a silent chassis, from $1,099.
Where it wins, where it doesn't
Pros
- Completely silent under normal load
- Battery life that removes charger anxiety
- Very light for the performance on offer
Cons
- Throttles under sustained load — no fan to shed heat
- Not suitable for serious local model inference
- Memory and storage fixed at purchase
Specifications
- audio_playbackSupported formats include AAC, MP3, Apple Lossless, FLAC, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, and Dolby Atmos
- Battery and PowerUp to 18 hours video streaming Up to 15 hours wireless web Built-in 53.8-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m) Fast-charge capable with 70W or higher USB PD power source
- Charging and ExpansionMagSafe 3 charging port 3.5 mm headphone jack Two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports with support for: Charging DisplayPort Thunderbolt 4 (up to 40Gb/s) USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s) MagSafe 3 3.5 mm headphone jack Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) External Display Support Supports up to two external displays: Two displays up to a native resolution of 6K at 60Hz or 4K at 144Hz
- ChipApple M5 chip 10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores 10-core GPU Neural Accelerators Hardware-accelerated ray tracing 16-core Neural Engine 153GB/s memory bandwidth Media Engine Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW Video decode engine Video encode engine ProRes encode and decode engine AV1 decode
- DisplayLiquid Retina display 13.6-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2 2560-by-1664 native resolution at 224 pixels per inch 500 nits brightness Color Support for 1 billion colors Wide color (P3) True Tone technology
- external_display_supportSupports up to two external displays: Two displays up to a native resolution of 6K at 60Hz or 4K at 144Hz, One display up to a native resolution of 8K at 60Hz or 5K at 120Hz or 4K at 240Hz
- Memory16GB 16GB unified memory Configurable to: 24GB or 32GB
- Storage512GB 512GB SSD Configurable to: 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB
- video_playbackSupported formats include HEVC, H.264, AV1, and ProRes, HDR with Dolby Vision, HDR10+/HDR10, and HLG
- battery_life_video_streamingUp to 18 hours video streaming
- battery_life_wireless_webUp to 15 hours wireless web
- battery_typeBuilt-in 53.8-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
- Built-in Apps—
- charging_portsMagSafe 3 charging port, Two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports
- chassis—
- colours—
- configurable_memory24GB or 32GB
- configurable_storage1TB, 2TB, or 4TB
- cpu_cores10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores
- display_brightness500 nits brightness
- display_colorSupport for 1 billion colors, Wide color (P3), True Tone technology
- display_size13.6-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2 2560-by-1664 native resolution at 224 pixels per inch
- expansion_ports3.5 mm headphone jack
- keyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard with: 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys, Touch ID, Ambient light sensor
- Keyboard and Trackpad—
- media_engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW
- memory_bandwidth153GB/s memory bandwidth
- neural_accelerators16-core Neural Engine
- Operating System—
- power_adapter40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max
- Size and Weight—
- storage_base—
Apple MacBook Neo
Apple's entry laptop from $699 — the first MacBook running an iPhone chip.
Where it wins, where it doesn't
Pros
- All-aluminium build at $699
- A18 Pro delivers iPhone-class efficiency and battery life
- Cheapest credible path into macOS
Cons
- 8GB of memory and a 256GB base, neither upgradeable
- Display is a step below the Air
- A18 Pro is a phone chip — sustained workloads are not its job
Specifications
- audio_playbackSupported formats include AAC, MP3, Apple Lossless, FLAC, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, and Dolby Atmos
- Battery and PowerUp to 16 hours video streaming Up to 11 hours wireless web Built-in 36.5‐watt‐hour lithium‐ion battery 20W USB-C Power Adapter USB-C Charge Cable (1.5 m)
- Charging and ExpansionOne USB 3 (USB-C) port with support for: Charging DisplayPort USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s) One USB 2 (USB-C) port with support for: Charging USB 2 (up to 480Mb/s) 3.5 mm headphone jack
- ChipApple A18 Pro chip 6‐core CPU with 2 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores 5‐core GPU Hardware‐accelerated ray tracing 16‐core Neural Engine 60GB/s memory bandwidth
- DisplayLiquid Retina display 13.0-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2 2408-by-1506 native resolution at 219 pixels per inch 500 nits brightness Support for 1 billion colors sRGB color
- external_display_supportSupports one external display with up to a native resolution of 4K at 60Hz 4 Simultaneously supports the built-in display at full native resolution USB 3 (USB-C) port supports native DisplayPort 1.4 speeds (up to HBR3)
- Memory8GB 8GB unified memory
- Storage256GB 256GB SSD
- video_playbackSupported formats include HEVC, H.264, AV1, and ProRes HDR with Dolby Vision, HDR10+/HDR10, and HLG
- battery_life_video_streaming—
- battery_life_wireless_web—
- battery_type—
- Built-in AppsApp Store Books Calendar Contacts FaceTime Find My Freeform Games GarageBand Home iMovie iPhone Mirroring Journal
- charging_ports—
- chassisAluminium, no plastic parts
- coloursIndigo, blush, citrus, silver
- configurable_memory—
- configurable_storage—
- cpu_cores—
- display_brightness—
- display_color—
- display_size—
- expansion_ports—
- keyboard—
- Keyboard and TrackpadMagic Keyboard 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys – Not available, Touch ID Multi-Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and support for gestures Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
- media_engine—
- memory_bandwidth—
- neural_accelerators—
- Operating SystemmacOS
- power_adapter—
- Size and WeightHeight: 0.50 inch (1.27 cm) Width: 11.71 inches (29.75 cm) Depth: 8.12 inches (20.64 cm) Weight: 2.7 pounds (1.23 kg) 6
- storage_base256GB (512GB at $799)