It’s time for the Mac Neo

Antonio G. Di Benedetto is a reviewer covering laptops and the occasional gadget. He spent over 15 years in the photography industry before joining The Verge as a deals writer in 2021.The Mac Mini is a great little desktop computer, and back when it cost $599, it was easy to recommend to anyone who wanted something speedy, simple, and cheap. The new M6 model is even better, but it starts at $899, and its 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU might actually be overkill for someone who just wants macOS and mostly does web stuff.That’s why we need a Mac Neo. The MacBook Neo proves Apple can get good-enough laptop performance from an iPhone chip for $699. And you get a great screen, keyboard, trackpad, and battery with that money. Throwing a smartphone chip, a power supply, some basic speakers, and a few ports in a small box shouldn’t cost all that much if a whole-ass laptop version is $699. I mean, it’s a screenless phone with a couple of USB ports, Michael. What could it cost? $499?And while the current Mac Mini chassis is incredibly small for what it can accomplish, a stripped-down model with a phone chip and no fan could be even tinier. Apple could go super small or just repurpose something that exists, like the chassis it uses for the Apple TV 4K. Add some ports — maybe not quite enough, knowing Apple — give it a couple fun colors, and you’ve got a Mac Neo. Or, dare I say, a Mac Nano?As Apple’s M-series chips keep getting more powerful and more expensive, there’s a segment of people it’s leaving behind. RAMageddon is making everything cost more, even the MacBook Neo, but the Neo showed that a lower-cost MacBook wasn’t just viable — it could be great. There’s no reason a Mac Neo can’t do the same.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Antonio G. Di Benedetto