Apple · Engadget
Strictly speaking, you can get a cheaper MacBook in the form of the Neo, but that introduces serious compromises
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The next step up, the MacBook Air, is $1,100, and you're still stuck with an M5 chip and 16GB of RAM.
Key facts
- Mobility and miniaturization are inherently expensive, which is part of how Apple can charge $700 for a Neo when the iPhone 16 Pro originally sold for $1,000
- Dropping back to 512GB brings prices down to $3,000, though at that point, you might get more value out of a Mac Studio, which starts with an M5 Max chip and 36GB of RAM for $2,500
- This probably doesn't cut costs as much as ditching a display, since Apple charges anywhere between $150 and $250 for MacBook battery service, and that includes labor
- The next step up, the MacBook Air, is $1,100, and you're still stuck with an M5 chip and 16GB of RAM
Summary
If you're looking at base configurations, anyway. For a while, the Mac mini was ranked as one of the best deals in computing. For $900, you can get a Mac with Apple's new M6 processor, which is vastly overpowered for most of the apps the average person runs. Strictly speaking, you can get a cheaper MacBook in the form of the Neo, but that introduces serious compromises, like 8GB of RAM and the same A18 Pro processor found in the iPhone 16 Pro. The dichotomy between mini and MacBook prices is pretty straightforward in most respects, owing to what's included versus what's not. The most obvious cost factor is the absence of a display.