MacBook Neo Benchmarks Show Performance Close To M1 MacBook Air

The first benchmarks for Apple’s new MacBook Neo have started appearing online, giving us an early look at how the company’s most affordable Mac stacks up against older models and other Apple devices.

Unsurprisingly, performance lands right around the A18 Pro chip used in the iPhone 16 Pro, since the MacBook Neo runs the same processor. The only notable difference is that the Neo ships with one fewer GPU core.

Here are the early benchmark results:

• Single-core: 3461
• Multi-core: 8668
• Metal (GPU): 31,286

For context, the iPhone 16 Pro scores roughly 3445 single-core, 8624 multi-core, and 32,575 Metal, which puts the MacBook Neo almost exactly where you would expect. The slightly lower graphics score likely comes from that missing GPU core.

When compared with older Macs, the numbers are surprisingly competitive. The MacBook Air (M1) still holds up well, but the Neo actually pulls ahead in single-core performance while landing close in multi-core performance.

Here’s how some comparable Apple devices stack up:

• MacBook Neo: 3461 single-core | 8668 multi-core | 31,286 Metal
• iPhone 16 Pro: 3445 | 8624 | 32,575
• MacBook Air (M1): 2346 | 8342 | 33,148
• MacBook Air (M4): 3696 | 14,730 | 54,630
• iPad Air (M3): 3048 | 11,678 | 44,395

In practical terms, that strong single-core score should make the Neo feel snappy for everyday tasks like web browsing, document editing, and streaming video. Heavier workloads such as video editing, 3D work, or music production will still favor Macs powered by Apple’s M-series chips.

Apple isn’t really positioning the Neo against its own Mac lineup anyway. Instead, the company says the laptop targets entry-level buyers and students who might otherwise choose a Windows laptop or Chromebook. Apple claims the A18 Pro can deliver up to 50 percent faster everyday performance than popular PCs powered by Intel Core Ultra 5 chips, along with significantly faster on-device AI tasks.

So far, only a single benchmark result has surfaced, so averages may shift slightly as more units get tested. Still, the numbers line up almost perfectly with expectations.

The MacBook Neo starts at $599, is available for preorder now, and is set to launch on March 11.