The new economical MacBook Neo computer. Many observers expected the failure of this compact device before shipments to customers even began. But the initial results of performance tests proved exactly the opposite, indicating that this computer will find a strong place between the Apple M3 and M4 processors when it comes to single-core performance.
Apple will not begin delivering its new computer until March 11, after announcing it at an official event on March 4. The 13-inch device is available for pre-order at a price of $599 through external platforms such as Amazon. Pending independent reviews, the platforms provided an early look at the expected performance of the first laptop powered by the A18 Pro processor in heavy tasks.
As for graphics processing, the performance seems slightly superior to the MacBook Air computer equipped with the old M1 processor. That device had recorded an average of 30,112 points in the Metal test, while the new computer achieved 31,178 points in the current tests, which is a result that is only 5.7 percent lower than the iPhone 16 Pro Max, despite it containing 16.1 percent fewer graphic cores.
Likewise, multi-core performance results indicate that the new computer is slightly more powerful than the old MacBook Air. But the real surprise lies in the average performance of a single core, which reached 3530 points, surpassing by nearly 50% the old device, which scored 2363 points, easily surpassing MacBooks running the M2 processor.
Thanks to the advanced A18 Pro processor, the new computer is able to outperform by 12.7% even the 14-inch MacBook Pro computer equipped with an M3 processor, which has an active cooling system. In fact, this economical device lags behind the latest generation devices equipped with the M4 processor by a very small step in single-core tasks, proving its great value against its competitive price.
