MacBook Neo seems to be pulling in a lot of Windows users as Tim Cook celebrates “best launch week ever”
Apple started shipping its new budget-focused MacBook Neo last week, and sales results are already impressive. While we don’t have exact numbers, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo projects up to 5 million shipments in 2026. What we do know, however, is that Mac has just had its “best launch week ever for first-time Mac customers,” according to a post from Apple CEO Tim Cook.
It seems logical to assume that Windows users are being tempted over to a new Mac laptop with a pocket-friendly price tag. The MacBook Neo is available from $599 and delivers excellent performance, despite using an older chip, the A18 Pro (which first made an appearance in the iPhone 16 Pro & Pro Max).
Apple CEO celebrates record level of new Mac users
The MacBook Neo isn’t the only new Mac hardware Apple launched this month. There were also new M5-powered MacBooks, including an M5 MacBook Air and MacBook Pros featuring upgraded M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. However, the Neo was certainly the talk of the town earlier this month at Apple’s ‘special’ invite-only event.
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It’s more likely that the Neo, which Apple calls its “most affordable laptop ever,” is the biggest driving force behind first-time Mac users. The $599 cost is miles below the new M5 devices, with the cheapest Air model costing $1,099 in the US. Plus, as the Neo delivers faster performance than an M1 MacBook Air, it’s a fantastic choice for those looking to get their foot into the Mac ecosystem. We suspect many of those are Windows users, or maybe even Chromebook users in the budget notebook space.
The MacBook Neo became available for pre-order on March 4 before being fully launched on March 11. Reports of Neo pre-orders selling out are an obvious indication of its popularity, and consumers wishing to pick one up right now face delayed shipping times as a result. If you were to order one right now, estimated delivery times are between April 6 and April 13.
In the Windows space, perhaps the most impressive laptop upgrade we’ve had recently is Intel’s Panther Lake, launched at CES 2026 a couple of months ago. AMD also launched its Ryzen AI 400 mobile chips that week, and the company was keen to let everyone know that it’s still better than Intel. Despite the fierce rivalry between Team Blue and Team Red, the $599 MacBook Neo (the first of the Neo series) seems to have more of a pull than any other MacBook we’ve seen in the past few years.
