MacBook Neo Starts at Just $499 for Students

Following months of rumors about a lower-cost MacBook, Apple has delivered in a big way with the MacBook Neo, which starts at $599 in the United States.

Even better, the MacBook Neo starts at just $499 through Apple's education store on its website, for eligible college students and educational staff.

There is only one upgrade option available for the MacBook Neo. If you want a configuration with a Touch ID button and an expanded 512GB of storage, that costs $100 extra. This raises the price to $699 for the general public, and to $599 for college students. But, that is the most expensive the MacBook Neo gets on its own.

With the MacBook Air's starting price rising from $999 to $1,099 with the introduction of new models with the M5 chip this week — albeit with a doubled 512GB of storage — the MacBook Neo is as much as $500 cheaper than the MacBook Air. And it could go on sale through resellers like Amazon for even less eventually.

Here is an overview of the U.S. starting prices for MacBooks:

• 13-inch MacBook Neo: $599
• 13-inch MacBook Air: $1,099
• 15-inch MacBook Air: $1,299
• 14-inch MacBook Pro: $1,699
• 16-inch MacBook Pro: $2,699

MacBook Neo is available to pre-order now and launches on Wednesday, March 11.