You're better off with a refurbished Mac than a MacBook Neo

By Ian Carlos Campbell Published Jun 15, 2026, 8:01 PM EDT Ian Campbell is a reporter based in San Diego who writes features, interviews, guides and reviews for Pocket-lint. Before he spent his days covering great products for Pocket-lint readers, Ian was an associate editor at Inverse . His work has also appeared in Engadget , Input , dot.LA , and The Verge . Prior to joining the world of online media, Ian received a BA in Screenwriting from Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. His background in film and television and interest in technology has made Ian a jack-of-all-trades in all the ways entertainment touches the products we use every day, and particularly the screens we place in our home, keep in our pockets, wear on our wrist, and strap on our face. Sign in to your Pocket-lint account Add Us On follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread 1 Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap Apple's MacBook Neo has been a smash hit for a reason. After years of selling comparatively expensive computers, Apple finally broke and sold a pretty good laptop for as little as $599. And it didn't even have to make too many compromises to make it happen. If anything, the company's attempts to differentiate the Neo have come with some real benefits, like bright, playful color options that the company doesn't offer on many of its other computers.