Most people shopping for a new MacBook have two real options: The MacBook Air or the MacBook Neo. If you’re someone who wants to multitask between a bunch of different apps, keep dozens of tabs open, play indie games, quickly transfer large files, and generally care about the speed of your laptop, get the M5 MacBook Air. If you’re just looking to get on the internet and use basic apps like Google Chrome, FaceTime, and iMessage, get a MacBook Neo.The M5 MacBook Air is a thin, lightweight laptop that has enough processing power to earn a spot in our guide to the best photo and video editing laptops. The M5 chip is a multitasking monster, and Apple’s years of incremental chip improvements has yielded a consumer processor that’s almost too fast for most. The MacBook Neo’s A17 Pro chip has actually been repurposed from its previous life as an iPhone processor. The Neo runs a full version of MacOS, but its strengths align with the iPhone: It’s best for running one or two apps at a time, and can play a surprising amount of mobile games. However, it has much slower SSD storage compared to the Air, so tasks like saving or transferring large files will take longer. Both laptops have excellent screens, keyboards, trackpads, and speakers.In June 2026, Apple raised its laptop prices across the board, so you’ll pay $200 more for the MacBook Air and $100 more for the Neo. They’re still great laptops, but the global chip shortage due to AI datacenter demand has made them more expensive.