Apple’s $599 MacBook Neo is here—same‑day pickup, rivals call pricing an “industry shock”

Apple's $599 MacBook Neo is now officially on sale, and Apple Stores are already set up for launch-day pickups. At the same time, Asus executives say the pricing surprised the Windows PC ecosystem, which is also contending with a prolonged memory shortage—raising the stakes for how rivals respond.

Apple's latest betas push more than routine fixes. iOS 26.4 beta 4 introduces eight new emojis alongside updates to Podcasts, Music, and iPhone security settings. On the Mac, macOS 26.4 adds colorful MacBook Neo-inspired wallpapers—but some users say Apple's animated backgrounds can be surprisingly memory-hungry.

Apple says the MacBook Neo doesn't support fast charging—and it ships with a 20W adapter. But Macworld's real-world tests found the laptop charges noticeably quicker with a higher-wattage brick, even though it still falls short of Apple's own "fast charge" threshold. Here's what the numbers show—and why wattage beyond a point may not help.