If you've been waiting for a cheap MacBook, then your day has arrived. Today, Apple announced the low-cost MacBook Neo that is sure to be a hit for those on student budgets. No longer will you need to spend $1,099 on a MacBook Air if you want an Apple laptop for school. The new MacBook Neo starts at $599, and you can get it for $499 with Apple's educational discount.

Taking on Chromebooks and cheap Windows laptops, the MacBook Neo is based not on an Apple M-series processor that powers MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models but the A18 Pro chip that's found in the iPhone 16 Pro.

To hit a lower price, the MacBook Neo features a 13-inch display that's slightly smaller than the 13.6-inch screen on the smallest MacBook Air. You'll also need to make do with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, which is half the memory and storage that Apple offers on the baseline MacBook Air.

You can't upgrade the memory, but you can double the storage to 512GB, a $100 upgrade that also adds Apple's Touch ID to the keyboard. That's it in terms of Neo upgrades.

Color isn't cost prohibitive because Apple offers the MacBook Neo in an array of colors: Blush (pink), Citrus (yellow) and Indigo (dark blue) in addition to basic silver. The color options are more muted than the bright hues I was hoping to see.

You can preorder the MacBook Neo now, and it will start shipping next Wednesday, March 11.

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