Apple's new MacBook Neo came out of the starting gates at an affordable price, but it has already picked up a welcome discount, making it an even more attractive buy if you've been waiting for a cheap MacBook deal for work and study.
Amazon has slashed the price of the MacBook Neo with 256GB SSD to £549 (was £599), saving you £50 on a compact notebook powered by Apple's A18 Pro chip. The 512GB model is also on sale for £618 (was £699) at Amazon.
Seeing a brand-new Apple laptop for under £550 doesn't happen very often, making this a great opportunity if you need a reliable machine for work, study or everyday use. It's available in Silver, Blush, Citrus and Indigo, with matching keyboards adding a little extra personality.
Today's top Apple MacBook Neo deal
The MacBook Neo runs on the A18 Pro chip with a 6-core CPU and 5-core GPU, paired with just 8GB of unified memory. That’s fine for light tasks, browsing, and basic productivity, but it doesn’t leave much headroom for heavier workloads or future software demands.
In our review, we called it the "best budget laptop you can buy" and noted that, "The MacBook Neo is aimed squarely at students, small-business owners, and regular folk."
The 256GB SSD offers fast storage for apps and files while keeping everything responsive.
Apple has also packed in a 13-inch Liquid Retina display with a 2408 x 1506 resolution, support for one billion colors and brightness of up to 500 nits.
The screen should deliver crisp text and vibrant images whether you're browsing the web, watching videos or working on documents.
Apple claims up to 16 hours of battery life on a charge, making it a practical choice for students and anyone who spends long days away from a power outlet.
A 1080p FaceTime HD camera, dual microphones and Spatial Audio speakers round out the package, making video calls and entertainment look and sound great.
If you've been thinking about buying your first Mac or replacing an older laptop, this is one of the best-value Apple deals I've seen in ages.
Yes, the £50 discount isn't massive, but getting a current-generation MacBook with Apple's latest chip for under £550 is terrific value.
For other choices, take a look at our round up of the best MacBook Pro laptops, as well as our picks for the best business laptops.