Apple now has three devices at exactly the same price point. The MacBook Neo, iPad Air with M4, and the standard iPad with Magic Keyboard Folio all fall into the same price segment. In the US, it’s $599, and pre-orders have opened in Russia too, but prices for the MacBook Neo turned out to be significantly higher than American ones, though it could have been worse. You’d think you could just pick whichever you like. But the difference between these three devices is so significant that making the wrong choice could cost you both nerves and money.

Tablet with keyboard or laptop? Let’s figure it out. Image: 9to5mac.com

MacBook Neo: Is It Worth Buying the Cheapest MacBook

Apple took a long time to get to a budget laptop and has finally released one. The MacBook Neo at $599 (starting from 70,000 rubles at M.Video for the base model, 85,000 for the 512 GB version) looks like a full-fledged MacBook. Aluminum body, 13-inch Liquid Retina display, A18 Pro processor (the same one found in the iPhone 16 Pro), fanless design, and a claimed 16 hours of battery life.

It looks gorgeous in yellow. Will be interesting to see if it scratches or not. Image: theverge.com

But as soon as you start digging into the details, it becomes clear how Apple achieved this price:

  • There’s no keyboard backlight. At all. This is the first MacBook in the last 15 years without backlit keys. If you’re used to working in the evening or in a dimly lit room, you’ll either have to turn on the lights or type by touch.
  • True Tone, which automatically adjusts screen colors to match ambient lighting, is also absent.
  • The color space is narrowed to sRGB instead of the usual P3. For those who work with photos or video, this is significant. For everyone else, honestly, the difference is barely noticeable to the eye.
  • Touch ID is only available in the 85,000 ruble version. In the base configuration at 70,000, you’ll have to enter your password manually every time you unlock or make a purchase in the App Store.
  • Two USB-C ports, but one of them runs at USB 2.0 speed, meaning 480 Mbps. Fine for charging, but you’d better plug your flash drive or external drive into the other port.
  • No MagSafe — charging is only via USB-C.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In total, the MacBook Neo has 22 drawbacks. Despite all of this, the Neo handles basic tasks without any issues. Browser, documents, video, messaging apps, even light tasks in Xcode or Photoshop. In benchmarks, the single-core performance of the A18 Pro is comparable to the M3, while multi-core performance is roughly on par with the M1. For a laptop at this price, that’s a perfectly respectable result.

iPad Air with M4: Is It Worth Buying Instead of a Laptop

For the same amount (starting from 73,000 rubles at M.Video for the 11-inch model with 128 GB), you can get an iPad Air with the M4 chip, which, while different from the Pro, won’t be critical for most people. And this is where a completely different story begins. The M4 processor is significantly more powerful than the A18 Pro. The multi-core performance gap is roughly twofold. RAM is 12 GB compared to 8 GB on the Neo. The display supports P3 and True Tone, the camera is 12 MP with Center Stage. iPadOS 26 with its new windowing system has brought the tablet noticeably closer to being a full-fledged workstation.

An 11-inch tablet will be too small, so you’ll have to go for the 13-inch version. Image: 9to5mac.com

But for 73,000, you only get the tablet. No keyboard, no trackpad, no stylus. The Magic Keyboard for iPad Air costs another 25,000–30,000 rubles. The Apple Pencil Pro adds about 14,000. In total, a full working kit with keyboard and stylus comes to around 110,000–115,000. That’s an entirely different budget.

If you don’t need a keyboard and you specifically want a tablet for drawing, reading, watching video, or working with touchscreen apps, the iPad Air at this price looks tempting. But if you need a laptop for working with text, spreadsheets, and a browser, buying a keyboard for a third of the device’s cost seems questionable.

Can the iPad A16 with Magic Keyboard Folio Replace a Laptop

The third option that’s often overlooked. The base iPad with A16 plus Magic Keyboard Folio comes to roughly 50,000–55,000 rubles. This is the most budget-friendly way to get an Apple tablet with a trackpad and keyboard right out of the box.

Keep in mind that you’ll need a desk to work on this keyboard. The tablet will fall off your lap. Image: apple.com

The trade-off is performance. The A16 is noticeably weaker than both the A18 Pro and especially the M4. RAM is only 6 GB. Base storage is 128 GB. The 11-inch screen supports True Tone and 500 nits of brightness, but no P3. There’s one USB-C port, and it doesn’t have Thunderbolt.

In my opinion, this option only makes sense if your tasks are really light: email, browser, notes, video. In a year or two, 6 GB of RAM and the A16 will start showing their age, especially considering that iPadOS becomes more demanding with every update. But if your budget is limited and you need a touchscreen with a keyboard right now, it’s a viable option.

What’s the Best Apple Device to Choose

Shipments of the MacBook Neo to Russia via parallel imports aren’t expected until early April due to the situation in Dubai. Until then, it’s available for pre-order at M.Video, DNS (starting from 66,000 rubles), re:Store, and through CDEK.Shopping (from 58,000 excluding customs duty). When the device appears on marketplaces like Ozon and Wildberries, prices will almost certainly be lower than at major retail chains. That’s always how it goes with Apple in Russia.

The MacBook Air M3 will give you much more than the Neo and iPads. Image: tomsguide.com

It’s also worth remembering the MacBook Air. The previous-generation Air 13″ with M3 is currently being sold off at 78,000 rubles in retail, and on marketplaces with parallel imports, it can be found even cheaper. The new Air with M5 starts at 130,000 rubles at M.Video, but that’s a different league entirely. Meanwhile, the M3 Air, for just 8,000–10,000 rubles more than the Neo, offers a half-inch larger screen, 16 GB of RAM, a backlit keyboard, MagSafe, Touch ID, and an M3 processor.