Exclusive: $599 MacBook Neo easily beats $1,119 Dell laptop on Windows 11 benchmarks - yes, macOS may well be the best platform ever for Microsoft's OS

Date:
Wed, 18 Mar 2026 18:13:46 +0000

Description:
Despite running a mobile CPU and Windows in a virtual machine, the MacBook laptop excelled in single-core CPU performance.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Get the TechRadar Newsletter Sign up for
breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are
now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter The MacBook Neo , along with the Mac mini , is Apple 's most affordable computing option at just $599. And yet it is a formidably capable device, possibly, a once-in-a-generation product. Why? One unknown I wanted to clear up was how well it ran Windows 11 in a virtual machine .

So I asked the team at Parallels to benchmark a Windows-equipped Neo, and
what they delivered shocked me. I didn't have high expectations given the Mac Neo's limited specifications. It uses similar hardware to the iPhone 16 Pro Max: an Apple A18 Pro with six cores, 256GB storage and 8GB of unified
memory. Article continues below You may like The MacBook Neo isn't just cheap
it's cheaper and easier to repair too Apple's MacBook Neo nails the netbook by being nothing like it Why the new MacBook Neo is already the most
important product of 2026 Against a $1,119 Dell Pro 14 laptop ( Intel Core Ultra 5 235U @ 2.00 GHz, 10-core, 16GB RAM, running Windows 11 build 26200 natively), a MacBook Neo with a virtualised Windows 11 (build 26200) with six vCPU and 6GB vRAM (via Parallels Desktop 26) delivered approximately 20% higher single-core CPU performance than natively on the Dell computer. That's across five industry-leading benchmark packages: Geekbench, PassMark, 3DMark, PCMark, Blender, and Unigine. I reached out to Parallels to obtain the raw data from these tests and will update the article once it is received. For typical office productivity workloads, overall performance is approximately 20% slower than native Windows 11 on the Dell laptop. Parallels said this remains responsive and practical, meaning it should be fast enough for everyday use. They also added that "this setup works well for standard office productivity ( Microsoft Office, email, calendar), web applications and browser-based tools, business productivity software, and light development
and testing". Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners
or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms &
Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. There are obvious caveats - you still need to buy a copy of Parallels and a Windows 11 license
- and this certainly warrants more extensive tests, something that I hope my peers will carry out. Apple is only warming up I cannot stress enough how important this finding is.

Here we have an Apple laptop that was never destined to run Windows 11, capable of running Microsofts flagship OS in a virtual machine, better than a Dell laptop designed to run Windows 11 natively. What to read next Apple says 'life is just better on a Mac' and the $599 MacBook Neo may be its smartest pitch yet Steve Jobs derided netbooks, and now Apples made one in the MacBook Neo Apple MacBook Neo review: the best budget laptop you can buy

Not only is the Dell laptop far more expensive, but its CPU is also expected to be more powerful. What we have seen is the fruit of vertically integrated platform, something that Apple mastered by kicking out Intel and Samsung from its Mac and iPhone range.

Own the hardware and the software and you can perform miracles.

This is mind-blowing and both Apple and Parallels deserve a big pat on the back for achieving this. It's too early to say the writing is on the wall for Windows laptops, but expect Apple to sell millions of these in the current financial year. Could it become Apple's best-selling computer ever? I wouldnt bet against this.

Matt Hanson, who reviewed the MacBook Neo for TechRadar, quipped that While I wouldn't recommend using Windows 11 on the MacBook Neo full-time, as native macOS performance is always going to be better, Apple's affordable laptop has put budget laptop and Chromebook makers on notice. It's not perfect, but the performance, build quality and design mean there's really no choice if you're looking for a laptop under $600: buy the MacBook Neo.

Matt gave it a 4.5 out of 5, noting the presence of USB 2.0 ports, the lack
of a keyboard backlight, and limited RAM as the only significant drawbacks of an otherwise stellar laptop.

I will not buy Apples cheapest laptop just yet but I - and I am sure millions of others - would find it hard to resist a $99.99 refurbished MacBook Neo in
a few years. Today's best MacBook Neo & Mac mini deals Today's best Apple MacBook Neo and Apple Mac Mini deals 599 569.97 View Apple Macbook Neo 13-Inch Laptop With... Apple Macbook Neo 13-Inch Laptop With A18 Pro Chip: Built for Ai and Apple Intelligence, Liquid Retina Display, 8gb Unified Memory, 256gb Ssd Storage, 1080p Facetime Hd Camera; Blush Low Stock 569.97 View Apple MacBook Neo 13 Inch A18 Pro 8GB... Apple MacBook Neo 13 Inch A18 Pro 8GB RAM 256GB SSD 2026 - Indigo 599 View APPLE MacBook Neo 13" (2026) - A18 Pro,... APPLE MacBook Neo 13" (2026) - A18 Pro, 256 GB SSD, Indigo, Blue 599 View Apple MacBook Neo, 13, A18 Pro... Apple MacBook Neo, 13, A18 Pro Processor, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Show more We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices



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