Hey everyone,
Apple recently released their lowest-priced MacBook ever—the MacBook Neo. At $699 with only 8GB of RAM, this machine is definitively not marketed to creative professionals. But I know many of you are wondering: can it actually handle Lightroom and Photoshop in a pinch? Could it serve as a reliable, ultra-portable travel backup?
Speed Tested!
To find out, I put it through a real-world gauntlet. I ran 12 side-by-side speed tests, pitting the fanless 8GB Neo directly against my 14″ M4 MacBook Pro.
We look at everything from AI Denoise and Generative Fill to building massive 1:1 preview catalogs. (Spoiler alert: one task took under 4 minutes on the Pro and nearly 45 minutes on the Neo!).
I also break down the hardware quirks you absolutely need to know about before buying, including a sneaky USB speed trap and the strict one-external-display limit.
Watch the full review and speed test below to see exactly where the 8GB memory wall hits, and how you can use the web versions of Adobe apps to bypass those limits.
Drop a comment and let me know—would you pick one of these up for travel, or is the 8GB wall an absolute dealbreaker for you?
Cheers, Terry