Apple kept the MacBook Neo’s storage details pretty vague, only confirming that buyers can choose between a 256GB or 512GB SSD. Now it’s clearer why: real-world testing suggests the entry-level MacBook Neo SSD performance is far behind what many shoppers expect from a modern Mac, and it doesn’t even reach typical PCIe NVMe Gen 3-class speeds.
A new comparison shared by YouTuber Dave2D using the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test shows the MacBook Neo delivering 1,591.2MB/s read and 1,574.2MB/s write. Those numbers aren’t “broken,” but they’re dramatically lower than the SSD performance seen across Apple’s other recent laptops, including MacBook Air models that sit just above it in the lineup.
In fact, Apple’s M5 MacBook Air posts results that are as much as 316.6 percent faster in write speed than the MacBook Neo. Even the slowest machine in the comparison list still beats the Neo, which is surprising considering the Neo is being positioned as a budget-friendly portable Mac.
Here’s how the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test results stack up.
Read speeds:
14-inch M5 MacBook Pro: 6752.1MB/s
13-inch M5 MacBook Air: 6473.4MB/s
15-inch M4 MacBook Air: 2904MB/s
13-inch M4 MacBook Air: 2833.3MB/s
13-inch MacBook Neo: 1,591.2MB/s
Write speeds:
14-inch M5 MacBook Pro: 6194.2MB/s
13-inch M5 MacBook Air: 6558.6MB/s
15-inch M4 MacBook Air: 3023.9MB/s
13-inch M4 MacBook Air: 1987.7MB/s
13-inch MacBook Neo: 1,574.2MB/s
For everyday tasks like web browsing, streaming, email, and basic office work, these speeds should still allow the MacBook Neo to feel smooth—especially if macOS remains well-optimized for lower-cost hardware. Where things could get messy is with heavier multitasking and memory pressure, because the MacBook Neo reportedly comes with 8GB of RAM and no upgrade path.
That matters because once RAM fills up, macOS relies more heavily on swap, temporarily moving data to the SSD to keep apps running. On a laptop with slower storage, heavy swapping can lead to noticeable slowdowns, longer app load times, and a less responsive feel—particularly during tasks like photo editing, large spreadsheet work, multiple browser tabs, or running several apps at once.
The MacBook Neo may still make sense for buyers focused on the lowest price for a new Mac, but the SSD numbers and the fixed 8GB RAM are important trade-offs to understand before committing—especially if your “everyday use” sometimes turns into more demanding workloads.
