Well, there goes any reason to buy an iPad Air

"If you're looking for a machine that you can actually use meaningfully, the Neo has the Air beat. It has two USB-C ports, 16-hour battery life, a real keyboard, trackpad and the ability to run macOS with proper multitasking. $599 won't even get you an iPad Air with a keyboard and trackpad, which costs you an extra $270."

"The A18 Pro chip will run a lot slower than Apple's M-Series silicon but raw performance isn't the big issue. After all, if you're buying this machine as Apple's version of a Chromebook, you're not going to be compressing 55GB Final Cut Pro files here. This is a machine for light work, the sort of stuff the iPad was always meant to enable, but has never quite been able to."

"And the A18 Pro only needs 8W to run, compared to the 15W Intel requires, which helps maintain that lovely long battery life. Even with just 8GB RAM, if it can run macOS and its applications at an acceptable level, then you know it'll go down beautifully with its intended audience."

Apple introduced the MacBook Neo, a 13-inch laptop priced at $599 that delivers the complete macOS experience. The device features two USB-C ports, 16-hour battery life, a physical keyboard, trackpad, and genuine multitasking capabilities. While the A18 Pro chip performs slower than M-Series silicon, it efficiently handles light work tasks that iPads were designed for but never fully achieved. The A18 Pro requires only 8W of power compared to Intel's 15W requirement, contributing to extended battery performance. With 8GB RAM, the MacBook Neo provides meaningful computing power for its target audience at a significantly lower price point than iPad Air with accessories.

Read at Engadget