10 Hacks Every MacBook Neo Owner Should Know

The MacBook Neo is one of Apple’s most intriguing products in years. The company took an iPhone 16 Pro chip, put it inside a colorful chassis, installed macOS, and presto: You have a brand-new MacBook for only $599 ($499 with an education discount). It’s a no-brainer for anyone looking for a basic Mac at a great price, but to get it to that price, Apple had to cut some serious corners. As such, you can’t buy a MacBook Neo and expect the exact same experience you’d get with a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro—though that doesn’t mean you can’t make some improvements on your own.

The Neo might be a stripped-down Mac, but it’s still a computer, and all computers can be pushed beyond their defaults. To that end, I’ve compiled a list of 10 hacks all MacBook Neo owners should know about—adjustments and strategies you can take to make your Neo run longer, perform better, and get a bit closer to the flagship MacBook experience.

Give your Mac more “RAM” by optimizing your storage

This is an important consideration no matter what Mac you have, but it’s especially important when your hard drive is as small as the base MacBook Neo. While you might think you have the flexibility to fill that 256GB of storage to the brim, you have far less of it than you think. Part of that is because macOS takes up a certain amount of storage on its own (the OS takes up roughly 35GB on my MacBook, for example), but even the free space you can use, you really shouldn’t.

See, your Mac has 8GB of RAM. That’s not a lot. When macOS runs out of RAM to work with, however, it won’t just stop working; instead, it’ll start using your SSD for additional memory, a process known as “swap.” That said, if you don’t have enough available storage, you’ll start to run into issues: macOS will slow down, apps will be less responsive, and the system may even warn you you’re dangerously close to running out of space.

So, one of the best things you can do to make the most of your Neo’s limited RAM is by limiting how much storage you’re using. Audit your current SSD situation by going to System Settings > General > Storage. You’ll be able to see a full breakdown of your Macintosh HD, plus some tips from macOS to optimize your storage: e.g. “Store in iCloud,” if you have enough cloud space, or “Empty Trash automatically” if you tend to keep large files in the trash.

You can go deeper if you click on the (i) next to any of the file types listed below. For example, I have 226.43 GB of “Documents” on my MacBook. I can see which files are the largest, and delete any I no longer need.

Pick up an external SSD to expand your storage

If you’re struggling to make due with your limited storage, pick up an external SSD. You can buy these devices in any number of configurations, adding 1TB, 2TB, even 4TB of storage space to your setup. While it’s less convenient than keeping files on your MacBook locally, it’ll help you keep the available space on your Neo for everything to run properly. Plus, they’re small, and many connect via a single USB-C cable, so there’s no need for additional power cables or dongles.

Pair your Apple Watch for easy unlocking and authentication

For years, Apple has included Touch ID buttons on its MacBooks. It’s a fast way to unlock your laptop and it beats having to type your password in every time. While the Neo does have an option that comes with Touch ID, the base model sadly doesn’t. If you have an Apple, however, it doesn’t actually matter.

You can pair your Apple Watch with your MacBook, so that when you’re wearing the watch, it automatically unlocks your Mac—just like Touch ID would. To set it up, head to System Settings, then search for “Apple Watch.” Choose “Allow Apple Watch to unlock your Mac,” then tap the toggle next to your watch. Note that both the watch and your MacBook need to be connected to the same Apple Account.

Use Activity Monitor to kill demanding apps and processes

As someone who obsesses over their Mac’s performance, Activity Monitor is my best friend. It’s about to be yours, too. This utility lets you see all the apps and processes currently running on your Mac, and how demanding they are on its CPU, memory, energy, disk, and the network. While it may seem particularly technical, don’t worry: The easiest way to use Activity Monitor is to see if any app is unexpectedly using too much energy, memory, or CPU performance. If Messages, for example, is at the top of the list, and is using far more energy than any other app around it, you can guess something’s up. From here, you can Force Quit the app, or click the app name from the list and hit the (X) stop button in Activity Monitor to get things working again.

Use your iPhone as an improved webcam

The MacBook Neo’s built-in webcam is actually pretty solid—especially for a laptop at this price point. But it’s not quite as good as the ones you’ll find on Apple’s M-series MacBooks. If you have an iPhone, however, you’re set, since macOS lets you tap into its camera for all your video call needs. For setup instructions, follow the steps in our guide here. You may just want to invest in a stand, or perhaps a camera mount for your Mac.

Use lightweight apps to make the most of your Mac’s limited RAM

8GB of RAM is not much in 2026. (It wasn’t much in 2022, either.) While I have no reservations recommending the Neo for anyone who has basic computing needs (web browsing, email, messaging, etc.), the more things you do at once on your MacBook, the more pressure you’ll put on the memory. But not all processes are equal: You can run more lightweight apps at once than you can heavy, memory-hungry programs. As such, knowing which apps to use (and when) can go a long way with the Neo.

Perhaps the easiest place to start is with your browser. Chrome is the most popular web browser in the world. It’s also a major memory hog. Google isn’t all that concerned with making its browser a light and efficient option, especially since so many users rely on it for its performance and extensions library. But if you’re rocking a MacBook Neo, you might want to consider switching out your browser. Safari is honestly a great choice in 2026, and, since it’s Apple-made, it’s optimized to work well with macOS. But it’s limited compared to Chrome—while it has extensions, there aren’t as many, so you may find the experience lacking. In that case, I’d recommend Firefox: It offers a similar extensions experience to Chrome, but runs lighter, and more private to boot.

If you’re not sure how your apps of choice are impacting your system, run them and pull up Activity Monitor’s “Memory” tab. You’ll be able to see exactly how much RAM each app is consuming, and decide for yourself whether it’s worth having on board.

Pick up a USB hub to expand your Mac’s port selection

Even if you think you could get away with relying on the MacBook Neo’s two USB-C ports, you really only have one worth using. The port closest to the hinge is USB 3.0, which you can use for connecting to a display, charging, and for transferring data up to 10Gb/s. The other port, however, is USB 2, which can only charge and transfer data at speeds of 480Mb/s. That’s super slow by today’s standards. In fact, if you plug a demanding piece of hardware into this port, macOS will send you a pop-up advising you to use the other port.

As such, you might find a USB hub can open up what you can do on your Mac. This option from Anker, for example, comes with two USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, and an HDMI port. Right there, you add four USB options and a video-out port to a MacBook that only started with two ports total. There are other options out there, too, like this hub that comes with SD card slots.

Use Low Power Mode on battery power to keep your MacBook running longer

The MacBook Neo seems to have a pretty solid battery life, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. If your main goal is extending your time in between charges and you’re OK taking a small hit to performance, you should use Low Power Mode any time your MacBook is on battery power—not just when it’s low on energy.

If you keep your battery setting in the menu bar, just click the battery, then choose “Low Power Mode.” Otherwise, head to System Settings > Battery, then set “Low Power Mode” to “Only on battery.” Now, anytime you disconnect from the charger, your MacBook will run on Low Power Mode. You may notice some slowdowns and stuttering, but it’s all the name of elongated battery power.

Use a solid surface for maximum thermal performance

You should know your MacBook Neo, like the MacBook Air, doesn’t come with fans. As such, when you push the A18 Pro chip and things start to heat up, macOS has to throttle (or limit) the performance of the chip to avoid overheating. That’s good for the health of your Neo, but bad for pushing it to its fullest potential.

In order to help keep that A18 Pro chip from overheating, you’ll want to mind where you keep your Neo when using it—especially if it’s working hard. Despite being a laptop, your lap is not the optimal surface for heat dissipation. Instead, try to use the Neo on a flat, cool surface that can help move that heat away from the laptop as much as possible. If you want something that is actively moving that heat away, consider a cooling pad, like this option from Targus. This pan has fans built into it, which can offer some additional help cooling your machine.

You can install a thermal pad to improve performance (but you probably shouldn’t)

Here’s the thing: You can hack your MacBook to run cooler for longer by installing a thermal pad inside. That way, the heat from the chip has an easier time dissipating and you can run more intensive tasks for longer before macOS feels the need to slow things down. When YouTuber Zip Tie Tech tried this, they improved thermal performance by as much as 19%—all by applying a small thermal pad to the back of the SoC component.

Just know, this involves opening up your MacBook, and installing something Apple doesn’t approve of. The risk here is pretty low, aside from accidentally damaging your machine while it’s opened, but this violates your MacBook’s warranty, so really only proceed with this hack if you’re comfortable with the risks.