I’ve been a Surface advocate in schools for years. I’ve recommended Surface Go devices to dozens of schools, helped deploy them in classrooms, and genuinely believed Microsoft had cracked the budget education device. I never thought I’d write this post.

But here we are. Apple just announced a $599 (£599) laptop — $499 (£499) for education — and for the first time, I think it’s worth schools paying attention. Not rushing out to buy, but paying attention.

Apple MacBook Neo in citrus, held open in one hand showing the 13-inch Liquid Retina display

The Surface Go gap

The Surface Go was the sweet spot for many schools. Affordable, lightweight, proper Windows, pen input, and that tablet-to-laptop flexibility that teachers loved. You could hand a Year 3 kid a Surface Go and they’d use it as a tablet for reading, then clip the keyboard on for writing. It just worked.

But Microsoft has quietly killed the education Go line. The Go 4 shipped as a business device — no education SKU, no classroom-friendly pricing. There’s no Go 5 on the horizon.

Microsoft’s answer is apparently the Surface Pro 12-inch, which launched last year at £799. It’s a capable device — smaller form factor, decent specs, pen support — but it introduces its own problems. It runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Plus, which means ARM architecture instead of x86. For schools, that’s a concern: some education-specific Windows software, exam platforms, and older tools rely on x86 and may not run properly through Microsoft’s Prism emulation layer, or may take a performance hit. IT teams need to test their software stack carefully before deploying ARM-based Surface devices at scale.

And then there’s the Surface Pro 11, which for many schools will still be the go-to Surface if they want the larger 13-inch display, brighter screen, and the option of an OLED panel. But it starts around £999 — nearly double the MacBook Neo’s education price. The Surface Pro lineup has become confusing: a 12-inch model that’s the spiritual Go successor but with an ARM chip and compatibility questions, and a 13-inch model that’s proven but expensive. Neither fills the straightforward, affordable, just-works gap that the Go left behind.

Enter MacBook Neo

On March 4, Apple announced the MacBook Neo. On paper, it looks like it could fill this gap: A18 Pro chip, 13-inch Liquid Retina display, 8GB unified memory, 256GB SSD, 16-hour battery, fanless design, aluminium build, 2.7 pounds. All running macOS Tahoe with Apple Intelligence baked in.

The education price is $499 (£499). That’s Chromebook Plus territory. From Apple. On paper, at least — we’ll see how it holds up in practice.

Why this matters for schools

Price. £499 education pricing is new territory for Apple. This isn’t a stripped-down iPad with a keyboard case — it’s a full macOS laptop with a proper keyboard and trackpad. Schools that previously couldn’t consider Apple now have an option.

Build quality. School devices get dropped, stuffed in bags, stacked in trolleys, and generally battered. An aluminium unibody at this price point is unusual. The Surface Go’s magnesium chassis held up well; this looks at least comparable, and aluminium tends to age more gracefully than plastic Chromebooks.

MacBook Neo in all four colours — blush, indigo, silver, and citrus — fanned out on a table

Battery life. Apple claims sixteen hours. Even if real-world use knocks that down, it should comfortably last a full school day without charging — fewer trolley rotations, fewer kids sitting near sockets. The Surface Go managed about nine hours realistically, and most Chromebooks land around eight to ten.

Performance. The A18 Pro should significantly outperform the Intel N-series chips in budget Windows devices and Chromebooks. If the benchmarks hold up in practice, students could run creative apps, compile code, and handle AI workloads locally without the slowdowns that budget machines are known for.

Ecosystem. Schools already invested in iPads have a natural path to Mac. Same Apple IDs, same Continuity features, AirDrop between devices. But it’s worth noting: if your school already has iPads for creative and touch-based work, do you actually need the Neo? The iPad with a keyboard case already covers a lot of this ground. The Neo makes more sense as a laptop-first device for older students who need a proper keyboard and file system — not as an iPad replacement.

Longevity. Apple’s track record on macOS support means seven-plus years of updates. Budget Windows devices often feel sluggish after three years. Chromebooks now get ten years of updates, but the hardware struggles long before the software expires.

The honest concerns

I’m not about to pretend this is a perfect school device. There are real drawbacks.

No touchscreen — and no inking. This is the big one. The Surface Go’s touch and pen input was a genuine pedagogical tool — younger kids drawing, maths students working through equations, art classes sketching. The MacBook Neo is a traditional clamshell laptop. Yes, Apple has the iPad for touch and pencil input, but that’s a separate device at a separate cost. The Surface Go gave you both form factors in one. If your teachers rely on inking — and many do — the Neo doesn’t replace that. You’d need to pair it with an iPad, which defeats the budget argument entirely.

Management headaches. Most UK schools are deep in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Azure AD, Intune, SharePoint, Teams — everything is optimised for Windows. Moving to Mac means Jamf or Mosyle for MDM, and the switching costs aren’t trivial. IT teams trained on Intune won’t become Jamf experts overnight.

Two USB-C ports, no dongles included. Schools still have VGA projectors, USB-A peripherals, and wired ethernet needs. Every Neo will need at least one dongle. The Surface Go’s Surface Connect port made docking simple; USB-C is more universal but two ports is tight.

Software compatibility. Some education-specific Windows software — certain exam platforms, specialist SEN tools, legacy admin systems — simply doesn’t have macOS versions. Schools need to audit their software stack before committing.

Repairability. Apple’s repair track record is poor, though to be fair, Microsoft’s was equally bad with the Surface Go. At £499, the Neo is approaching “replace rather than repair” territory, which is its own kind of solution.

Will Apple stick around?

Here’s my biggest hesitation. Apple has a habit of launching education-friendly products and then quietly moving on. The iBook, the eMac, the education-priced iPod — all came and went. The Neo is exciting if it signals a long-term commitment to this price point. If Apple refreshes this line for three or four years, keeps the education pricing, and builds out the management story, then we’re looking at a genuine shift.

But if the Neo turns out to be a one-off — a splashy announcement that never gets a successor — then schools that bet on it will end up in the same position as Surface Go schools are in now. I’d want to see at least a second generation before recommending a full fleet purchase. For a pilot programme or a mixed deployment? Sure, worth trying. For a thousand-unit rollout? Too early.

The real question

This isn’t really about whether the MacBook Neo is better than the Surface Go. The Go is gone. The question is what schools buy now.

The alternatives are: a Surface Pro 12-inch that costs more and brings ARM compatibility questions, a Surface Pro 11 at nearly double the price, Chromebooks that run a limited OS, or budget Windows laptops with plastic builds that fall apart after two years. The MacBook Neo is a credible new option in a space where Apple has never competed before — but credible and proven are different things.

For schools already in the Apple ecosystem, this is worth a serious look. For Microsoft-heavy schools, the switching costs are real and shouldn’t be underestimated.

Where I land

I’m not switching my recommendation tomorrow — and I’d urge caution for any school thinking of going all-in on a first-generation product in a new category. But for the first time in years, when a school asks me what to consider for under five hundred pounds, I’m not dismissing Apple out of hand. That’s new. And if Apple follows through, Microsoft should be worried — not because they’ve lost, but because they left the door wide open.