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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Yes. The MacBook Neo has a weaker built-in camera than the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 (2025), according to DXOMARK’s October 14, 2026 laptop-camera tests. The Neo scored 98, while the Pro scored 110—a 12-point advantage for the Pro. DXOMARK ranks the Pro first among the laptops in its comparison and the Neo fourth.
How large is the MacBook Pro’s camera advantage?
The scores indicate a measurable, but not necessarily dramatic in every room, improvement for video calls. The Pro’s 110 score is 12 points higher than the Neo’s 98, giving it stronger overall performance across exposure, dynamic range, noise, detail and focusing conditions in DXOMARK’s protocol.
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| Model | DXOMARK camera score | DXOMARK ranking | Listed launch price |
|---|---|---|---|
| MacBook Pro 14-inch (M5, 2025) | 110 | 1st | $1,799 (DXOMARK, 2026) |
| MacBook Neo | 98 | 4th | $699 (DXOMARK, 2026) |
The prices are launch-price figures listed by DXOMARK, not current retail prices. Actual prices, availability and configurations can change by market and over time.
Where the MacBook Pro camera performs better
Exposure and dynamic range
DXOMARK reports accurate face exposure on the Pro with extended dynamic range. That combination helps keep a speaker’s face visible while retaining more information in brighter or darker parts of the scene. The Neo also delivers accurate face exposure from indoor to low-light conditions and good indoor HDR, but it records visible clipping in low-light scenes.
#1 Best Overall
- AN AMAZING MAC AT A SURPRISING PRICE — With an incredibly portable and durable aluminum design, up to 16 hours of battery life,* and the A18 Pro chip, MacBook Neo is ready to go wherever school takes you.
- FOUR STUNNING COLORS. ONE DURABLE DESIGN — Choose from four beautiful colors — Silver, Blush, Citrus, or Indigo — each with a color-coordinated keyboard. And MacBook Neo is made with a durable recycled aluminum enclosure that helps it reach 60 percent recycled content by weight — the most ever in any Apple product.*
- FLY THROUGH EVERYDAY ASSIGNMENTS — Whether you’re cramming for finals, using Apple Intelligence* to summarize class notes, creating presentations, or even playing the latest Apple Arcade game,* MacBook Neo delivers the performance and AI capabilities you need to get things done.
- UP TO 16 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Neo delivers all day battery life, so you can power through from early morning classes to late night study sessions without worrying about plugging in.
- A VIBRANT 13-INCH DISPLAY* — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display on MacBook Neo supports 1 billion colors, so photos and videos pop and text is crisp for easy reading.
Noise, texture and detail
The Pro controls noise while preserving a reasonable amount of detail. The Neo’s indoor noise is described as barely visible, but its portrait shots show limited texture detail. In practical terms, the Pro is more likely to keep facial features and hair looking defined when lighting is difficult, although DXOMARK notes that the Pro itself loses some fine detail when the subject is farther away, around 80 centimetres.
Focus reliability
Focus is reliable on the Pro in most tested conditions. DXOMARK does not report an equivalent focus strength for the Neo, so the Pro has the clearer advantage on this comparison axis.
Rank #2
- AN AMAZING MAC AT A SURPRISING PRICE — With an incredibly portable and durable aluminum design, up to 16 hours of battery life,* and the A18 Pro chip, MacBook Neo is ready to go wherever school takes you.
- FOUR STUNNING COLORS. ONE DURABLE DESIGN — Choose from four beautiful colors — Silver, Blush, Citrus, or Indigo — each with a color-coordinated keyboard. And MacBook Neo is made with a durable recycled aluminum enclosure that helps it reach 60 percent recycled content by weight — the most ever in any Apple product.*
- FLY THROUGH EVERYDAY ASSIGNMENTS — Whether you’re cramming for finals, using Apple Intelligence* to summarize class notes, creating presentations, or even playing the latest Apple Arcade game,* MacBook Neo delivers the performance and AI capabilities you need to get things done.
- UP TO 16 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Neo delivers all day battery life, so you can power through from early morning classes to late night study sessions without worrying about plugging in.
- A VIBRANT 13-INCH DISPLAY* — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display on MacBook Neo supports 1 billion colors, so photos and videos pop and text is crisp for easy reading.
Colour consistency
The Neo can show slight indoor colour-rendering instability. The Pro is generally stronger overall, but DXOMARK still records occasional white-balance and colour inaccuracies. Neither camera should be treated as perfectly colour-neutral in every room.
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What the MacBook Neo still does well
- Good skin-tone rendering indoors and in low light.
- Good indoor HDR performance.
- Accurate face exposure from indoor conditions into low light.
- Barely visible indoor noise.
Those results explain why a 98 score is not a failure. For ordinary one-person calls in reasonably even lighting, the Neo can produce a usable and natural-looking image. Its weaknesses become more apparent in low-light scenes, portrait detail and situations where colour stability matters.
Rank #3
- AN AMAZING MAC AT A SURPRISING PRICE — With an incredibly portable and durable aluminum design, up to 16 hours of battery life,* and the A18 Pro chip, MacBook Neo is ready to go wherever school takes you.
- FOUR STUNNING COLORS. ONE DURABLE DESIGN — Choose from four beautiful colors — Silver, Blush, Citrus, or Indigo — each with a color-coordinated keyboard. And MacBook Neo is made with a durable recycled aluminum enclosure that helps it reach 60 percent recycled content by weight — the most ever in any Apple product.*
- FLY THROUGH EVERYDAY ASSIGNMENTS — Whether you’re cramming for finals, using Apple Intelligence* to summarize class notes, creating presentations, or even playing the latest Apple Arcade game,* MacBook Neo delivers the performance and AI capabilities you need to get things done.
- UP TO 16 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Neo delivers all day battery life, so you can power through from early morning classes to late night study sessions without worrying about plugging in.
- A VIBRANT 13-INCH DISPLAY* — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display on MacBook Neo supports 1 billion colors, so photos and videos pop and text is crisp for easy reading.
How DXOMARK tested the cameras
DXOMARK evaluates the built-in camera during video calls with one person or multiple people across a range of lighting conditions. The assessment focuses on faces as well as colour reproduction, texture, noise and image artifacts. Its laptop protocol combines objective measurements with more than 20 hours of perceptual evaluation in controlled laboratory and real-life scenarios.
“We put the Apple Macbook Neo through our rigorous DXOMARK Laptop test suite to measure its performance in sound, camera and display.”
Rank #4
Apple 2026 MacBook Neo 13-inch Laptop with A18 Pro chip: Built for AI and Apple Intelligence, Liquid Retina Display, 8GB Unified Memory, 256GB SSD Storage, 1080p FaceTime HD Camera; Silver
- AN AMAZING MAC AT A SURPRISING PRICE — With an incredibly portable and durable aluminum design, up to 16 hours of battery life,* and the A18 Pro chip, MacBook Neo is ready to go wherever school takes you.
- FOUR STUNNING COLORS. ONE DURABLE DESIGN — Choose from four beautiful colors — Silver, Blush, Citrus, or Indigo — each with a color-coordinated keyboard. And MacBook Neo is made with a durable recycled aluminum enclosure that helps it reach 60 percent recycled content by weight — the most ever in any Apple product.*
- FLY THROUGH EVERYDAY ASSIGNMENTS — Whether you’re cramming for finals, using Apple Intelligence* to summarize class notes, creating presentations, or even playing the latest Apple Arcade game,* MacBook Neo delivers the performance and AI capabilities you need to get things done.
- UP TO 16 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Neo delivers all day battery life, so you can power through from early morning classes to late night study sessions without worrying about plugging in.
- A VIBRANT 13-INCH DISPLAY* — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display on MacBook Neo supports 1 billion colors, so photos and videos pop and text is crisp for easy reading.
DXOMARK also describes its laptop camera work this way: “DXOMARK evaluates the image quality of the built in camera during video calls, whether with a single person or with multiple people, in a variety of lighting conditions.”
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Choose the Neo if price is the priority
Using DXOMARK’s listed launch prices as context, the Neo costs $1,100 less than the Pro before any regional pricing or discounts. If your calls are mostly in a well-lit room and you do not need the strongest detail or focus performance, the Neo’s camera may be adequate while keeping the purchase price much lower.
Best Value
- Quad-core 8th-Generation Intel Core i5 Processor
- Brilliant Retina Display with True Tone technology
- Touch Bar and Touch ID
- Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645
- Ultrafast SSD
Choose the Pro for frequent video calls
The Pro is the safer choice for people who spend substantial time on video meetings, record presentations or regularly work in changing light. Its 12-point lead, stronger dynamic range, better noise/detail balance and more reliable focus provide additional image quality headroom. The improvement is based on DXOMARK’s test conditions, not a guarantee that every app, room or webcam setting will show the same difference.
Quick Recap
Limitations to keep in mind
- DXOMARK scores come from a defined laboratory and real-life test protocol; they are not a promise of identical results in every room.
- Video-call apps can apply their own compression, exposure and colour processing.
- Lighting, camera distance and background brightness can change the visible gap between the two laptops.
- The Pro has its own weaknesses, including occasional white-balance or colour errors and reduced fine detail at roughly 80 centimetres.
- The Neo can clip highlights in low light and show limited portrait texture detail despite its good skin tones and indoor HDR.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
