Apple Explains 'MacBook Neo' Name

[MacRumors]

Until a last-minute leak revealed the MacBook Neo name, it was widely assumed that Apple's lower-cost MacBook would simply be named "MacBook." After all, Apple offered a plain "MacBook" from 2006 to 2012, and again from 2015 to 2019. In the end, Apple did go with MacBook Neo branding, and it has explained why in a new interview.

In short, Apple said MacBook Neo sounds fresh.

"We wanted something that felt fun and friendly, and fresh, and felt like it really suited the spirit of this product," said Colleen Novielli, a Mac product marketing director, in conversation with TechRadar's Lance Ulanoff.

Indeed, Apple has emphasized the MacBook Neo's newness.

"MacBook Neo is new, exciting, original, and HERE," said Apple's marketing chief Greg Joswiak, in a social media post on Wednesday. "With a beautiful aluminum design, 13-inch Liquid Retina display, 16 hours of battery life, and the power of Apple silicon, you'll fly through everyday tasks. It'll be love at first Mac."

Many of the MacBook Neo lifestyle images that Apple shared show young people. The more affordable laptop will undoubtedly be popular with students.

The colorful MacBook Neo starts at just $599 in the U.S., and at an even lower $499 for college students. Available in Blush, Citrus, Indigo, and Silver, the MacBook Neo is powered by a version of the A18 Pro chip from the iPhone, and it is equipped with a 13-inch display, up to 512GB of storage, and a non-configurable 8GB of RAM.

With the MacBook Neo, which launches on Wednesday, March 11, Apple could reshape the lower-end laptop market in a big way.

Article Link: Apple Explains 'MacBook Neo' Name

 

[ImperialForces]

My name… is Neo.

 

[zellzoi]

Love the name personally. I think they made a good choice.

 

[nfl46]

This thing is going to sell very well. I wouldn’t be surprised if it became Apple’s best selling MacBook in a few months.

 

[SpanishAppleNerd]

Marketing is becoming a bit nonsensical nowadays. For me it would’ve made sense to refresh the feelings about the old MacBook: light, portable, etc etc

 

[S.B.G]

I think the new naming works.

Would be curious where "neo" came from.

MacBook Neo is new, exciting, original

 

[moabal]

You think they will use Neo in other product lines?

 

[centauratlas]

It reminds me of when they introduced the iPad. There were all kinds of comments about it and now it is completely accepted.

 

[AlumaMac]

N (New...yes), E (Exciting...no), O (Original..🤷‍♂️)

 

[turbineseaplane]

New, Exciting, Original.

Feels like they retconned into that when someone realized it.

Could have been Not ExtraOrdinary as well.

 

[eRondeau]

I bet “Neo” will become Apple’s new low-end name for everything. Watch Neo. iPad Neo. iPhone Neo. AirPods Neo. etc etc etc. All in fun colours with limited features to keep the cost down.

 

[giebe]

There is nothing exciting or original about this name.

 

[ridgero]

The MacBook Neo is the conformation of the regression!

 

[UliBaer]

Somehow like Neoliberalism? 🤔

 

[turbineseaplane]

There is nothing exciting or original about this name.

Nope ... Surface Neo was a name out there 7 years ago, however that didn't release.

 

[TumbleDryer]

That explains a lot...

Totally
Avoidable
Horrible
Operating
Experience

 

[Wx_Man]

Hello Apple Neo Chromebook. This device’s reason for existence is a prophecy. We are going to see increasing prices on more capable and well equipped Macs and not just the immediate price increases and memory and storage options deletions we saw with this release cycle. More are on the way.

Mac Neo Chromebook is also a prophecy of the upcoming major push to monetize anything software from Apple with various subscriptions and expect price hikes on those as well. This is to counter the coming peaking of new hardware sales due to price increases over the AI driven supply chain crisis.

 

[infiniteentropy]

The tone deafness of having that person wear AirPods Max with their MacBook Neo is certainly a choice. Headphones costing almost what the laptop does is an interesting idea, Apple.

 

[letsGoOn2]

MacBook Morpheus has a nice ring to it, too.

 

[Aarnt]

This student has a $599 laptop and $549 AirPod max. Please apple, check your pictures as this does not make sense

 

[turbineseaplane]

The tone deafness of having that person wear AirPods Max with their MacBook Neo is certainly a choice. Headphones costing almost what the laptop does is an interesting idea, Apple.

It does seem like a stretch that you got your kid $550 headphones and are now giving them the laptop that used be slotted into Walmart.

 

[JPack]

The product itself is an obvious hit and Apple will sell tons of them. Nothing in the PC world has this build quality for $499.

But the name definitely could be better.

MacBook Pop
MacBook Go!
MacBook Lite
…

Lots of better options.

 

[rcopus]

Copied it from Airbus - new engine option, referring to the A series CPU in a laptop 😂

 

[cateye]

lol, the AirPods Max the model is wearing in that goofy marketing image cost more than the MacBook Neo she's typing on does, assuming education pricing.

 

[Bustycat]

The products with the name simply "MacBook" were all plagued with significant flaws. Glad that Apple eventually knows this curse well.