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Apple Explains 'MacBook Neo' Name

LeeW said:
You're all funny. Why can't someone own a pair of AirPods Max and still have a NEO? You are all obsessed with the idea that she should have cheap headphones or a MacBook Pro.
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Just seems a little odd you’d buy totally overpriced old headphones, and then decide to skimp and get a GimpBook.

Possible but it’s a pretty odd combo.
 
JPack said:
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.
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I think of the one episode of BBC’s Top Gear where Jeremy Clarkson chose a car called the “Up!” and he would always refer to it as the “Up Exclamation Mark”
 
SpanishAppleNerd said:
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
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I wonder if this means Apple have left the door open to bring the 'Macbook' back in the guise of the 2015-2019 model (ie slim & lightweight), but with Apple Silicon this time to give it great battery life and performance.

They would be able to charge a premium for the slim, lightweight design. The Neo ticked everything for me apart from weight (it weighs the same as the Air). A Mac laptop weighing under 1kg would be my dream 🙂
 
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turbineseaplane said:
Just seems a little odd you’d buy totally overpriced old headphones, and then decide to skimp and get a GimpBook.

Possible but it’s a pretty odd combo.
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I am sure there are plenty out there with AirPods Max who have a Phone, maybe an iPad, but no Mac, not many have a Mac vs the number of iPhones out there. They may buy this to have a cheap alternative device with a keyboard. I suspect many will, time will tell.

As I type this, I am sitting with $13k of Apple devices on my desk, and I'm still buying one. Just to throw in my bag, cheap email, notes, messages, images and browsing device. Ideal, for me, given all I do.
 
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Bustycat said:
The products with the name simply "MacBook" were all plagued with significant flaws. Glad that Apple eventually knows this curse well.
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The first Aluminum Unibody Macbook and MacBook Pro was probably the most perfect MacBook without any flaws I can think of. Then they renamed the same computer the MacBook Pro a year later 😆

The only Physical differences between the two was the Bezel text - Oh and that battery door giving you access to Easily Replace the battery / HDD and Ram without removing a heap of tiny easily lost screws. Really it was perfect!

Internal Parts were also interchangeable between both models- I upgraded my wife's base model keyboard with the backlight from a MBP (I had a spare when I replaced my MBP keyboard). I did need to replace the "Subwoofer" eventually before I sold it after being in daily service for 9 years!
 
Wx_Man said:
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.
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What price increases are you referring to? For both the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro the base price stayed exactly the same despite storage being doubled. Many of the CTO upgrades are reduced in price compared to before the refresh. For the iPhone 17e, MagSafe was added and storage was doubled for the same price. Are you mad because you wanted the lower storage options to stay but at a lower price?
 
Edgecrusherr said:
I guess that’s better than calling it. “MacBook Cheapo.” lol. It’s not a bad name at all, but very unexpected. I’m of the particular generation that can’t hear the word “Neo” without thinking of the Matrix, though.
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Then Keanu's work is done...
 
Apple and their marketing, no one does it better. Nothing new here, just slower specs and less features that offers a cheaper decent Mac experience. Nothing wrong with that, but let's not pretend we have created something amazing here. Real affordability would also be real GREEN if they made their computers somewhat upgradeable with RAM and HD's. So instead of needing to spend $700 on a Neo computer you could use a hand me down computer with better features and the ability to do the same thing.

I am sure they are miles better than any Chromebook on the market but they lack the features of a Chromebook that make it appealing for school boards. If they had a similar eco system they might have some push into getting into education again.
 
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Padaung said:
I wonder if this means Apple have left the door open to bring the 'Macbook' back in the guise of the 2015-2019 model (ie slim & lightweight), but with Apple Silicon this time to give it great battery life and performance.

They would be able to charge a premium for the slim, lightweight design. The Neo ticked everything for me apart from weight (it weighs the same as the Air). A Mac laptop weighing under 1kg would be my dream 🙂
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I bet you a transatlantic dinner that they would call it something as nonsensical as "MacBook e"
 
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amphetamine said:
Give some consideration to the idea that feelings about the old MacBook don’t really matter. The target audience for this device was young during the life of the last MacBook (discontinued almost 7 years ago). Many might not have even been alive during the life of the original one.

The new marketing seems like it is supposed to be fun and interesting, to captivate teens and young adults entering college.
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That's very true. But then again, you could have still called it MacBook. And go along the lines of "MacBook. All you need, and more", or something stupid like that, know what I mean? I totally get what you mean about not needing to convey feelings of old for the new generation, but....
 
Elwe said:
“nowadays”? I’m probably what many here would consider an old foggie, and I don’t remember a time when most of marketing wasn’t “nonsensical”.

More directly, I think the correct response to your observation would be to say that the audience is different. The old MacBook—and by this I assume you meant the 12” MacBook with the Intel chip. Not the now ancient white/black plastic MacBooks of yore that weren’t exactly “light”—was relative expensive. I don’t think too many young students and people of limited means purchased them. I think it was white collar workers on the go. And people in the upper income stratas spending a lot of time in coffee shops or in transit. Or anyone who had the money and prioritized size/weight over almost anything.

That doesn’t seem to be the purpose of the Neo. This device clearly seems to be aimed at students, and people with less income. Including people on fix incomes. And people who simply want more color. I think it will cannibalize the base level MacBook Air purchases with those individuals, but Apple has clearly decided that is ok because of the greater market opportunity. I don’t know how the $400+ Chromebook market survives at all, and if I was Acer or Lenovo I would be worried about my lower end PC market.

By the way, inflation over the last 10 years has been significant. The cost difference between a new 2015 MacBook and a 2026 MacBook Neo is even more stark than it appears at first glance.
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Very true about marketing being stupid since forever. About the audience, which you are also very right about, let me repeat the comment I posted elsewhere on this post:
That's very true. But then again, you could have still called it MacBook. And go along the lines of "MacBook. All you need, and more", or something stupid like that, know what I mean? I totally get what you mean about not needing to convey feelings of old for the new generation, but....
I do think MacBook would have suited the computer perfectly
 
I don't know of any students that want a totally gimped laptop. Most want an Air or a Pro, so they can actually do work on it.

The photo is pure Apple Out of Touch at its finest. $550 headphones with a $500 laptop. This is just like Apple's promotional photos of the $6,000 XDR Pro Display with the $500 Mac mini.
 
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Hillstones said:
I don't know of any students that want a totally gimped laptop. Most want an Air or a Pro, so they can actually do work on it.

The photo is pure Apple Out of Touch at its finest. $550 headphones with a $500 laptop. This is just like Apple's promotional photos of the $6,000 XDR Pro Display with the $500 Mac mini.
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Students also want to drive a BMW M3 Comp. The reality is different. Who’s paying for it generally makes the decision.

Students want an Apple product but the person forking out the cash prefers a Dell. A low-cost Neo is a good compromise.
 
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