Apple May Drop Base $599 MacBook Neo as Chip, DRAM Costs Climb

[EugW]

That is the key - get what works for your use case. The whole future proofing argument is a bit overdone since for most users by the time your machine its starting to be impacted by 8/256 likely in the market for a new machine. I bet, for many users, 8/256 will not be an issue for a long time.

For my wife, 8 GB was not an issue*, but 256 GB was an issue starting a few years ago, and all she ever does is browsing (Chrome), YouTube, and email, and occasional Word, Photos, video streaming, Zoom, and Messages. It's not a work machine, and stays in the kitchen 24/7.

The main problem is that macOS System Files sometimes balloons for no reason, and Messages stores all multimedia files locally. I'd end up having to clean out her drive every year or so. Not the end of the world, but annoying.

Ironically, I have a 256 GB machine and it's fine for me, but that's because I never use it for anything. I only turn it on about twice a month actually.

*I notice occasional memory related lag on 8 GB machines including on the Neo, but it's not a deal killer for basic users.

 

[jlc1978]

The main problem is that macOS System Files sometimes balloons for no reason, and Messages stores all multimedia files locally. I'd end up having to clean out her drive every year or so. Not the end of the world, but annoying.

The messages thing is annoying, especially since people tend not to purge messages and don't realize how much disk space tehy may be using fo stuff they do not need.

Then again, storage demand expands to fill the space avaiable; I went to 1 TB from 512 and promptly used 75% of it.

 

[Dirk Pieters]

You seem to really care what I think and say if you take the time to quote my posts and reply to them. 🤷‍♂️

Maybe you should go work for Apple because from your posts you seem to think you are the "gold standard" for their laptops usage.

Not really.

You are the one saying what Apple should and should not do.

@4sallypat only said that he and his wife are both enjoying that computer you say should not exist. So, that's @sallypat, his wife and millions more.

Well done, Apple!

 

[geta]

Not really.

You are the one saying what Apple should and should not do.

@4sallypat only said that he and his wife are both enjoying that computer you say should not exist. So, that's @sallypat, his wife and millions more.

Well done, Apple!

LOL. 🤣😂🤣😂🤣

 

[bapegg]

@4sallypat only said that he and his wife are both enjoying that computer you say should not exist. So, that's @sallypat, his wife and millions more.

Well done, Apple!

You can add me to the list of happy Neo owners. The Neo does everything I need to do with a MacBook.

I did go with the 512 GB version as I tend to fill up a 256GB drive quickly if I don't keep my music, photos, and documents on an external drive.

 

[4sallypat]

You can add me to the list of happy Neo owners. The Neo does everything I need to do with a MacBook.

I did go with the 512 GB version as I tend to fill up a 256GB drive quickly if I don't keep my music, photos, and documents on an external drive.

And don't forget the Neo's Touch ID that comes in very handy - especially since I come from other Touch ID devices: M2 15" MBA, M2 13.6" MBP, M1 Mac Studio w/ enhanced Apple keyboard.

Very natural to have this on all my devices.

 

[bapegg]

It's a no brainer to spend the extra $100 to double the storage and get Touch ID for those that want/need it.

I probably could have gotten away with the 256 GB model but it is nice having the Touch ID.

 

[EugW]

You can add me to the list of happy Neo owners. The Neo does everything I need to do with a MacBook.

I did go with the 512 GB version as I tend to fill up a 256GB drive quickly if I don't keep my music, photos, and documents on an external drive.

It turns out even with my very, very lightly used 256 GB MacBook I was starting to fill up that drive more than I’d like, contrary to my previous statement (quoted below).

I’ve since turned off Messages on the MacBook completely and erased all associated attachments, and that alone has freed up 45 GB. That added enough space to provide comfortable breathing room, but I also decided to stop syncing Photos to the machine and deleted the entire Photos Library too which freed up yet another 30 GB. (The whole library database is actually 700 GB but the “optimized” Library still needed 30 GB.) That works for me since I had only been using my other devices for Messages and Photos anyway. That’s a total of 75 GB saved, plus it has sped up this older Intel machine for the period right after wake or reboot, because it no longer has to waste time and CPU cycles syncing Messages and Photos to the computer.

For my wife, 8 GB was not an issue*, but 256 GB was an issue starting a few years ago, and all she ever does is browsing (Chrome), YouTube, and email, and occasional Word, Photos, video streaming, Zoom, and Messages. It's not a work machine, and stays in the kitchen 24/7.

The main problem is that macOS System Files sometimes balloons for no reason, and Messages stores all multimedia files locally. I'd end up having to clean out her drive every year or so. Not the end of the world, but annoying.

Ironically, I have a 256 GB machine and it's fine for me, but that's because I never use it for anything. I only turn it on about twice a month actually.

*I notice occasional memory related lag on 8 GB machines including on the Neo, but it's not a deal killer for basic users.