Apple on MacBook Neo Design: 'We're Certainly Not Making Any Compromises'

[turbineseaplane]

Would you rather it be made of Aluminum with 8GB Ram...

OR...Plastic with 16GB Ram? 🤔

Plastic with 16GB RAM, all day long.

 

[johnsawyercjs]

Boiling down the term "design" to only refer to the housing materials and shape is disingenuous at best.

 

[Radeon85]

"'We’re certainly not making any compromises', right? 😄 There is a USB 2.0 port—a speed that debuted 26 years ago! While the other port is fine you're using an A18 Pro, not an A19 Pro; not only is there no Face ID, but Touch ID is exclusive to the high-end version. Add in only 8GB of RAM and a low-brightness, 500-nit LCD, and that’s five compromises already. 😄

Then you have the iPhone 17 Pro, which is faster and capable of significantly more storage and RAM (up to 2TB with 12GB RAM) but held back by iOS. Or an M-series iPad that could run rings around that A18 Pro MacBook, yet it’s crippled by iPadOS. It’s a damn joke."

 

[JPack]

Boiling down the term "design" to only refer to the housing materials and shape is disingenuous at best.

The interview was with the VP of Industrial Design.

Yet, you have cheap shots complaining about RAM, USB-C, battery life, etc.

Some of these complaints are ridiculous. Posters know the context of when she said not making any compromises, but pretend not to.

 

[B4U]

Less tape needed to cover it.

Less tape needed to cover the camera or myself? 🤣

 

[Remy149]

When Apple introduced true tone, it was an immediately quality of life bump for me. I can't imagine going back to a machine without it.

That said, the computers I could afford when I was a college student didn't have half of the features the Neo has.

same I bought an awful Acer that didn’t last me 3 years before I had to replace it

 

[turbineseaplane]

The interview was with the VP of industrial design.

Yet, you have cheap shots complaining about RAM, USB-C, battery life, etc.

Steve Jobs: 'Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.'

 

[jole]

I'm going to wait for the price to drop. The base model will be $579 at larger retailers within a few months, $499 deals by the holidays. And $529 will be the "standard price" by this time next year. (Not that the price is unreasonable, but it will go lower.)

You might want to order from edu-store where it is $499 today.

 

[B4U]

Is it not shown on screen like on iPhones?

It is a feature that has been on Mac computers for quite some time, where there is a hardwired LED light indicating the camera is on.
This is one of the first MacBook that lacks such feature since quite some time.

 

[darngooddesign]

Im gonna wait for the incredible aluminium pro max version.

The MBN is already aluminum.

 

[turbineseaplane]

It is a feature that has been on Mac computers for quite some time that there is a hardwired LED light indicating the camera is on.
This is one of the first MacBook that lacks such feature since quite some time.

It's ok ... we're giving these out to kids.
😳

The important part is that Apple saved $0.10

 

[cwm]

It cost $0.01 ct more that hurts profit. They don't care about the manufacturing defects the Macbook Pro line has (micro scratches and dents) you think they'll give you a indicator for free?

I think some school monitoring/proctoring software uses the camera to monitor people, so maybe it's to avoid reminding kids they are being watched...

 

[stiligFox]

I would agree this thing is full of compromises.

But honestly? I love it and I’m seriously considering getting one. It’s perfect for a carry around travel laptop. I have a M4 Pro mini at home that’s specced up and does all the heavy lifting, and this would be the perfect complement for taking on the road to do writing, file work, just general web work and watch movies.

For my needs for a laptop, this is exactly what I need! And I’m sure it will be for a lot of people. This thing would have been amazing for while I was in college.

 

[darngooddesign]

Is it unapologetically aluminum? If not, back to the drawing board apple.

It is aluminum

 

[stiligFox]

I think some school monitoring/proctoring software uses the camera to monitor people, so maybe it's to avoid reminding kids they are being watched...

I’m certain it will still have the software dot like my Mac mini does on my external display.

It can be disabled for external displays - but only in recovery mode through a very dedicated process. But it is locked on for the internal display. It’s the same way that iPhones show a green or orange light when the camera or mic is in use. It’s a software light, yes, but it’s hard coded in the firmware of the device and can’t be disabled. I imagine the Neo will use it the same way.

 

[darngooddesign]

How can the MacBook Neo's USB-C Port Limitation not be considered a compromise?

Considering A18 Pro wasn’t designed to have a second USB port; the fact that thru added one is good.

 

[JPack]

Steve Jobs: 'Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.'

The guy approved the iPod Shuffle with no scroll wheel or screen and lacked Bluetooth.



MacBook Neo doesn't make any compromises on the industrial design. Yes, some parts could be better, but those are upgrades. Does the trackpad work? Can you click anywhere like the Force Touch trackpad? Yes. A Force Touch trackpad is better, but the mechanical one isn't a compromised design.

 

[B4U]

And the lack of MagSafe is really not great for school use.
I had personally encountered enough close calls during my school days back then with my MacBook Pro.
So glad it had the MagSafe, otherwise my MacBook Pro or my classmates' heads would have met the floor unintentionally.

 

[turbineseaplane]

And the lack of MagSafe is really not great for school use.
I had personally encountered enough close calls during my school days back then with my MacBook Pro.
So glad it had the MagSafe, otherwise my MacBook Pro or my classmates' heads would have met the floor unintentionally.

MagSafe has saved my bacon SO many times with my 2015 15" MBP, I would never want to be without it.

It was the one flaw of the M1 MBA in my view.

 

[Ted_Appleseed]

I'm not interested in this device, but if you give me $599 to spend and I have to buy an Apple product, I would definitely choose this thing over the iPhone 17e.

It would be a success in the education market. However, I personally wouldn't recommend this to anyone. Just like the iPhone 17e and iPad 11. For the same prices, get a second-hand MacBook Air/iPad Air/base-model iPhone with higher configurations instead.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I'm not interested in this device, but if you give me $599 to spend and I have to buy an Apple product, I would definitely choose this thing over the iPhone 17e.

It would be a success in the education market. However, I personally wouldn't recommend this to anyone. Just like the iPhone 17e and iPad 11. For the same prices, get a second-hand MacBook Air/iPad Air/base-model iPhone with higher configurations instead.

I'd get a Mac Mini M4 with that money.

 

[Farquar]

It's a great product and a great offering from Apple, but I don't know how you even arrive at this statement. The only way you make a $1100 product into a $600 product is by making compromises.

 

[mattwolfmatt]

Give me a break.

The entire device is one compromise after another.

I know gaslighting is the norm with Apple now, but this is a bit much.

Anything less than a $5000 laptop is technically a compromise. The question is: for 80% of users, are they willing to wait one more second to start up the computer, or 1/4 of a second to open an app? Is that time worth the $500 less they are not going to spend? For almost everyone, it is.

Compared to a BMW, a Camry is a compromise, yet Toyota sells millions and millions of them each year.

 

[johnsawyercjs]

Juicing users an extra hundred bucks for Touch ID was certainly a compromise.

Doesn't that also get you a 512GB SSD instead of 256GB?

 

[neuropsychguy]

Juicing users an extra hundred bucks for Touch ID was certainly a compromise.

That's not all you get for that extra $100...