Hands-On With the New MacBook Neo

[*~Kim~*]

That must be a UK thing. Here in Canada it comes with the AC adapter (both the 256 and 512 GB models).

EDIT:

Confirmed. It's a UK thing. The specs are different in the UK and France, and in both countries they exclude the power adapter. However, the adapter is there both in the US and Canada.

The exclusion on iPads and iPhones is an EU mandate, but even then it isn't a "you must charge for this." They simply have to offer without for those that want it. Adding a tick box to get a charger included for the same price would be compliant, and only those that would use it would get one.

I wasn't aware that mandate extended to computers and even if it did, they are removing chargers and expecting people living in a country that voted to leave the EU to pay for them while customers in other countries continue to receive them whether they want them or not. Devices like this Macbook could well be bought as gifts by parents who don't know the charger isn't included. Teenagers don't have collections they can just reuse.

 

[jdavid_rp]

I still remember having to disassemble my MacBook to fix its sticking mechanical trackpad.

I am surprised. I would have guessed that a haptic trackpad is cheaper than a mechanical one with less chance of warranty work needed, but that may be incorrect if Apple is putting a mechanical trackpad in its cheapest Mac.

Could also be a psychological thing? Like people testing it in a store and finding the MacBook Air/Pro trackpad more satisfying

 

[Blackstick]

This machine will be beach ball city with a dozen apps open and several browser tabs. A mistake for high school and college students.

We have a fleet of trash can Mac Pros from 2013 making television millions of people watch every day.

Does fine. Granted they're running Big Sur but still. Solid as a rock. Plenty of 8/256 M1s out there, no beach balls.

 

[Siliconguy]

Give me a Core i5 Ultra device over this any day. Far better multi-thread performance for sustained workloads, TB4 and PCIe support. And what does 50% better at everyday tasks mean? Like opening email? That has been instantaneous on laptops for 10 years, if not longer.

Yeah, just get an Air.

For $1400 the Core i5 Ultra should be faster.

What are they putting in Chromebooks? "Intel Celeron N4500/N100" There is your comparison point.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Could also be a psychological thing? Like people testing it in a store and finding the MacBook Air/Pro trackpad more satisfying

The trick with haptic is it feels like clicking, so it will probably feel the same. I can't tell a difference between a physical click and a haptic click, unless you shut down the machines.

 

[Wx_Man]

If Apple spec bumps this in 12-18 months with an A19 Pro with 12 GB of RAM but keeps the price the same that will make this even more of a value.

Seeing as how the AI Bubble and mania will not have receded or popped in 12-18 months you can forget about that hope.

 

[Johnny907]

"My wife is still using and refusing to part with her original M1 MacBook Air with 8GB RAM, and 256GB SSD. It's better than this NEO but it will still do well for the majority."

It actually benchmarks better than the M1.

Thicker. Heavier. Slower ports. No backlit keyboard. No TouchID at the 599 price point. You honestly think his wife cares about the Neo "benchmarking better?"

 

[abowlby]

Okay, enlighten me, I am genuinely curious. Feel free to list a few machines that are comparable (or even beat) in terms of:

- Material quality (aluminum)
- Display resolution (2408x1506)
- Display brightness (500 nits)
- 8GB RAM/256GB Storage (this one is easy to beat)
- 16 hours of battery life
- $599
- New, not refurbished or open box/used

Using the Intel Core Ultra 5 225H.

Ah yes the classic Apple white knight approach of devaluing and stripping away the benefits of the competition and saying "meet Apple's spec list" without acknowledging its short comings, but rather making excuses for them.

You can get an HP Victus for $629.
-Full fat laptop Core i5
-8GB of expandable RAM
-RTX 3050
-144Hz refresh rate on the display
-Can do 4K@120Hz on an external monitor
-512GB storage

Thats one example. A TON of benefits the MacBook Netbook can'f touch.

Took me one Google search and 5 minutes. Just image if I was deal hunting or looked at AMD machines. However much like you - here, Apple "forces" what comparison their competition can bring to the table...its literally the entire brand culture. "Everything on our terms, questions aggressively discouraged."

So enjoy your netbook. And by the way, the M4 MacBook Air for $799, as it has been for a year, annihilates this logistical trick of machine.

 

[jonnysods]

Should have been a 12 incher.

 

[turbineseaplane]

The trick with haptic is it feels like clicking, so it will probably feel the same. I can't tell a difference between a physical click and a haptic click, unless you shut down the machines.

The main bummer about physical click, for me, was always how you had to click in a certain area... and also that you couldn't tweak the settings on feel/force required.

I love haptic click so much.

I find this to be a regression I'd really not enjoy.

(yes, we've established this product is not for me)

 

[Ctrlos]

No support for multi touch gestures?! Does that include classics like the two-finger scroll and the three-finger exposé?!?

 

[WarmWinterHat]

"My wife is still using and refusing to part with her original M1 MacBook Air with 8GB RAM, and 256GB SSD. It's better than this NEO but it will still do well for the majority."

It actually benchmarks better than the M1.

I haven't benchmarked a computer since the P4 with Sisoft Sandra.

1% of 1% of Apple users care anything about benchmarks.

No support for multi touch gestures?! Does that include classics like the two-finger scroll and the three-finger exposé?!?

It has multi-touch.

 

[abowlby]

For $1400 the Core i5 Ultra should be faster.

What are they putting in Chromebooks? "Intel Celeron N4500/N100" There is your comparison point.

MediaTek has emerged as a predominant player in the CB space. You're also trying to compare a $600 machine to a $200 one. Classic iDoubleStandard.

 

[Blackstick]

The exclusion on iPads and iPhones is an EU mandate, but even then it isn't a "you must charge for this." They simply have to offer without for those that want it. Adding a tick box to get a charger included for the same price would be compliant, and only those that would use it would get one.

I wasn't aware that mandate extended to computers and even if it did, they are removing chargers and expecting people living in a country that voted to leave the EU to pay for them while customers in other countries continue to receive them whether they want them or not. Devices like this Macbook could well be bought as gifts by parents who don't know the charger isn't included. Teenagers don't have collections they can just reuse.

I can't speak for the EU but here in the US, it's getting to be ubiquitous. I have dozens of USB-C adapters in every wattage and they're pretty cheap to retrofit into wall outlets too.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

For $1400 the Core i5 Ultra should be faster.

What are they putting in Chromebooks? "Intel Celeron N4500/N100" There is your comparison point.

My parents Chromebox has an 12th gen i7 with 16gb ram. There are low-end chromeboxes, and there are high-end, like anything else.

 

[Siliconguy]

Chromebooks are killing the iPad in US schools.

That was certainly the case here. When I upgraded to the A16 iPad the school district wasn't even interested in the older one as a donation.

 

[cch123]

They saw Microsoft's weakness with Windows 11 problems and took their shot.

This is exactly right.

 

[jdavid_rp]

People annoyed at those corner cuts as if this price wasn’t achieved thanks to them lol.

 

[Rogifan]

I wish the keyboard color matched the aluminum instead of a tinted white. Did they not do that because they keyboard isn’t backlit?

 

[blairh]

We have a fleet of trash can Mac Pros from 2013 making television millions of people watch every day.

Does fine. Granted they're running Big Sur but still. Solid as a rock. Plenty of 8/256 M1s out there, no beach balls.

How many apps opened at the same time?

 

[zilchfox]

Ah yes the classic Apple white knight approach of devaluing and stripping away the benefits of the competition and saying "meet Apple's spec list" without acknowledging its short comings, but rather making excuses for them.

You can get an HP Victus for $629.
-Full fat laptop Core i5
-8GB of expandable RAM
-RTX 3050
-144Hz refresh rate on the display
-Can do 4K@120Hz on an external monitor
-512GB storage

Thats one example. A TON of benefits the MacBook Netbook can'f touch.

Took me one Google search and 5 minutes. Just image if I was deal hunting or looked at AMD machines. However much like you - here, Apple "forces" what comparison their competition can bring to the table...its literally the entire brand culture. "Everything on our terms, questions aggressively discouraged."

So enjoy your netbook. And by the way, the M4 MacBook Air for $799, as it has been for a year, annihilates this logistical trick of machine.

I found the same machine you're talking about in this very post. It's actually a Core i5, doesn't even match the processor you were harping about earlier. If you're going to talk about processors, at least get your specs right, man. This is a completely different category of laptop

Gotta love that it's only got 8 hours of battery life on a 1080p display. I bet the actual real-world case battery life is much lower. So useful in the classroom to show up with a dead laptop, might as well be a paperweight. Also, it's more expensive.

 

[tomtad]

Ah yes the classic Apple white knight approach of devaluing and stripping away the benefits of the competition and saying "meet Apple's spec list" without acknowledging its short comings, but rather making excuses for them.

You can get an HP Victus for $629.
-Full fat laptop Core i5
-8GB of expandable RAM
-RTX 3050
-144Hz refresh rate on the display
-Can do 4K@120Hz on an external monitor
-512GB storage

Thats one example. A TON of benefits the MacBook Netbook can'f touch.

Took me one Google search and 5 minutes. Just image if I was deal hunting or looked at AMD machines. However much like you - here, Apple "forces" what comparison their competition can bring to the table...its literally the entire brand culture. "Everything on our terms, questions aggressively discouraged."

So enjoy your netbook. And by the way, the M4 MacBook Air for $799, as it has been for a year, annihilates this logistical trick of machine.

The problem is it runs Windows and it really is ****

 

[tomtad]

I wish the keyboard color matched the aluminum instead of a tinted white. Did they not do that because they keyboard isn’t backlit?

You’d end up with grey on grey so wouldn’t be great. I actually think the keyboards will be a lot paler than you think when seeing them in person, it looks that way from the hands on photos at least.

 

[Bearygoodfries1]

Yeah, I suspect Apple knows (even hopes) that most will feel that way but that those with more modest needs and a modest budget will be glad to finally have an Apple computer.

I used to have friend years ago who was very anti-Apple / pro Windows. “Macbooks are overpriced… Some apps don’t work on Apple… etc.,” He then started a new job that gave him an Apple laptop. He LOVED that thing. He even had an air of pretentiousness when using his MacBook in public (pretentious Apple user, crazy and unheard of right?).

I agree with what you’re saying. I think a lot more people would be open to the Apple ecosystem and actually love MacOs (and iOS) if the devices were more affordable. The MacBook Neo (and iPhone 17e) are the devices for that.

 

[b.inazawa-fan]

It's perfect and I love it, but not coming in red is a TRAVESTY!