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Is M4 MacBook Air worth £200 more than the Neo?

S

smoothbit

macrumors regular
Original poster
I was all set on buying a MacBook Neo later this year, but then the combined news of (i) Siri AI not running on it and (ii) Tim Cook saying Apple's going to increase their prices due to the increase in RAM and SSD prices, both of those have me considering a refurbished MacBook Air M4 instead.

Has anyone used box.co.uk? Are they reputable? I ask because they have a couple of models for £700 and £730, the first in midnight with a 10-core GPU and the second in silver with an 8-core GPU. I much prefer silver to midnight, maybe even enough to spend the extra £30 if I can scrape it together, but does anyone know if those two extra GPU-cores make a noticeable difference in things like AI?

And so, like I wrote in another thread, it would be a huge stretch for me to afford a £500 MacBook Neo so £700/£730 will be an even huger stretch, but I do need to replace my 2015 MacBook Pro at some point soon, and this may be the cheapest MacBooks are for a while…

Thoughts?
 
The question you have to ask yourself is if you'll benefit from the additional capabilities / features of the MBA? I recently purchased an open box MBA over the Neo as it was only $150 more. The Neo would have been perfectly fine for its intended use but I could comfortably afford the additional money for the MBA so I decided why not.

It sounds like you'd really be stretching your budget by purchasing the MBA. Given this the Neo makes more sense if it meets your needs. Especially given you're moving from a system which is now 11 years old.
 
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The price is a big factor and I do actually like stretching tech as far as I can (witness the 11 year old MacBook Pro 😜) but nearly all the computers I've used the last 11 years have had 16GB RAM, and when I use my 8GB Mac mini I am frustrated when it starts swapping. If the Neo had 12GB RAM I'd be fine with it, and I was actually hoping to wait for a A19 Pro Neo, but RAM and SSDs look like they'll only keep going up the next couple of years, so I don't know if I can wait that long. But either way the very soonest I buy anything will be August, so I'll see what's up then 🙂
 
smoothbit said:
The price is a big factor and I do actually like stretching tech as far as I can (witness the 11 year old MacBook Pro 😜) but nearly all the computers I've used the last 11 years have had 16GB RAM, and when I use my 8GB Mac mini I am frustrated when it starts swapping. If the Neo had 12GB RAM I'd be fine with it, and I was actually hoping to wait for a A19 Pro Neo, but RAM and SSDs look like they'll only keep going up the next couple of years, so I don't know if I can wait that long. But either way the very soonest I buy anything will be August, so I'll see what's up then 🙂
Click to expand...
There's your answer.
 
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smoothbit said:
I was all set on buying a MacBook Neo later this year, but then the combined news of (i) Siri AI not running on it and (ii) Tim Cook saying Apple's going to increase their prices due to the increase in RAM and SSD prices, both of those have me considering a refurbished MacBook Air M4 instead.

Has anyone used box.co.uk? Are they reputable? I ask because they have a couple of models for £700 and £730, the first in midnight with a 10-core GPU and the second in silver with an 8-core GPU. I much prefer silver to midnight, maybe even enough to spend the extra £30 if I can scrape it together, but does anyone know if those two extra GPU-cores make a noticeable difference in things like AI?
Click to expand...

Unlikely. I mean sure it will run some calculations in perhaps 8/10th the time but I wouldn't spend extra money just to get that when you are squeezed for money like you said.

To the title question, I'd say the MacBook Air M4 is a great deal and worth £200 more than the Neo. The Neo is also a great deal but more for someone for which it's already overkill. In previous threads I offered that it made the perfect first computer. It may also be a good replacement a MacBook Air M1 or earlier with <= 8GB of RAM that isn't being taxed as-is.

One downgrade from your MBP 2015 to the Neo you might notice is the lack of ports. Also internal I/O may be less. Relative to a MBP 2016 I'd say it's definitely a downgrade for anything not CPU/GPU-bound.

My recommendation: get the MacBook Air M4 and get it in the color you want.
 
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bzgnyc2 said:
Unlikely. I mean sure it will run some calculations in perhaps 8/10th the time but I wouldn't spend extra money just to get that when you are squeezed for money like you said.

…

One downgrade from your MBP 2015 to the Neo you might notice is the lack of ports. Also internal I/O may be less. Relative to a MBP 2016 I'd say it's definitely a downgrade for anything not CPU/GPU-bound.

My recommendation: get the MacBook Air M4 and get it in the color you want.
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For whatever reason the M4 MBA with an 8-core GPU is £30 more than the one with a 10-core GPU, but it also comes in silver which I prefer over the midnight one a whole lot. So basically, strapped for cash as I am, how about I pay £30 more for less performance is what I'm debating 🫠 So basically I'll see what's even available in August 👍

As for the ports, I used a 2018 MacBook Pro for a while and so was sadly used to having no useful ports on the machine itself, I still have the big old dongle that provides DisplayPort and HDMI and SD Card and Ethernet and USB-A, and I'll also need to go back to taping a 4TB SSD to the back of the display so that I can have a usable amount of storage. I'd prefer to have all that internal to the machine, without the need for dongles and external drives, but I don't prefer it to the tune of £2700 instead of £700 😉
 
It honestly doesn’t sound like you can afford a MacBook. If a Neo is already a “huge stretch” why consider the Air?

Refurbs will continue to be in the Apple Store and they’re always based on launch price, not market fluctuations.
 
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smoothbit said:
The price is a big factor and I do actually like stretching tech as far as I can (witness the 11 year old MacBook Pro 😜) but nearly all the computers I've used the last 11 years have had 16GB RAM, and when I use my 8GB Mac mini I am frustrated when it starts swapping. If the Neo had 12GB RAM I'd be fine with it, and I was actually hoping to wait for a A19 Pro Neo, but RAM and SSDs look like they'll only keep going up the next couple of years, so I don't know if I can wait that long. But either way the very soonest I buy anything will be August, so I'll see what's up then 🙂
Click to expand...
Ive done the same thing, finally upgraded from a 2015 MBP and went for the MBA M5 base model for 15% off on Amazon UK. Considered the Neo, but like you i stretched my mbp for 11 years and want its upgrade to a last as long so the MBA is the better investment for me. M4 MBA is just as good with 16 GB base ram and its overall performance. Just try to save up your cash first and not go into debt over it.
 
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Yes it is if you need what it provides. Is a back lit keyboard, 8 GB more RAM, faster processor and slightly bigger screen what you need, then buy the MBA? If all those things are nice to haves, then save your money. The NEO is a lower cost solution for those that do not need an AIR and only you can decide. I have a 14” M4 MacBook Pro and a 16” M1 Max MacBook Pro and the Neo provides a low cost machine for incidental use for email, browsing and documents in the house. But I do not use it for my photography work. No SD card slot, poorer quality display, lack of ports etc. made even the MBA a poor choice for me. But this is my use case, and the Neo still worked for me.
 
smoothbit said:
I was all set on buying a MacBook Neo later this year, but then the combined news of (i) Siri AI not running on it and (ii) Tim Cook saying Apple's going to increase their prices due to the increase in RAM and SSD prices, both of those have me considering a refurbished MacBook Air M4 instead.

Has anyone used box.co.uk? Are they reputable? I ask because they have a couple of models for £700 and £730, the first in midnight with a 10-core GPU and the second in silver with an 8-core GPU. I much prefer silver to midnight, maybe even enough to spend the extra £30 if I can scrape it together, but does anyone know if those two extra GPU-cores make a noticeable difference in things like AI?

And so, like I wrote in another thread, it would be a huge stretch for me to afford a £500 MacBook Neo so £700/£730 will be an even huger stretch, but I do need to replace my 2015 MacBook Pro at some point soon, and this may be the cheapest MacBooks are for a while…

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
I went from a 13" M1 Macbook Pro last November to 15" M4 Macbook Air.

Depending on your needs. I would go with the 13" Macbook Air.

The M-series of processors are so powerful that even a Macbook Air now is a serious work laptop.

If you buy it from John Lewis they give you 2 years warranty.
 
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smoothbit said:
For whatever reason the M4 MBA with an 8-core GPU is £30 more than the one with a 10-core GPU, but it also comes in silver which I prefer over the midnight one a whole lot. So basically, strapped for cash as I am, how about I pay £30 more for less performance is what I'm debating 🫠 So basically I'll see what's even available in August 👍

As for the ports, I used a 2018 MacBook Pro for a while and so was sadly used to having no useful ports on the machine itself, I still have the big old dongle that provides DisplayPort and HDMI and SD Card and Ethernet and USB-A, and I'll also need to go back to taping a 4TB SSD to the back of the display so that I can have a usable amount of storage. I'd prefer to have all that internal to the machine, without the need for dongles and external drives, but I don't prefer it to the tune of £2700 instead of £700 😉
Click to expand...

Yes again as others have mentioned I believe the MacBook Air M4 that you picked out is a great deal. It doesn't have every port of a MBP but definitely a better situation than the Neo. Also more RAM. You may or may not notice the faster CPU or SSD but all of it makes it makes for a big jump in capability for a relatively small increase in price.

Then just get it in the color you want (silver) without worry about the 8 v. 10 GPU. You'll notice the color you wanted everyday but you'll rarely notice that difference between those two GPU configurations for what you do. Yes even if its an extra 30 quid for less slightly less GPU performance which I am sure is annoying but reading that as a market reflection of actual supply and demand of various finishes (i.e. you aren't the only one who prefers silver).
 
No one seems to be asking about storage. What are the SSD sizes for these two MBA options? If the Silver is greater, I'd go with that. If they really do have the same storage & physical condition I'd go with the cheaper one with more cores, but I'm generally value over aesthetics when I'm on a budget.

Both the 8 and 10 core GPUs will be faster than the Neo so I wouldn't make a serious differentiator. I can't speak to the refurbisher but *if* you can swing the extra money, the Air seems like an easy pick and either option will stay relevant longer than the Neo (which is not a bad machine if you go that route!)
 
if your intention is to use AI features as you mentioned and your intention is to keep this device as long as you can, than the M4 air should be the no brainer. Much more powerful machine, double the ram, much faster ssd, better ports, better screen etc.
 
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1BadManVan said:
if your intention is to use AI features as you mentioned and your intention is to keep this device as long as you can, than the M4 air should be the no brainer. Much more powerful machine, double the ram, much faster ssd, better ports, better screen etc.
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Seconded. Some AI tasks run on the neural engine, which is pretty similar between the two, but for GPU related tasks the M4 smashes the Neo (perhaps obviously).
 
A lot of the recent posts have focused on the OP's reference to running AI. I assume OP was primarily interested in Siri AI and I believe the MacBook Air M4 will be a solid machine for that for the foreseeable future.

However, if we're talking about running full LLM and/or other, unknown AI models, I can't recommend either of the listed machines. Especially if this is a machine that the OP wants to keep for a long time.

The Neo doesn't even have enough RAM (only 8GB) to run Siri AI locally and certainly will be constrained to run of the most popular open source models locally.

Apple claims Siri Ai support for recent machines with 12GB+ of RAM so I expect the MacBook Air M4 w/16GB to be fine for that for years (my guess is that Apple is going to try to figure out how to make effective AI models that fit within 16GB for a long time or otherwise they will be leaving a lot of people behind). However, for a lot of open source models, even 32GB of RAM is tight. I should also add that while the M4 is a great chip -- one I would get myself right now -- the M5 is substantially faster for AI.

But if the requirement is just to run what they have been running on their 2015 MacBook Pro + Siri AI, the MacBook Air M4 w/16GB will be a great machine at a great price (hopefully still). Appreciable jumps from there (e.g. MacBook Air M5 w/32GB or MacBook Pro M4/M5 w/48GB+) likely completely out of reach for them financially based on their other comments.
 
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