Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacBook Neo 2 Could Feature Touchscreen

I hope not. Touch screen is the first corner I'd cut if trying to hit a price point for a cheap mac. Use that BOM dollars on Touch ID by default plskthxbye.
 
  • Like
Reactions: asdfjkl;
Pezimak said:
Did you read this story? Doesn't seem like it. I think I have explained my point anyway, seems lots of others have understood what I meant.
Click to expand...
I did indeed. It talks about the MacBook Neo, it says nothing about the Air, but using our big brains, we can put two and two together…
This article from six days ago…
www.macrumors.com

OLED MacBook Air Expected in 2028

Apple will update the MacBook Air with an OLED display for its 2028 model, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman says that he expects the MacBook Air's transition from LCD to OLED to occur with the product's 2028 update, as part of a larger...
www.macrumors.com www.macrumors.com

So, hmmmm.
The MacBook Pro or ultra or whatever is getting a tandem OLED display and a touchscreen in 2026.
The MacBook Neo is getting a touchscreen LCD in 2027.
The MacBook Air is rumored to get a single layer OLED display in 2028, and what will that likely come with? Oh yeah, a touchscreen.
I don’t understand why when touch is talked about coming to the Mac people treat it like some type of alien technology. It’s not, at this point it’s pretty basic.
 
Last edited:
  • Haha
Reactions: Pezimak
Mr. Nice said:
It depends on your point of view:

Only for users who always use their iPad with the Magic Keyboard, perhaps.
Although you could also say that they don't really need a tablet then.

People who use their tablet for a variety of purposes will never give it up.

I think touchscreen on the MacBook would be cool.
Fast-forwarding and rewinding, pinch to zoom...

It works better that way.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I know three people who use an iPad as their main computer in my immediate family.
They all own either magic keyboards or just third-party keyboard accessories for their iPads.
But 90% of the time they use it in tablet mode, something a laptop will absolutely never replace.
I also use my iPad and tablet mode the majority of the time, my magic keyboard at this point has basically just become a stand on my bedside table to hold it.
Even an apple‘s latest iPad Air ad from just this week…
We don’t see the magic keyboard until the very end, and we never see it being used to type. It’s just an accessory, not the actual product. And it’s not being replaced with a laptop.
 
chars1ub0w said:
12GB RAM and A19 more important than touch screen. 50% more memory. Hell, TouchID is more important than touchscreen for the Neo. Backlit keyboard is more important. Compromises getting silly.
Click to expand...
I would add MagSafe to your list. All of these things are more important to the casual user than touch screen on a laptop, which has largely proven to be a gimmick.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Morod
MacRumors said:


Apple's second-generation MacBook Neo will launch in 2027 and could feature a touchscreen, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

MacBook-Neo-Feature-Pastel-1.jpg

Apple this week announced the MacBook Neo, an all-new entry-level Apple laptop that starts at $599, with education pricing at $499. The ‌MacBook Neo‌ is designed to compete with lower-cost Windows laptops and Chromebooks, while expanding the Mac lineup with a substantially more affordable option.

Unlike every other Apple silicon Mac, the ‌MacBook Neo‌ is powered by the A18 Pro chip originally developed for the iPhone 16 Pro. The machine features a colorful rounded design, a 13-inch Liquid Retina display with uniform iPad-style bezels rather than a notch, a color-matched Magic Keyboard, a mechanical trackpad, two USB-C ports, 8GB of memory, a headphone jack, a 1080p camera, dual mics, dual speakers with Spatial Audio, and a 16-hour battery life.

In a report shared last year, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo correctly said that the MacBook Neo would enter mass production in the fourth quarter of 2025, but would not feature a touchscreen. In the same report, he revealed some insights into the second-generation version of the device.

Crucially, Kuo said that the second-generation MacBook Neo may feature a touchscreen. Apple's first touchscreen Mac is expected to launch later this year in the form of a new, high-end MacBook Pro with an OLED display and a new design.

The device is specifically said to incorporate a touch panel that uses on-cell touch technology. On-cell touch technology integrates the touch sensors directly into the display panel's top layer (the "cell") rather than requiring a separate, dedicated touch layer, to reduce thickness.

Following the launch of this device and the adoption of touch support in macOS 27, it would make sense for other MacBooks with the feature to follow. Many other laptops from HP, Lenovo, Acer, and ASUS that now rival the MacBook Neo already feature touchscreens.

As of September 2025, specifications for the second-generation MacBook Neo were still under discussion, according to Kuo. A faster chip such as the A19 Pro with 12GB of memory is highly likely.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today suggested that Apple may expand "Neo" branding to other low-cost devices such as the Apple Watch SE, making it the "Apple Watch Neo."

Article Link: MacBook Neo 2 Could Feature Touchscreen
Click to expand...
Touchscreen on the basic MacBook is a great idea and make it a hybrid between iPad and MacBook! Definitely it will poise a major innovation and transformative user experience with the hybrid. By having this feature, the transformative MacBook user experience will not be exclusive to the top MacBook line but it will be accessible to the basic level. Hope it will materialize.
 
I said in other threads that’s what this model should have had since it’s aimed at kids and students who have grown up with iPads.

Would have rocked the tech world and competition in that price range.
 
Heat_Fan89 said:
It's using binned iPad/iPhone parts such as an A series SoC. It's size and price are closer to that of an iPad Air.
Click to expand...
The iPad Air and Pro uses M series chips just like the MBA and MBP. The size and price of the 13 in iPad Air with 516GB storage is about the same as the base MBA. So, I don't really see why you think the NEO is basically an iPad with keyboard and MacOS but the MBA is not.

Personally, I think an iPad and a MacBook are two very different devices. Each has its strengths and weaknesses and use cases.
 
daemondust said:
Could, but won't. If you want touchscreen, get an iPad. A Mac is never going to have a touch screen, and you're embarrassing yourself to keep reporting that the next one might, year after year.
Click to expand...
Quoted for posterity - we’ll revisit it maybe later this year. 🙂
 
It makes sense. The target demographic for the Neo probably grew up with iPhones and iPads and touch screens everywhere in their lives.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TVreporter
A touchscreen MacBook Neo ? Then it really will be an Apple Chromebook.

On your Apple Neo Chromebook you have access to Google Products and services such as….

Google Search as default search engine on Apple Safari browser.

Google Gemini LLM as the basis for Apple Intelligence

Google Gemini LLM as the basis for the new and improved Apple Siri Chatbot

You’ll have access to Google Online Services and your Google Drive via Apple Safari powered by Google Search and Google Gemini

You’ll have access to Google Maps

And all this great Google AI that is the basis for Apple Intelligence and Siri is headed up by the new head of Apple Intelligence who was previously the head of Google Gemini.

Oh…and on top of all those Google services in your new Apple Neo Chromebook you’ll also have multiple services to subscribe to in Apple’s ecosystem that replicate all of Google’s Services which means if you subscribe to both Google Services and Apple’s Services you’re getting 2 for the price of 2 on your….

Apple Neo Chromebook
 
Last edited:
  • Haha
  • Like
Reactions: applefan8254 and Morod
I had a touch screen computer. Microsoft Surface Laptop. A nice machine. Ran well, did everything I needed. What I did not need was a touch screen. I used that touch feature perhaps twice, just to see if it worked. I don't like moving my hand from the trackpad/keyboard to the screen and back. Not to mention the smudges that are rampant on the screen.

A touch screen is a marketing gimmick on a laptop computer. Inspired by clueless marketing dolts.
 
  • Like
  • Disagree
Reactions: StoneyG, freedomlinux, artifex and 2 others
Pezimak said:
At THAT price? So we go from a potential 4 grand laptop with touch screen to a 600 dollar laptop with touchscreen as the first Mac devices with it? How does that make any sense?

I think the word ‘COULD’ is the key word here in his opinion……..
Click to expand...
Nearly every windows laptop has a touchscreen costing from $600-7000. Still with a touchscreen! Not sure what's surprising about this.
 
  • Like
Reactions: applefan8254
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back