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A lot of $600 Windows notebooks right now have 16/256 or 8/512.
HSN sells hundreds of HP laptops with 4GB/128GB and W11 in "S" mode for $300.00, each week. HSN makes it sound like such a good deal because of the add-ons that HSN provides. Mouse, case, phone support, etc. In reality, for the people that buy that machine it will be adequate for those users.
 
I’m hoping they will update the Neo every year alongside the Air in spring - would be a strange decision to leave such a hit product stagnating for longer than a year.

I’d guess we’ll see a binned A19 Pro with 12GB RAM, same storage configs, and I hope a fresh set of colours each year. I still really wish they’d gone with the full rainbow like the iMac…
 
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Mmm, not so sure IMG_0826.jpeg
 
I think the context of this supports annual updates moving forwards though, looking at the Air (the previous cheapest laptop in their lineup):
  • Updated frequently pre-apple silicon with the latest intel chips
  • Updated in November 2020 with the M1 as soon as the chip was available
  • Updated on an 18 month cycle for the M2 and M3 (as M chips and AX chips before them were typically on an 18 month cycle)
  • Updated with M4 and M5 since Apple moved to a 12 month cycle with the M chips, in sync with A series
After so many years of the annual iPhone refresh cycle, Apple seem to be moving more and more of their products to annual cycles, with the "cheaper" products in Spring and the "Pro" products in the fall. There's always spare A-series chips after Apple finishes selling an iPhone generation, so I don't see why they'd keep the Neo on the A18 for any longer than a year.
 
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Next Gen MBN should have an A20 Pro chip with 16GB RAM, 2 USB 3, MagSafe, backlit keyboard, 1TB storage option and cellular option. 🙂
 
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Yeah. I'm already thinking about next year's model 🙂, assuming they release one every year. I could imagine that the only changes might be:

  1. New/different colors
  2. The use of the A19 Pro instead of the A18 Pro. If this is the case, it should have:
    1. A move from 8GB to 12GB ram.
    2. Neural Accelerators.
    3. Memory Integrity Enforcement
    4. Incremental core and memory throughput increases.
Not sure any of this matters to anyone who this model is truly intended for. But I think 50% more memory would be great for almost anyone.
Will all the processors, whether A series or M series, move from Performance/Efficiency cores to Super/Performance cores?
 
Will all the processors, whether A series or M series, move from Performance/Efficiency cores to Super/Performance cores?
I would guess that the lower end chips would continue to use efficiency cores given they're typically in more mobile/smaller battery devices, compared with the MBPs and desktops.
 
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I would guess that the lower end chips would continue to use efficiency cores given they're typically in more mobile/smaller battery devices, compared with the MBPs and desktops.
Maybe. Two tech outlets asked Apple PR this question directly, but they have not answered. Extrapolating can get difficult because 1) Apple could always adjust the core counts and frequencies to manage the power/thermal envelope for the devices where this truly matters; but also 2) the impending use of 2nm A20/M6 chips changes this calculus, too.

I was surprised Apple would choose to introduce a new core variant mid-cycle like this, but perhaps this is their way of managing risk and cost for the upcoming variants. There are far fewer M5 Pro and Max chips than M5, and much higher profit margins.

I’m really hoping we get a M5 or M6 Ultra (or beyond) variant that makes use of the thermal capabilities of the Mac Studio by dramatically increasing the number of super cores. There are some tasks which remain heavily cpu constrained, and now that we now they can adjust core variants at some scale independently of GPU cores, I’m hungry for the possibilities.
 
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I think the Neo will see updates as frequently as the other MacBooks in the lineup. Perhaps with a 6 month delay between models like they are planning with the iPhone. 12GB RAM w/ A19 Pro will be a no brainer, along with a new colour or two. Just by what I am seeing it easy to call this a success already, and there is no reason for  to not keep their foot on the gas with the Neo. The competition cannot respond to this computer overnight, if at all in the near future, given all the tight integrations. Niceties like backlit keyboards, TouchID, and faster ports may stagnate, but building performance and mixing up colours will keep the Neo in the darling spotlight.  needs to make inroads with Mac experience to new customers and they are obviously serious about that with this fabulous gen 1 release IMHO.
 
I think the Neo will see updates as frequently as the other MacBooks in the lineup. Perhaps with a 6 month delay between models like they are planning with the iPhone. 12GB RAM w/ A19 Pro will be a no brainer ...
As long as they can keep margins down. Apple will be reluctant to raise prices and I suspect as well as some industry experts they have a huge stockpile of the chip they are using now. As long as they can keep using surplus chips, I'd expect updates at regular intervals. They did keep the M1 around forever tho.
 
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As long as they can keep margins down. Apple will be reluctant to raise prices and I suspect as well as some industry experts they have a huge stockpile of the chip they are using now. As long as they can keep using surplus chips, I'd expect updates at regular intervals. They did keep the M1 around forever tho.

No expert out there is claiming these are “surplus” chips though.

If you look at the date codes on Neo A18 Pro from teardowns, they are fresh ones made well after iPhone 16 Pro/Max was discontinued.
 
No expert out there is claiming these are “surplus” chips though.

If you look at the date codes on Neo A18 Pro from teardowns, they are fresh ones made well after iPhone 16 Pro/Max was discontinued.
Incorrect, look for stories how they had to make the extra port work, because the og chip only supports one port as it was created for iPhone.
 
Well even the A19 Pro only supports a single USB 3 port so Apple will have to use a third party controller with it just like they are with the A18 Pro.

The way to get around that is to use binned M chips or a totally new design (which doesn't make financial sense) or keep using the A series with a third party controller for the second port.
 
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