So NEO 2 will be limited to the same ports. So it won't be much of an upgrade then I guess.
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MacBook Neo (2027)
- Thread starter Elwe
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JPack
macrumors P6
Apple added a $2 VIA Labs USB 2.0 controller.
Of course Apple isn’t going to redesign the chip for hundreds of millions of dollars. The date codes show Neo A18 Pro chips were made in November 2025. These are not “surplus” chips.
tripleburst
macrumors 6502
I doubt these will be updated yearly. I see these in the same category as the Iphone e series. But of course we shall see.
Yes it will as long as Apple keeps using the A Series chips in the Neo. And if that is an issue, then get the MBA or MBP.
We all know that the Neo is not for everyone and that is okay. The Neo will work fine for who it was designed for.
JPack
macrumors P6
JPack
macrumors P6
A15 used in iPad mini already supports USB 3.
How can you possibly be sure A19 doesn't support it?
I based my comment on the A18 vs the A18 Pro. The A18 is USB 2 while the A18 Pro is USB 3. And I will freely admit that I'm wrong about the A19 if that is the case.
tripleburst
macrumors 6502
You’re right i’m still thinking the SE series. I’m still pessimistic about the annual release. But if it improves the ROI for the iphone chips, a yearly release might make sense.
JPack
macrumors P6
The only thing we can say for certain is we don't know. If we saw only iPhone Air, we'd think A19 Pro was limited to USB 2.0. If we never saw iPad mini 5, we'd think A15 was limited to USB 2.0. Previously, some people thought A-series doesn't support virtual memory and virtualization. Ditto with the Stage Manager controversy. Apple tends to sandbag a lot of features until it's needed.
JPack
macrumors P6
Apple created a new process to forge the chassis along with a new display, speakers, and logic board. They may be cheaper parts, but they're still new parts. I think Apple invested far too much to let it go stale. This is a calculated move to take on the PC market and to improve long term macOS adoption.
And what better time to launch this Neo now when PC makers are facing a margin crunch due to DRAM and NAND shortages?
Funny Apple Man
macrumors 6502a
Yeah, I could see this being updated once every few years like the iPad mini. Which for the target audience for this laptop won't even care about it being updated yearly.
The A18 Pro should be capable enough for years to come.
So NEO will always be crippled then. What other chips besides the M series chips supports USB4/TB4 or 5?
JPack
macrumors P6
That's the whole point of Neo. Low price point. Entry level features.
Yes but MacBook air M5 2026 starts at 1099 and has 2 Thunderbolt 4 USB C ports.
So for 599 can't Neo 2 have 1 Thunderbolt 4 USB C port at least instead of 2. And 1 USB C 2.0 or 3.0 port for charging.
Seems doable. M5 AIR starts at 512GB SSD and 16GB ram. Neo is already half that with 256GB SSD and 8GB ram. So I high speed TB4 port should not be too much extra.
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JPack
macrumors P6
You’re asking the wrong questions. Start by asking, why would someone buying a $599 Mac need a USB4 accessory and why? Who would those people be?
This is like the requests for 16GB RAM and 1TB storage options all over again.
If a feature isn't already on the main chip (A18, A19, M4, M5, etc.) then it has to be added as a peripheral chip.
That chip also needs to communicate with the main chip, so if there isn't a communication channel that has adequate bandwidth, then the peripheral chip won't provide its full potential.
So start by looking at what the A18 provides on-chip vs. what an M5 provides on-chip, or even an M4 or M3.
That would require capital investment in chip design and fabrication. One advantage of reusing an iPhone chip is that investment was already done.
Yes good point. But an M5-A chip would be a good investment.
Because if NEO is sold out then an lower cost under one thousand portable with 1 high speed TB4/5 port would really sell well.
Unless the M5-A chip would be super expensive. But if M5 AIR is 1099. An M5-A would be still under 1,000.
Totally doable.
Howard2k
macrumors 604
It's not crippled, it just has lower specs. It will always be a lower end machine. People will need to take on some responsibility for themselves and buy the machines that makes sense for their usage.
It comparatively crippled. But I was just curious because you can buy an air for 500 more. But it still over kill if you don't need all that.
I was thinking somewhere in-between 599 and 1099 is doable if it was just one TB4/5 port.
Or NEO never existed. And a lower cost air was made without backlit keyboard. And with only one TB4 port.
And less ram and hdd because M5 AIR starts at 16gb ram and 512gb SSD. So 256/8 is already half of that.
So 1 TB4 or TB5 port instead of USB 3 would be nice.
Unless the new CPU needed to make that happen cost too much.
Howard2k
macrumors 604
You could. But then once that device was on the market - call it the MacBook AirNeo, would we then have a version that is between the Neo and the AirNeo, call the NeoAirNeo? And then a version between the AirNeo and the Air, called the AirNeoAir? There are always ways to shoehorn products into specification gaps, but they don't always make sense.
After seeing the MBN and 13” MBA side by side, I liked the size of the MBN more, but wish it had the same power as the base MBA.