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MacBook Neo Compatible With New Studio Displays, But There's a Catch

maflynn said:
Why would someone spend 500 dollars for a low end laptop (that's nicely built don't get me wrong), and then drop over 3,000 dollars for a monitor for it?
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You're holding it wrong. After they bought the XDR all that was left got only a Neo. 😂😂😂
 
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Everyone is way overthinking this, I put bets on 99% of people never plugging a single thing but the charging cord into one of the USB ports of the Neo. Its a great Apple entry into the flooded and disastrous Chromebook Plus market. That's it. If you are questioning anything about it, it's not for you.
 
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Rychiar said:
that display has a more powerful chipset than the Mac neo... let that sink in.
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Most large monitors have a powerful controller chip - esp. if they are doing image processing for the webcam etc.
Rychiar said:
Could just call it an iMac Neo and run Mac OS natively on the display....
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Except:
$600 economy Mac laptop with iPhone chip => good enough for people spending $600 on a Mac laptop
$1600 premium-priced super-high-res Mac with iPhone chip => not so good for people spending $1600 on a Mac
 
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theluggage said:
Most large monitors have a powerful controller chip - esp. if they are doing image processing for the webcam etc.

Except:
$600 economy Mac laptop with iPhone chip => good enough for people spending $600 on a Mac laptop
$1600 premium-priced super-high-res Mac with iPhone chip => not so good for people spending $1600 on a Mac
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Oh I understand that but still it should be able to do more with that chip.. hell the old studio display shoulda been able to do more. they should all run an Apple TV interface or the upcoming home hub interface. I mean the budget Samsung monitors at least have their own apps like Netflix built in .
 
MatthewGTX said:
The reason why I don't ever see this launching is that the lack of I/O on the A18 pro might become an even bigger problem if you must connect an external keyboard/mouse/display (not sure about this since I have never checked how internal keyboard/trackpad/screen are wired to the laptop)
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It's 2026 and the mass market mostly want laptops - a headless desktop is already a bit of an enthusiast product and won't offer quite the same economies of scale (e.g. bulk education sales). Also, $600 for a M4 Mini is already quite an attractive price for a buyer who may well already have a display, mouse and keyboard. Now, if Apple could offer the 512GB upgrade for $100 (like the neo) instead of $200 we'd be cooking with gas.

However - as for peripherals, lots of people will use Bluetooth for keyboard/mouse (that includes all of Apple's peripherals) - plus many USB-C displays include an internal USB 2 hub which is ideal for keyboards/mice/webcams and the MB Neo has a second USB-C/2 socket.

The bandwidth limitation on the A18 is going to be that if you plug in a 4k display you will most likely lose the USB 3 capability (with DP 1.2, 4k@60Hz used all 4 high-speed lanes of USB-C so only the USB 2 pair were left for data - in theory a DP 1.4 display could run on 2 lanes if the computer, hub and display all play ball, but that's a big if)
 
jaknudsen said:
Forgive me for not understanding, but what exactly is the catch?
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The catch is that the Neo can't output 5K, hence the monitor will resample the 4K image that is output by the Neo to 5K, introducing some blurriness. And potentially the 4K output by the Neo may already be a rescaling of a different internal resolution, so the end result may be doubly rescaled.
 
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Rychiar said:
Oh I understand that but still it should be able to do more with that chip.. hell the old studio display shoulda been able to do more. they should all run an Apple TV interface or the upcoming home hub interface.
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...but that means the Studio Display would need WiFi, Ethernet, Bluetooth, you'd have to pair a keyboard and mouse/trackpad with it, you'd need to keep iOS up-to-date with security patches, authenticate it with Netflix, AppleTV etc.

It's a display - you're meant to plug a Mac into it and, once you do that, as if by magic, you can watch Ted Lasso on your $1600 27" TV.
 
klasma said:
The catch is that the Neo can't output 5K, hence the monitor will resample the 4K image that is output by the Neo to 5K, introducing some blurriness. And potentially the 4K output by the Neo may already be a rescaling of a different internal resolution, so the end result may be doubly rescaled.
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...and if you're previewing your homework in Google Slides (or whatever the cool kids use today), watching a music video or doing casual gaming - you probably won't notice.

The Neo is not a desktop replacement. The only reason anybody is going to be pugging this into a 5k display is if someone in the house already has a 5k display for their MacBook Pro/Studio/etc.
 
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turbineseaplane said:
This is where we are at with the Neo now?

Any questions or concerns = "not for you".

I'm not sure that's going to work so well, even in the mainstream.
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It's for anyone that wants a basic laptop in the Apple eco-system.

If you need more than basic - it's not for you - you should be looking at the Air or Pro, depending on your needs.

I think that sums it up.
 
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Ifti said:
Purchase a monitor that's double the price of your laptop?
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svish said:
However don't think those purchasing the Neo will plan on getting a Studio Display.
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Blackstick said:
I think it pretty unlikely people would be purchasing a $3300 Apple Studio Display and a $600 Mac.
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maflynn said:
Why would someone spend 500 dollars for a low end laptop (that's nicely built don't get me wrong), and then drop over 3,000 dollars for a monitor for it?
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turbineseaplane said:
I'm sort of just laughing at the prospect of a Studio Display hooked up to a GimpBook.
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maflynn said:
People who are buying the neo are not the same demographic of those who will be spending 3200 dollars on a monitor.
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WB2Colorado said:
…you know, somehow I think that the people in the market for a $600 laptop are not going to be spending $1,500 on a monitor.
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You'd be surprised by the amount of people who hooked up that $6k extreme monitor to their $700 MacMini. It was all over the Internet when that thing got released.
 
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DeLaSoul said:
Of cours it's compatible, but with 4K instead of 5K resolution. Most Neo buyers won't buy a screen that costs 3x more than the laptop, but nice to have confirmed that they will work together.

Thinking about this.. what would a A18 Pro Mac mini cost?🙂
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Interesting thought...When you think about it, it should be just a slight premium over the 4K Apple TV. In fact, it could be a hybrid Apple TV/Mac mini.

Is the Mac Micro coming this holiday season?
 
Hank001 said:
You'd be surprised by the amount of people who hooked up that $6k extreme monitor to their $700 MacMini. It was all over the Internet when that thing got released.
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Sounds like folks looking for clicks.
"I'm commuting to Burger King in my Lambo"

It was not at all a mainstream thing.

I agree with Siracusa on ATP ... if you bought an XDR last week, it was probably made 3 years ago.
Those things were not some volume seller (at all).
 
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Don’t see how this is a “catch.” Just as with any other Apple device or electronic, you have to make sure you use the correct port or plug-in.
 
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theluggage said:
...but that means the Studio Display would need WiFi, Ethernet, Bluetooth, you'd have to pair a keyboard and mouse/trackpad with it, you'd need to keep iOS up-to-date with security patches, authenticate it with Netflix, AppleTV etc.

It's a display - you're meant to plug a Mac into it and, once you do that, as if by magic, you can watch Ted Lasso on your $1600 27" TV.
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what's wrong with having all that. again, budget monitors have all that... and usually have a remote to go with.... these things cost a fortune. they should do more than just be a monitor with a webcam. at the very least they should function like a HomePod even with the computer off
 
Rychiar said:
what's wrong with having all that. again, budget monitors have all that... and usually have a remote to go with.... these things cost a fortune. they should do more than just be a monitor with a webcam. at the very least they should function like a HomePod even with the computer off
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The old one had 64GB of storage. Does the new one too?
 
mrmod said:
Apple created an A19 and A19 pro iMac and then decided to not enable the computer function.😆
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that's quite some Apple math and Apple logic right there

I was wondering even with the OG Studio Display ... could it at least be an AirPlay capable (both video and audio) or run tvOS?


now with A19 / A19 Pro inside there's really no excuse ... since A18 Pro can run macOS
 
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