MacBook Neo Features Two Different USB-C Ports

[MartinX99]

They hit the balance just right to upsell me 🤣

I don't need much from a laptop, and this comes super close to being perfect, but it's just a little too little RAM, and little less external monitor support than I'd like.

If it had 12GB RAM, and could do even one external 4K monitor at above 60hz, I'd be all over it, even it was a bit more expensive.

As it is, I'd be more likely to either step up to the MB AIR, or get the new iPad Air with a keyboard

 

[bg1419]

Many that will use external drives will notice the slow transfer speed but they won't know why and will blame the drive manufacturer instead.

How many will use external drives in the first place? I’d bet less than 5% of these machines ever have a flash drive plugged into them, much less an external hard drive. People buying this will be overwhelmingly more reliant on cloud storage.

 

[bryo]

What is the line next to the headphone jack - an antenna? Looks like a camera card slot, but I know it isn't....

It’s a speaker grill. There is one on each side. It doesn’t have the hidden speakers like the air.

 

[subjonas]

I was sure that Apple mocked about other manufacturers color-coding USB ports:

Well, more than mocking manufacturers for color-coding the ports, it seems like Apple was mocking them for using different USBC ports and therefore having to color-code them. But this also does not reflect well on Apple since they're now using different ports.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Many that will use external drives will notice the slow transfer speed but they won't know why and will blame the drive manufacturer instead.

Or just assume "Macs suck", especially if the Neo is their first one ever.

 

[jamescharley22]

I get that A18 Pro has only hosted one port prior on iPhones but this is… special. Maybe swap the ports so the charge port is the first one and the higher bandwidth port is closer to the user? Maybe mark the higher bandwidth port with a dot at least like they did the host Thunderbolt port on the new Studio Displays? But what do I know, I’m not a designer or engineer.

Maybe this will pave the way for A-Series Pro SoC’s to incorporate Thunderbolt 4/5 or multiple higher bandwidth ports that appear first on iPhone Pro then on more capable future MacBook Neo iterations. I’d love an iPhone with an additional USB-C port or two in the legacy headphone jack positions. Now I’m waiting for iPad-style external display windowed app multitasking with KVM and iPhone Pro, charging in Standby Mode, and the ability to continue using your phone in the iPhone Mirroring interface.

 

[Adora]

I wonder if the usb 3 port can run an external display?

Edit: Oh, I forgot again picture only posts are not allowed....

 

[canadianreader]

How many will use external drives in the first place? I’d bet less than 5% of these machines ever have a flash drive plugged into them, much less an external hard drive. People buying this will be overwhelmingly more reliant on cloud storage.

It's something Apple PR would say to justify the existence of usb 2.0 in 2026.

 

[turbineseaplane]

It's something Apple PR would say to justify the existence of usb 2.0 in 2026.

I truly can't believe Apple is shipping anything with USB 2.0 in 2026.
It's mind blowing.

 

[zenwave]

It’s a speaker grill. There is one on each side. It doesn’t have the hidden speakers like the air.

Thanks

 

[canadianreader]

I truly can't believe Apple is shipping anything with USB 2.0 in 2026.
It's mind blowing.

In the era of TB5 Apple is shipping computers with usb 2.0. It's pure greed.

 

[MallardDuck]

Putting anything with USB 2.0 in a machine today is insane and a middle finger to customers. Full stop. Putting in something with NO visible indicator next to one that isn't crippled is double middle finger with f*u shouted from the rooftops.

 

[MacFin]

This would be a near-perfect MacBook, but why on earth did Apple leave out MagSafe?

With MagSafe, it would be spot on for my parents. They are not bothered about USB speeds, but they do move around a lot, and the whole point of MagSafe is that it prevents accidents. I hate the idea of someone catching the cable, bending the connector, or tripping and sending the MacBook flying.

Apple could easily have included MagSafe, even if they charged extra for the cable or an adaptor most people would buy it as an add-on. Honestly, I would have been fine if they added the MagSafe port but did not include a cable in the box. Leaving it out makes no sense to me. It almost feels like they would rather you risk an accident, then realise the repair costs so much that it is cheaper to buy a brand new one.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Putting anything with USB 2.0 in a machine today is insane and a middle finger to customers. Full stop. Putting in something with NO visible indicator next to one that isn't crippled is double middle finger with f*u shouted from the rooftops.

Thank you for saying this.
I'm amazed there is any defense of this move at all.

 

[NT1440]

I truly can't believe Apple is shipping anything with USB 2.0 in 2026.
It's mind blowing.

It’s a result of using the A18. That’s not an excuse, as I’m personally turned off by the notion of different port capabilities on any Mac (not to mention the dropping of backlit keyboards, very disappointing), but it’s a limitation of the chip.

From a cost perspective, it is a genius play to continue to spread the cost of a generation of chip development out to as many products as possible, makes the overall production cost lower per chip.

It’s the same reason the original HomePod used an older (but very expensive to manufacture when the chip was launched) A series. From a business perspective, squeezing every last bit of return on manufacturing investment makes a ton of sense. We’ve gotten to the point where each new node jump is a significant additional cost, so keep a production line running for longer even though it’s not the latest chip means more ROI.

The sheer scale of chip manufacturing Apple does it crazy, it’s literally not possible to put the latest gen in every product as that would result in shortages for the actual product it was developed first and foremost for.

 

[turbineseaplane]

From a business perspective, squeezing every last bit of return on manufacturing investment makes a ton of sense.

Good for Tim I guess.
I wish I shared his passion for that angle at every decision.

Number go up! Yay!

 

[eifelbube]

Ports should have been clearly marked. USB 2 speeds are low. Extremely disappointing. Lack of MagSafe is also bad.

It's a budget machine. You were never going to get magnets, bells & whistles.

It's good for what it is.

How much extra would it have cost to mark the ports? Makes me grateful that they marked the keyboard with letters & symbols for free. I am surprised they aren’t offering port labelling as an engraving option.

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

I'm honestly surprised at the amount of compromises made with this.

Given the price bumps to the Air and Pro i think $699 base and a few less corners cut might've been better.

 

[bg1419]

Yeah, probably true. But that doesn’t make it false. For this price point, I think it’s totally fine. It’s not like the people using this computer bought it planning on importing or exporting Final Cut Pro projects to external drives

 

[vanishing]

Only two ports? That's too bad.

One bad - the USB 2.0 one - but no one will know which one.

 

[turbineseaplane]

One bad - being USB 2.0 but no one will know which one.

A fun little game of "why is this going so slow?"

 

[bg1419]

One bad - being USB 2.0 but no one will know which one.

They won’t know, not because they aren’t marked, but because even using them, they aren’t going to notice a difference.

The people buying this laptop don’t know what USB 3.0 is.

 

[turbineseaplane]

They won’t know, not because they aren’t marked, but because even using them, they aren’t going to notice a difference.

The people buying this laptop don’t know what USB 3.0 is.

Agreed.
Probably could have used USB1 and saved $0.01.

I'm surprised Tim didn't do that.

 

[vanishing]

They won’t know, not because they aren’t marked, but because even using them, they aren’t going to notice a difference.

The people buying this laptop don’t know what USB 3.0 is.

How do you know? Are you saying this MacBook is for very stupid people? According to popular opinion it will do well in education - you saying the younger generation are ignorant?

 

[bg1419]

How do you know? Are you saying this MacBook is for very stupid people? According to popular opinion it will do well in education - you saying the younger generation are ignorant?

When’s the last time you saw anyone of “the younger generation” carrying a thumb drive, much less external hard drive? Cloud storage is what matters these days. I’m 29 and the oldest of my 11 cousins, they’re evenly spread between 7 and 26 (7, 12, 13, 18, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26). I haven’t seen any of them use any external storage device in the past 5 years. Especially the younger ones.

Does it suck that Apple cheaped out here? Yeah. It also sucks that they went for a physical trackpad rather than the much nicer Force Touch one. But at the end of the day, you don’t get a $500 Mac without some compromises, and the ones they made make a lot of sense for the market they’re gunning for. Do I want this laptop? No! But I’m a dork and I care about this stuff. The people who spring for this one mostly won’t know and almost certainly won’t care.