MacBook Neo: Here's Which Models Are Selling Out

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

#3 is barely, and its thicker.

#2 will be slower, which isn’t great.

Walmart has all combinations still available for March 11 if anybody is looking.

I'm not in the US but Walmart are doing a renewed 'like new' M1 Air for $439.00, i think i'd rather have the M1 Air.

It's a bit of a mixed bag Neo has a better webcam for what thats worth, marginally brighter display albeit smaller than the Air. MBA has thunderbolt and a better GPU.

Neo is decent value if you are buying new but think there is better value to be had on the used market.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I've had one since the G4 Powerbooks included them. Never used them. It's not a selling point to me and not everyone is glued to their Macbook when the sun goes down.

I thought this thing was for the kids?

They might be doing homework at night

 

[mlayer]

I thought this thing was for the kids?

They might be doing homework at night

As long as these kids don't live in caves they should be fine with lighting.

 

[mk313]

#3 is barely, and its thicker.

#2 will be slower, which isn’t great.

Like I said in my last reply, the Air is probably better overall, but (s)he asked for 3 specs that were better. I also mentioned I'm not going to get into a pissing match over specs, but everything I wrote is factually correct.

If someone is looking for a larger overall computer, that is slightly thinner, they should get the Air. Likewise, if someone is looking for a smaller, faster SSD, they should also go for an Air. But that doesn't negate the fact that the three specs I posted are all factually correct to the question asked.

 

[deckard666]

Pretty much no-one like Marquess said on his YT video watching his video or on here is the target market but always good to come here and see how awful, expensive and out of date this product is and then next month see every student in my home town with one.....

 

[turbineseaplane]

I’m starting to think Tim Cook should be investigated for not releasing one of these sooner.

They have had iPhone chips that could run macOS for many years now.

Lots and lots of revenue has been left on the table. Gross mismanagement by Tim.

 

[STOCK411]

Like I said in my last reply, the Air is probably better overall, but (s)he asked for 3 specs that were better. I also mentioned I'm not going to get into a pissing match over specs, but everything I wrote is factually correct.

If someone is looking for a larger overall computer, that is slightly thinner, they should get the Air. Likewise, if someone is looking for a smaller, faster SSD, they should also go for an Air. But that doesn't negate the fact that the three specs I posted are all factually correct to the question asked.

In addition everyone is different. For some people $100 more is a lot and not something they can just do on a whim.
Its insulting the way some folks think that just because they can afford the extra 100$ (or more) to get a better laptop that means everyone can.


That type of mindset is appalling

 

[mk313]

In addition everyone is different. For some people $100 more is a lot and not something they can just do on a whim.
Its insulting the way some folks think that just because they can afford the extra 100$ (or more) to get a better laptop that means everyone can.


That type of mindset is appalling

If you're an EDU user, the $250 extra is a 50% increase. That's a pretty significant jump, percentage-wise

 

[weckart]

I thought this thing was for the kids?

They might be doing homework at night

I would hope that electricity had reached their parts of the world and they could benefit from turning a light on. I mean, are people doing their homework at the cinema or something?

 

[abowlby]

#3 is barely, and its thicker.

#2 will be slower, which isn’t great.

This makes me interested to see if an external Thunderbolt 4 drive will outperform the built in storage of the Neo.

 

[turbineseaplane]

This makes me interested to see if an external Thunderbolt 4 drive will outperform the built in storage of the Neo.

My guess would be yes, but I’d be curious to see

 

[Biro]

The refurbed Air is certainly an enticing option at that price point. Still a few factors in favor of the Neo, but that is definitely a better value for many/most users.

The thing is, I already have a MacBook Pro. I was interested in the Neo as a replacement for a 13-inch iPad Air with Magic Keyboard - which I find to be a clunky arrangement. Others may disagree. But the refurbed 16/256 MBA was just too good a deal and is much more capable than the Neo.

I still think the Neo will do well in the EDU market and will expand the Apple ecosystem to a lot of people who otherwise couldn’t afford it. And I can already see Linux enthusiasts picking up the base Neo at $599 (or even $499).

 

[abowlby]

The thing is, I already have a MacBook Pro. I was interested in the Neo as a replacement for a 13-inch iPad Air with Magic Keyboard - which I find to be a clunky arrangement. Others may disagree. But the refurbed 16/256 MBA was just too good a deal and is much more capable than the Neo.

I still think the Neo will do well in the EDU market and will expand the Apple ecosystem to a lot of people who otherwise couldn’t afford it. And I can already see Linux enthusiasts picking up the base Neo at $599 (or even $499).

Interesting about Linux...to my knowledge only the M1 products have a functional distro at all. Get those WallyBook Airs while you can!

 

[mlayer]

I’m starting to think Tim Cook should be investigated for not releasing one of these sooner.

They have had iPhone chips that could run macOS for many years now.

Lots and lots of revenue has been left on the table. Gross mismanagement by Tim.

Not necessarily. The A17 Pro that was in the iPhone 15 Pro was notoriously hot and may not have been good enough at scale. A binned version is in the current iPad mini. The A18 Pro is on the evolved N3E process with better thermal management. Maybe they could've released the Neo with one of the older pre 3nm chips, we'll never know.

 

[MacBH928]

I am surprised the silver is in low demand, given its the standard laptop color across all brands.

Anyone paying $700 for the upgrade if they can get the M4 Air for $50 more refurbished from Apple with the same warranty….should not be trusted with money decisions.

you are right, except so many people do not realise this option. I read mac news daily for 20+ years and didn't notice this. One more thing to consider, the refurbished stock should be limited so if you can find one you have good luck.

I actually had the $699 version of the Neo in my cart at Apple’s online store when my head cleared. Instead I ordered a refurbed M4 MBA 16/256 for only $50 more. Should I have ordered the same MBA back when I could get a brand-new example for the same price? Sure. But I was holding out hope that the Neo would be thinner and/or lighter. It turns out that it’s not. And who’s to say my “refurbished” MBA isn’t actually new with Apple dumping supply now that the M5 MBA is out?

dang you are smart, i didn't realize this is the difference. the Air is so much better than neo.

Exactly. When I've suggested Apple refurbs to people, their response is usually that they'd rather spend a little extra to get a brand new product than something "used"/"secondhand". Most people I know would sooner spend a little more on a new device with lower specs than spend a little less on a refurb device with better specs. It's just the idea that they're getting something "used". Nevermind the fact that a lot of Apple refurbs are devices that people bought, barely touched, and returned in the 14 day period.

The refurbished is actually a better product. Its cheaper and and double checked by Apple that it has no issues. Buying new, you might get a defected one some how. While this is not a problem in USA where you can return products for no reason at all, globally, people do not have this option. Think of people in El Salvador, Egypt, Nepal.

Especially if that new product promises to bring in millions of new customers to the Apple ecosystem - who will upgrade to more expensive products down the line.

this should sell like crazy in China and India, where Apple marketshare is probably very low due average living wage in those countries.

 

[mlayer]

The thing is, I already have a MacBook Pro. I was interested in the Neo as a replacement for a 13-inch iPad Air with Magic Keyboard - which I find to be a clunky arrangement. Others may disagree. But the refurbed 16/256 MBA was just too good a deal and is much more capable than the Neo.

I still think the Neo will do well in the EDU market and will expand the Apple ecosystem to a lot of people who otherwise couldn’t afford it. And I can already see Linux enthusiasts picking up the base Neo at $599 (or even $499).

It's not just the base tier 16/256 M4 Air at $759. The 16/512 version is $849 via the refurb section. Granted I got an open box version of the 16/512 last summer for $910 before trading in my M2. Anyway there are choices if you aren't seduced by pretty colors or newness.

 

[DotCom2]

What are peeps opinion on it only having 8GB of unified memory? I'm thinking of getting this for a kid.

 

[mk313]

What are peeps opinion on it only having 8GB of unified memory? I'm thinking of getting this for a kid.

nothing useful on Macrumors. Opinions range from not enough RAM to open a single Web page to more than enough to run all of Open AI.

 

[STOCK411]

If you're an EDU user, the $250 extra is a 50% increase. That's a pretty significant jump, percentage-wise

Exactly and people are acting like $100 is pennies... That may be true for a poster. But $100 more (plus tax) is a lot of $$$ for a large percentage of people

Its essentially elitism

 

[H.E. Pennypacker]

Anyone paying $700 for the upgrade if they can get the M4 Air for $50 more refurbished from Apple with the same warranty….should not be trusted with money decisions.

I don’t disagree at all, but you have to remember the Neo probably isn’t aimed at people who are knowledgeable about the different MacBook offerings. My wife is terrible with technology and wouldn’t know the difference between a refurbished MacBook Air and a Neo. She’d just look at it and think, Oh, that’s cheap for a MacBook and it comes in nice colors. That said, she’s far more financially responsible than I am.

 

[TheAngryKiwi]

It's clearly Apple's differentiator. They already push you to pay $100 more for touch ID, so now it's $700. Want that backlit keyboard? Then it's only another $300 and you can get a MacBook Air. Oh and you get double the RAM, M5 chip etc. Actually when you look at it this way, the Neo isn't that great a deal at all.

They've done the same with the recently launched iPad Air specific Magic Keyboard, which has lost the backlight the previous model had to push you to the Pro.

Above: a masterclass in missing the point.

 

[poematik13]

These things will sell like crazy, and presumably next year’s 12GB ram/backlit keyboard model will cannibalize the Air

Wish we had $500 macbooks when I was in high school lol. The cheapest one was $1199 and was made of plastic with a 5400rpm HDD

 

[TheAngryKiwi]

Yeah, I think most people aren't aware of how clean Apple refurbs are. They were indistinguishable from new from my experience. Some have to be just old new stock. No way someone could refurb a laptop/phone etc and not leave a single fingerprint on it. They even have that new smell lol.

My Studio is a refurb. Would buy refurb again. But you’re also assuming availability of refurbs - in my country the cheapest MBA refurb is still more expensive than a Neo - and it’s an M2!

 

[poematik13]

Yeah, I think most people aren't aware of how clean Apple refurbs are. They were indistinguishable from new from my experience. Some have to be just old new stock. No way someone could refurb a laptop/phone etc and not leave a single fingerprint on it. They even have that new smell lol.

I’ve had tons of refurbs, only time Ive ever had an issue was an MBA with a faulty magsafe cable, which they swapped out for me immediately at the store

 

[Admiral Fart]

"Selling out" doesn't necessarily mean "outselling". The Blush and 512GB MacBook Neos could be in short supply because Apple only manufactured 1/5 as many as the 256 GB Indigo or Silver ones.