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MacBook Neo Is the Dumbest Name Ever

radow said:
I personally hope they resurrect the iBook name. But MacBook Neo is imo on the better side of dumb names. It has unique character, way better than random super long whatever-it-called Chromebook, and also not that confusing as something like Wii U.
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They have already introduced this product.
Also, I don’t think Apple will ever introduce another “i” product again.
For reference the last product introduced with that type of naming was iCloud in 2011.
And even by 2011, Apple had to stop using the name in certain areas due to trademark disputes.
Steve Jobs originally announced the “iTV” in 2006, which obviously got the network ITV all lawyered up, meaning the name had to be changed shortly before the product released to Apple TV.
www.engadget.com

iTV becomes Apple TV

Well now we know that iTV has officially become Apple TV. It's real folks: we got 802.11 b/g AND 802.11n, USB 2.0, Ethernet, WiFi, HDMI, bunch of standard outs, plus a 40GB hard drive -- all powered by an Intel CPU. So resolution is only 720p -- looks like a few folks are gonna be out of luck...
www.engadget.com www.engadget.com

Similar situation with the “iWatch”, apparently that was the name Apple was seriously considering, but the trademark mess they would have to go through obviously led to them not using that name and instead calling it the Apple Watch.
www.mandourlaw.com

Swatch May Fight Apple’s ‘iWatch’ to Prevent Trademark Confusion

Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch is considering taking steps to stop Apple from registering the name “iWatch” for trademark protection, saying the name is too similar to Swatch’s already trademarked “iSwatch.”
www.mandourlaw.com www.mandourlaw.com

From that point on, they have clearly realized that using their own name/logo in the product names is better both from a trademark perspective and likely from a marketing perspective as well. Plus tuns of “i” names had already been taken. They couldn’t exactly call the HomePod the “iHome”, which was already a brand.
 
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Lounge vibes 05 said:
Buzzer!
The 2014 MacBook Pro had a diving board mechanism, this new trackpad does not.
It’s a trackpad that has never been used before, closest analog is the one found on the magic keyboards for the regular iPad and iPad Air, but still a lot bigger.
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I wasn't even saying it's a bad thing. I actually prefer the trackpad on my 2014 15" MBP (last Nvidia GPU in a MBP btw). Wouldn't mind having that satisfying analog click vs. the artificial clunk of the haptic thing.
 
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Should’ve just called it the MacBook (2026). Can’t get any cleaner than that.

I hate the name Neo also, but love the product.
 
They could have just gone with

MacBook x ‘collaborating artist/designer’

Allows them to set their own timescale for designs & updates, might have even spawned a whole area of related accessories, skins, wraps, stickers.

(I was thinking more along the lines of MacBook x Issey Miyake, than MacBook x iJustine)
 
Jeweller said:
Says the guy who seems to never stops defending his aging 4 year old (minimum) iPhone mini. Neo has much newer tech than that relative dinosaur and, while yes of course I acknowledge one's a laptop and one's a phone and comparisons aren't fair, it seems a bit judgmental on your part to imply it's nothing more than parts bin trash. Seems like a great value to me. And I mean it's definitely more future proofed than your beloved small phone.
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I never said it was "trash" (you said that).

And it's quite obviously a parts bin product at its core (old iPhone chip, trackpad from 2013, a whole host of things missing a Mac user has come to expect).

Being a parts bin devices is not even really a purely negative thing, as it's done to hit a price point.

What does my old iPhone have to do with this?
I use that still for its size alone. If Apple made a newer one, I'd buy it.
 
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I was hoping for an Apple themed name like Cortland or Ambrosia but Neo works. Neo means "new" and it certainly is a new and important product for Apple.
 
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maflynn said:
I don't think its dumb and in fact I think its a breath of fresh air.
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Yes, agree - Neo is new and it's a great name for a new line of starter Macbooks!

I have 2 on order - Indigo and Citrus.
Maybe I'll keep or both return one if the color doesn't suit me.

$100 EDU discount made it a slam dunk !

Where have you seen a brand new Mac for $499 ????
 
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TumbleDryer said:
Don't forget they once called the new iPad the 'new iPad' and that caused no end of confusion so while Neo is cheesy it stands out as different and is easily identified - either that or they misspelled 'new' which wouldn't surprise me with their keyboard bug they still haven't fixed. 🤔
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I worked at the Apple Store at this time and I genuinely thought that management was messing with us when this was announced.
 
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Good heavens, it didn’t take long for the haters to jump on the Neo name for the new MacBook. Come on guys/gals stop it. I still remember the fuss over the iPad name for reasons I won’t share here. Let’s look at this unique new product that could introduce millions of new users to the MacBook world and give Apple the credit they deserve, not criticize them for a perfectly innocent sounding name.
 
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whitby said:
Good heavens, it didn’t take long for the haters to jump on the Neo name for the new MacBook. Come on guys/gals stop it. I still remember the fuss over the iPad name for reasons I won’t share here. Let’s look at this unique new product that could introduce millions of new users to the MacBook world and give Apple the credit they deserve, not criticize them for a perfectly innocent sounding name.
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Something new always has its detractors. It will not be long before the fuss dies down and will be long forgotten.

I remember those iPad memes. Thanks for jogging my memory - I'd forgotten them. 🤣
 
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To be fair, “Mac” is a stupid name to begin with. Not to mention “Apple”.
 
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Yeah - it's short for Macintosh - which was the original name.

1772729674944.png


Not sure why they named a computer after a coat but there you go.

1772729760847.png
 
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I’m just glad they didn’t call it “MacBook”. That gets confusing and is awful to search for.

MacBook Neo is fine. Not quite as good as Pro or Air. But not nearly as annoying as the iPhone (version number) Pro Max. Neo is memorable, succinct and unambiguous. It’s a decent brand name.
 
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Obviously, it will sound strange for some time. I think we’re always biased with new names. If we still had PowerBooks, the current MacBook scheme would sound un-Apple to many people.

Also, I always hear that Apple should keep consistency among different products, but the kind of market, history and target audience for the iPhone/iPad/Mac is very different. There are good reasons why the base iPhone model is 17e, the MacBook one is Neo, and the iPad one doesn’t have a surname.
 
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