I expected to see it in the 1st table too, only to discover that it is stated right above it … “Both machines weigh 2.7 pounds (1.23 kg).”
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
MacBook Neo vs. MacBook Air Buyer's Guide: 40 Differences Compared
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Le0M
macrumors 65816
And the same weight!!!!
I don't get it....
As I speculated earlier….this is an Apple branded Chromebook. This is tailored made for upcoming online and Apple Subscription services.
It’s even more of a Chromebook seeing as how Apple is so in bed with Google. First the Google Search Engine deal. Then the former head of Google’s Gemini AI division replacing the ousted head of Apple Intelligence. Shortly after, we learn that not only will Google Gemini become the basis for the new Siri chatbot but will also power all of Apple Intelligence. And now rumors are swirling that some of Apple Intelligence will have to be run on Google’s servers and not entirely on Apple’s Private servers.
So…”Hello Apple Neo Chromebook”
It’s even more of a Chromebook seeing as how Apple is so in bed with Google. First the Google Search Engine deal. Then the former head of Google’s Gemini AI division replacing the ousted head of Apple Intelligence. Shortly after, we learn that not only will Google Gemini become the basis for the new Siri chatbot but will also power all of Apple Intelligence. And now rumors are swirling that some of Apple Intelligence will have to be run on Google’s servers and not entirely on Apple’s Private servers.
So…”Hello Apple Neo Chromebook”
Le0M
macrumors 65816
It does have multi touch.
Apple would be insane not to include this feature.
In fact it did.
joshwithachance
macrumors 68030
I’ll take a notch with P3 and True Tone over a thick ass bezel any day. But this isn’t about me, and the target demographic likely won’t care at all.
Last edited:
Heh. I can't help but think of what we're able to transport on a 110cc scooter in Thailand that an American would "need" a pickup for. Attitude is everything.
Also, I predict these things will sell well in SEA.
This is a great use case. (And nostalgically reminds me of the VT-100s in my dorm room back in the 80s. What goes around comes around.)
sracer
macrumors G4
I can't see how any person with any experience with a chromebook could say that the Neo is an Apple branded chromebook.
But I'm loving the wholesale trashing of the Neo by everybody. Hopefully this will speed up the time for this to go on sale. My M1 MBA is still working well for me, but my wife's 2017 13" MBA needs to be replaced soon, so a Blush Neo is on the list.
Reason077
macrumors 601
I'm very happy to see that the MacBook Neo has dropped the pointless and proprietary waste of space (and money) that is the MagSafe charging port.
Would love to see them remove this on future MacBook Air and Pro models as well, in favour of an additional USB-C / Thunderbolt 5 port.
Would love to see them remove this on future MacBook Air and Pro models as well, in favour of an additional USB-C / Thunderbolt 5 port.
1BadManVan
macrumors 68040
I always get a chuckle from the display snobs on this forum. You can get the laptop for $499 and you're complaining its "only" srgb display. Most windows laptops at this price point have 300 nit 45% ntsc displays. Most windows guys complain about these cheaper laptops not having full srgb displays, in apple land we complain it's "only" that lol.
If I had to replace my M1 MBP, I'd seriously consider getting a Neo for portability and a M5 Mac Mini to run anything computationally demanding. The two combined would cost less than a new MBP and the only thing I'd lose would be having my "heavy duty" computaitonal power not be portable, but remote connection can offset that dramatically.
Edit: Okay, no M5 Mini available yet, but I'm sure there will be one soon.
It's always the same people complaining in the same manner...
"I don't understand the iPhone Air!"
"I don't understand the iPhone 17e!"
"I don't understand the MacBook Neo!"
If you don't understand it, cool...then you're not the audience for it.
But I simply LOVE the iPhone Air that replaced my iPhone 16 Pro Max.
And my daughter would love an iPhone 17e to replace her SE 2nd-Gen.
And I'm tempted to buy the 512 GB/Touch ID MacBook Neo just for fun.
Apple has a user base of BILLIONS with a wide variety of use cases. I'm as disappointed as the rest of you at some of the trade-offs they choose with their products. But even with those trade-offs, I can easily recommend them to my clients because for the average person who isn't a spec-hound, they will work spectacularly over non-Apple alternatives.
"I don't understand the iPhone Air!"
"I don't understand the iPhone 17e!"
"I don't understand the MacBook Neo!"
If you don't understand it, cool...then you're not the audience for it.
But I simply LOVE the iPhone Air that replaced my iPhone 16 Pro Max.
And my daughter would love an iPhone 17e to replace her SE 2nd-Gen.
And I'm tempted to buy the 512 GB/Touch ID MacBook Neo just for fun.
Apple has a user base of BILLIONS with a wide variety of use cases. I'm as disappointed as the rest of you at some of the trade-offs they choose with their products. But even with those trade-offs, I can easily recommend them to my clients because for the average person who isn't a spec-hound, they will work spectacularly over non-Apple alternatives.
Too bad you cannot upgrade to 16 gb ram. That will prove to be the biggest bottleneck going forward.
Just gonna point out that at this very moment, a 13" M2/8GB/512GB MacBook Air is $679 in the Apple Refurbished store. Link
in my area, the base air m2 goes for 180USD equivalent more than the top spec Neo (with education discount which i could get).
m3 and m4 air gofer significantly more so i'll take that out of consideration for this one.
so a18 pro neo (top) vs m2 air
neo - faster single core - quite moderately and surprisingly. but slower multicore but a small margin. i think for light-moderate tasks we expect to do here, single core matters more.
- neo with 512gb is cheaper than m2 air with 256gb (in my area)
- neo has 8gb ram but m2 air has 16gb
but i think storage is more important here for me.
worse comes to worse, not enough ram it can always use swap.
but not enough storage and things have to be offloaded to the cloud or external. and the internal being near full will degrade much faster.
- neo only has usb 3 something, and max out at 4k 60hz external. this is not exactly enough for my 4k 144hz motion but its' acceptable. air m2 should have the thunderbolt and should run 4k 120hz at least i think.
- neo has much tinier battery, but more energy efficient chip. battery life o the neo would probably be slightly worse but still very very good.
all in all, for almost 200 USDs cheaper, i'd have to go with the neo. it will also receive software support 2-3 more years than the m2 air as well.
m3 and m4 air gofer significantly more so i'll take that out of consideration for this one.
so a18 pro neo (top) vs m2 air
neo - faster single core - quite moderately and surprisingly. but slower multicore but a small margin. i think for light-moderate tasks we expect to do here, single core matters more.
- neo with 512gb is cheaper than m2 air with 256gb (in my area)
- neo has 8gb ram but m2 air has 16gb
but i think storage is more important here for me.
worse comes to worse, not enough ram it can always use swap.
but not enough storage and things have to be offloaded to the cloud or external. and the internal being near full will degrade much faster.
- neo only has usb 3 something, and max out at 4k 60hz external. this is not exactly enough for my 4k 144hz motion but its' acceptable. air m2 should have the thunderbolt and should run 4k 120hz at least i think.
- neo has much tinier battery, but more energy efficient chip. battery life o the neo would probably be slightly worse but still very very good.
all in all, for almost 200 USDs cheaper, i'd have to go with the neo. it will also receive software support 2-3 more years than the m2 air as well.
both have multi-touch.. the neo's will just be like the early 2010s trackpads.
IvyKing
macrumors 6502a
I've made the comments in the past that Apple is wanting to get back into the education market, so wanted to make a laptop that could be sold at a price that could compete with WinTel laptops. The other aspect is the compromises made to meet the price points means that the MBA still has something to offer for less cost conscious buyers.
Mrkevinfinnerty
macrumors 68040
That was my first thought. Will it run Apple Silicon programs intended for the M-series?
Mrkevinfinnerty
macrumors 68040
Not so fun fact: The 16 inch MBP can be specced up to nearly seven and a half grand and you still have to pay and extra £99 for the power brick.
Reason077
macrumors 601
Nah. The 16GB RAM alone is worth the extra $200 for an M2 Air.
As far as storage goes, it's 2026: you can compensate for this by getting a nice USB-C/Thunderbolt drive or by making use of cloud services. But you can't fix the lack of RAM, it will always be holding you back.