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MacBook Neo vs. MacBook Air Buyer's Guide: 40 Differences Compared

Mrkevinfinnerty said:
What Apple have done well with the Neo, anybody considering a MBA wont be considering a Neo instead
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I'm not convinced this is true. For the majority of consumers considering Apple laptops, they would often choose the Air over the Pro because the Air was the cheaper option. For many people, the Neo now being available as an even cheaper option will drive many of them to absolutely consider the Neo.

I'm a tech consultant who works with a majority of people in the 60+ age range. They E-Mail, web browse, maybe use Word, Zoom, watch videos, etc. They don't game, they don't video edit, and they have very basic everyday use-cases.

While we all agree that the Air is a "better" machine on paper, it's not necessarily worth TWICE the price for people using a Mac for the tasks above. They don't need P3, Force Touch, memory bandwidth, or extra RAM. They don't care about Center Stage vs FaceTime 1080p, and don't count their speakers & microphones. Some of my clients will set up their Touch ID sensor, then forget it's there for the life of their Mac. And many can live within only 256 GB of storage.

The Neo may not be a compelling machine for tech nerds, but for average Mac users still lingering on an Intel machine, or a brand new-to-Mac convert, the Neo is almost a no-brainer. We must remember that -we- are not normal Mac users. We are "geeks" who care enough to read daily Mac news & forums because we are Mac addicts & professionals.

That does not make the Neo a bad Mac...just a lesser Mac. (A "lesser" Mac that is faster than the M1/M2/M3 in a variety of normal use cases that don't rely heavily on multi-core or GPU performance.) Give the little guy a chance.
 
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Ensoniq said:
I'm not convinced this is true. For the majority of consumers considering Apple laptops, they would often choose the Air over the Pro because the Air was the cheaper option. For many people, the Neo now being available as an even cheaper option will drive many of them to absolutely consider the Neo.

I'm a tech consultant who works with a majority of people in the 60+ age range. They E-Mail, web browse, maybe use Word, Zoom, watch videos, etc. They don't game, they don't video edit, and they have very basic everyday use-cases.

While we all agree that the Air is a "better" machine on paper, it's not necessarily worth TWICE the price for people using a Mac for the tasks above. They don't need P3, Force Touch, memory bandwidth, or extra RAM. They don't care about Center Stage vs FaceTime 1080p, and don't count their speakers & microphones. Some of my clients will set up their Touch ID sensor, then forget it's there for the life of their Mac. And many can live within only 256 GB of storage.

The Neo may not be a compelling machine for tech nerds, but for average Mac users still lingering on an Intel machine, or a brand new-to-Mac convert, the Neo is almost a no-brainer. We must remember that -we- are not normal Mac users. We are "geeks" who care enough to read daily Mac news & forums because we are Mac addicts & professionals.

That does not make the Neo a bad Mac...just a lesser Mac. (A "lesser" Mac that is faster than the M1/M2/M3 in a variety of normal use cases that don't rely heavily on multi-core or GPU performance.) Give the little guy a chance.
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Do people who are in their sixties who have that use case spend $1000 + on a MBA anyway?
 
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I’m wondering if Apple even considered a Chromebook replacement in this strategy. The aluminum body durability is going to be the question for me.
 
Mrkevinfinnerty said:
Do people who are in their sixties who have that use case spend $1000 + on a MBA anyway?
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For my long-time Mac users, they absolutely did. Many "downgraded" from an Intel MacBook Pro to an M-Series Air because it was better than what they had for years, and I explained they no longer needed a "Pro" for speed. They were and are Mac users who prefer Apple...but -also- wanted the best deal available.

My clients have money, so it's not really about them being price-conscious. They would buy a $2000+ Mac if I recommended one. Yesterday, the cheapest Mac laptop was the Air at $1100. Today it is the Neo at $599/$699.

95% of my clients are happy Mac users who don't want to be using some cheap Windows alternative, but they -also- don't want to buy more computer than they really need. With the Neo, they now have a cheaper alternative to the Air.

The Pro, the Air, and the Neo all have their own reasons for existing...and are -all- great for their intended market. I'm not negating the need for or value of the Pro and Air. I'm just defending the value of the Neo for some as well.
 
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marte91 said:
For the most part these are tailored toward the education market generally low-end (web, video, Zoom/equivalents, Google docs), its akin to complaining to Toyota because the Prius doesn't do go in a drag strip.
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These are outrageously expensive for that market. These kids are doing functional instruction days and uploading work to a Google Drive file or Schoology on these devices. Something a $200 iPad or $150 Chromebook is more than adequate at doing.
 
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abowlby said:
These are outrageously expensive for that market. These kids are doing functional instruction days and uploading work to a Google Drive file or Schoology on these devices. Something a $200 iPad or $150 Chromebook is more than adequate at doing.
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The School will decide if the value proposition fits the bill, not us in these forum.
 
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joshwithachance said:
I knew the display was a downgrade compared to the already subpar one on the Air, but no True Tone either?! Ouch…
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How on earth is it subpar? Have you seen the average, heck even most of the “best”, PC laptop display(s)? What in the world are you talking about?

Oh.. wait… you’re joking, right?
 
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sracer said:
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.
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I’ve had 2 Chromebooks. This is Apple’s equivalent. Of course it has the ability to store apps unlike a Chromebook. That said…a Chromebook exists to get people into Google’s ecosystem and upsell them to a higher tier including Gemini Pro. This is exactly what Apple wants to happen with the Neo. At this price point, Apple is gunning for disaffected Chromebook owners so they eventually pay for higher end tiers of iCloud, or Apple One.
 
Neo is a good laptop but has many downsides. Sure for $599 (or $499) one can get a very good computer. I would recommend getting one with TouchID and that puts it at $699. Think the M4 Air will be available with good discounts in the coming month. Previously the 13” M4 Air was available at $749 and at that price, the obvious choice will be to go with the Air. Think the Neo has a market and will sell well.
 
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This is a great option for 2 demographics, the young and the old (or as my parents prefer "the upper middle aged").

Kids and young teens who just need a laptop for school that they can use for the internet, word, powerpoint, excel etc...

And non-tech savvy older people like my mother in her 70s who wants the internet, be able to send and receive annoying "funny" emails, have occasional FaceTime calls, and play bridge.

But if you're someone (like most people on MacRumors) who has to look at the RAM specs to know if a computer is powerful enough for you - then this isn't aimed at you.
 
Detnator said:
How on earth is it subpar? Have you seen the average, heck even most of the “best”, PC laptop display(s)? What in the world are you talking about?

Oh.. wait… you’re joking, right?
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In a nutshell... (lack of) contrast and refresh rate. The 60Hz LCD panel on the Air is incredibly underwhelming compared to the 120Hz miniLED on the Pros. And even more so compared to the tandem OLED on the iPad Pros.
 
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joshwithachance said:
In a nutshell... (lack of) contrast and refresh rate. The 60Hz LCD panel on the Air is incredibly underwhelming compared to the 120Hz miniLED on the Pros. And even more so compared to the tandem OLED on the iPad Pros.
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Absolutely none of that makes it subpar at this price point for the people this is targeted at.

Those people don’t care about any of that. Why do you need 120Hz or miniLED to write emails?

Sorry mate, you just don’t get it.
PS. The most important thing they didn’t compromise that almost every Windows laptop and Chromebook that are anywhere near this price point, is brightness.

PPS. Where’s the “lack of contrast”?
 
Detnator said:
Absolutely none of that makes it subpar at this price point for the people this is targeted at.

Those people don’t care about any of that. Why do you need 120Hz or miniLED to write emails?

Sorry mate, you just don’t get it.
PS. The most important thing they didn’t compromise that almost every Windows laptop and Chromebook that are anywhere near this price point, is brightness.

PPS. Where’s the “lack of contrast”?
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I'm talking about the MacBook Air starting at $1100, not the Neo starting at $599. OF COURSE there's going to be compromises with the Neo's display (namely the lack of color depth and omission of True Tone), and I think they're very much warranted at this price point. But I'm not as accommodating to the washed out grayish blacks and less smooth display overall on the Air, which is squarely a premium product. The contrast ratio on the Air is only 1000:1, which is very low. Especially compared to the 1,000,000:1 ratio on the Pro's miniLED display. So I'm curious to see what it is on the Neo.
 
Some of the comments here are insane. How can you people not get it?

People have been complaining for decades about how “expensive” even the entry level Macs are compared with entry level PCs. When the cheapest PC laptops have always been half the price of the cheapest Mac laptops, the argument has always gone something like this:

  • Apple: But those PC laptops are junk compared with the Macs. The Macs have a lot more features.
  • The people: Sure, but a lot of people don’t need all those extra features. Why can’t Apple make computers with less features and lower price to compete with those PCs with less features and lower price? Why can’t Apple give us the option? Why is the ONLY way to get macOS with a lot of extra features that a lot of people don’t care about?
  • Apple: We don’t make “junk”.
  • The people: but it’s not junk if it works and has the basic features us price conscious people need and just leaves out all the fancy stuff we don’t care about. We want affordable macOS.
And even the nerds here said “Yes absolutely. We like those fancy features for ourselves but we can’t get our parents or kids into Macs with us because of Apple’s lack of options competing with the cheap PCs.”

Now, Apple finally makes a Mac laptop near the price range of those PCs, and still with as good or better features than those PCs (performance, display resolution and brightness, precision multitouch, full keyboard, *enough* RAM, storage, etc. for those people)…

And the nerds here can only say “What a piece of junk. It doesn’t have any of the fancy high-end features of all the other higher priced Macs.”

OMG 🤦‍♂ 🤦‍♀️

You know what the MacBook Neo has that NO OTHER new Mac laptop has EVER had? A $600 price tag.

On a side note: What is Apple thinking??! Apple has lost its way. It’s doomed. The Mac Studio is a scam. Why would anyone buy it? It’s $4000 and doesn’t even have a built in trackpad, keyboard or display.
 
joshwithachance said:
I'm talking about the MacBook Air starting at $1100, not the Neo starting at $599. OF COURSE there's going to be compromises with the Neo's display (namely the lack of color depth and omission of True Tone), and I think they're very much warranted at this price point. But I'm not as accommodating to the washed out grayish blacks and less smooth display overall on the Air, which is squarely a premium product. The contrast ratio on the Air is only 1000:1, which is very low. Especially compared to the 1,000,000:1 ratio on the Pro's miniLED display. So I'm curious to see what it is on the Neo.
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Ok. I misread your first comment. Indeed you were talking about the Air’s display, not the Neo’s.

I’d say my points still stand. Comparing any two machines at significantly different price points and complaining that the cheaper one isn’t as good as the more expensive one just defies logic.

Describing the MBA’s blacks and greys as “washed out” is … surprising … at best. “Premium product” or not, it’s still one of the very best displays on any machine with comparable specs and price by any decent brand. Apple’s displays against any others on machines at similar price points are almost always astonishingly better, or at worst, comparable.

Best case scenarios I could find, searching Dell’s website:

- The cheapest Windows Dell laptop with anything more than FHD (1920x1080) resolution is $650 (so, more than the Neo) and it’s 300nits (sRGB and no mention of contrast ratio that I can find).

- the cheapest windows Dell laptop with at least 500nits is the XPS 13. Lower resolution and smaller screen than the MBA, with otherwise comparable main specs to the base MBA, except no Thunderbolt at all, and the MBA’s M5 is faster than the Dell’s SnapDragon X by a fair margin in many tests. Plus it’s Windows instead of macOS. It’s retail price? same as the MBA’s $1099. Meanwhile, its contrast ratio is not specified on the site but Google says it’s 1200:1. Better models have 100K:1 but obviously cost more.

So… what are you expecting/wanting from Apple that’s reasonable, that they’re not providing?
 
It’s mad the amount of people complaining about the specs, or saying that XYZ should be upgradable. The whole point of this machine is to give a low-cost entry point to light users. If you’re a regular-advanced user, get the Air. If you need processing muscle, get the Pro. Simples. Who on earth would get the $699 option and pay $200 extra for a RAM bump, if it was an option? You’d need an MRI to see if anything was wrong up there.
 
Ensoniq said:
I'm not convinced this is true. For the majority of consumers considering Apple laptops, they would often choose the Air over the Pro because the Air was the cheaper option. For many people, the Neo now being available as an even cheaper option will drive many of them to absolutely consider the Neo.

I'm a tech consultant who works with a majority of people in the 60+ age range. They E-Mail, web browse, maybe use Word, Zoom, watch videos, etc. They don't game, they don't video edit, and they have very basic everyday use-cases.

While we all agree that the Air is a "better" machine on paper, it's not necessarily worth TWICE the price for people using a Mac for the tasks above. They don't need P3, Force Touch, memory bandwidth, or extra RAM. They don't care about Center Stage vs FaceTime 1080p, and don't count their speakers & microphones. Some of my clients will set up their Touch ID sensor, then forget it's there for the life of their Mac. And many can live within only 256 GB of storage.

The Neo may not be a compelling machine for tech nerds, but for average Mac users still lingering on an Intel machine, or a brand new-to-Mac convert, the Neo is almost a no-brainer. We must remember that -we- are not normal Mac users. We are "geeks" who care enough to read daily Mac news & forums because we are Mac addicts & professionals.

That does not make the Neo a bad Mac...just a lesser Mac. (A "lesser" Mac that is faster than the M1/M2/M3 in a variety of normal use cases that don't rely heavily on multi-core or GPU performance.) Give the little guy a chance.
Click to expand...

I'm sending a kid to college in the Fall and was waiting for this laptop release. Most of her work I expect will be online with SaaS systems like Google or O365. But I just can't shake the feeling that there "may" be a need for something more and she will be shorthanded. Or that the Neo will be slow as heck in 18 months. Maybe thats just all in my head.
 
people "do be" acting like A18 Pro and 8GB RAM is that weak.
*it is not.*

for my personal work flow, i no longer do my photography work on mac.
but what i use on my m7 12-inch retina macbook (2016) is checking stocks, email, messaging, arrange a bit of photos via the photos app, notes, watching youtube, organizing calendar, listening to music, doing taxes, spreadsheets, documents. all on a 4k external monitor.

this tiny 'netbook' that constantly throttles from 10 years ago, was able to accomplish these tasks, albeit not well.

the neo and a18 pro is multitudes of times more powerful than intel m7. its single core even beats apple m1 and i think the binned m2. even with 8gb ram, the neo will accomplish basic tasks as stated above *easily*.

for grandparents, and young children, this machine will be way too powerful.
even for productivity office workers doing documents and occasional powerpoints, youtube will have a breeze.

only for enthusiats, content creators, and photo/videographers, and gamers will struggle with this machine.
 
It's fun reading these posts from March 4th. The Neo has turned out to be anything but 'slower than sludge".
 
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