NND! (New Neo Day)

[ElPaso]

Yesterday I walked over to my local Apple Store and got a MacBook Neo! I got it in the indigo color, the 255 with no fingerprint sensor. So far so good as they say -- I'm currently resetting my old outdated slow Windows PC for the trash. I'll post updates and reflections as time goes by -- but my first impressions are very positive. This Neo is a very strong PC.

 

[I7guy]

If you ratchet down your expectations of the performance, the Neo is a comfortable, well laid out computer with capabilities exceeding it’s price point.

 

[ElPaso]

If you ratchet down your expectations of the performance, the Neo is a comfortable, well laid out computer with capabilities exceeding it’s price point.

Not necessary to "ratchet" anything down - I'm comparing the Neo to an older Windows PC it's replacing. In that context, its performance is quite good. 😎

 

[I7guy]

Not necessary to "ratchet" anything down - I'm comparing the Neo to an older Windows PC it's replacing. In that context, its performance is quite good. 😎

Got it. There are threads here on how the Neo can’t handle certain tasks like some video editing etc, or how the display is worse than the air. If that is not your expectation the Neo to me will be a fine laptop.

 

[1rottenapple]

Got it. There are threads here on how the Neo can’t handle certain tasks like some video editing etc, or how the display is worse than the air. If that is not your expectation the Neo to me will be a fine laptop.

People need to calm down it’s 500 less. What do you exp3ct? Jeeeez people sometimes. Get the air if those are issues. Oh wait they’re broke!? So let’s just complaint about a good solid product instead and whine how they can’t put a m5 processor and mid level screen on an education discount 500 dollar laptop. Wait 600. Smh.

 

[4sallypat]

Leaving our work Macs & PCs at home!

Loving both our 2 Neos - hers is the base Blush Neo for $499 and mine is the Touch ID Indigo Neo for $599.

Both EDU pricing.

Both going next week to Central Europe on our 2 week trip and not worrying about them as the price point is so low and not having to use them for work.

 

[ElPaso]

Leaving our work Macs & PCs at home!

Loving both our 2 Neos - hers is the base Blush Neo for $499 and mine is the Touch ID Indigo Neo for $599.

Both EDU pricing.

Both going next week to Central Europe on our 2 week trip and not worrying about them as the price point is so low and not having to use them for work.

Yes! One of the most attractive features of the Neo is it fits EASILY in my EDC bag and can go everywhere with me. Of course that can be done with every laptop, lol -- however the Neo cries out to be an EDC device!

 

[ElPaso]

Four days in -- this little critter is awesome, much much better than my series of Microsoft Windows devices it is replacing, I'm writing documents, doing spreadsheets, posting on Bookface, taking notes, sending out emails, you name it. It's fast, accurate, easy to learn (even for Windows users like myself). I like it enuff that I bought it an AppleCare+
🙂

 

[throAU]

Got it. There are threads here on how the Neo can’t handle certain tasks like some video editing etc, or how the display is worse than the air. If that is not your expectation the Neo to me will be a fine laptop.

for casuals, there are also videos of it being responsive with every app installed on the machine opened.

people really need to understand that not everybody is editing 8k video for Hollywood, etc.

for what the typical non high end video editor that this machine is aimed at, the light usage performance is excellent.

 

[ElPaso]

Well, after a week with the Neo -- I'm sold. It is a very strong notebook computer for individuals like myself - I do research (architectural history) and write articles, keep a bunch of personal spreadsheets, and other GP stuff. The Neo may not be as strong as its bigger and more expensive MacBooks that are available, but it beats the tar out of Windows machines. Not even a competition.

 

[throAU]

The thing is, if you're only doing light workload, it will be every bit as fast as an M4 based machine as it has the exact same cores in the A18Pro chip in it. I'm not joking, the A18 and M4 generation chips are all just different quantities/combinations of efficiency and performance cores, but the individual cores themselves are identical!

There is simply fewer of them, so if its only doing a few things at once and not grinding out heavy duty calculation (for most regular user stuff a machine is 80-90% idle) it will be fast.

And that's the point of this device...

 

[MultiFinder17]

Congrats, glad you're enjoying your Neo! It really is a fantastic little laptop for the kinds of uses you describe.

Well, after a week with the Neo -- I'm sold. It is a very strong notebook computer for individuals like myself - I do research (architectural history) and write articles, keep a bunch of personal spreadsheets, and other GP stuff. The Neo may not be as strong as its bigger and more expensive MacBooks that are available, but it beats the tar out of Windows machines. Not even a competition.

 

[Mainsail]

The Neo is a great value, and will meet the needs of many everyday laptop users. It can also be a good option as a secondary computer (i.e. folks with a desktop or employer provided computer as primary).

That said; there are plenty of reasons an everyday average consumer might choose the MBA and pay the extra $500. For a moment, let's forget about the tech specs and performance, since for productivity and common computing tasks the difference under the hood between the Neo and MBA are negligible. What might matter to some are: screen quality, audio quality, backlit keyboard, battery life, MagSafe, better camera, and better trackpad. Many people that use their computers for common computing tasks spend hours each day on their laptops. And, they might decide that the MBA features are worth the extra $500 over the 5+ year useful life. One of the misconceptions on MR is that people who don't need Pro computing devices are not professionals or don't use their computers to earn a living. Nothing could be further from the truth. Laptops are the workhorse device for most working folks.

Anyway, if you spread the extra $500 over 5 years and figure 4+hours of productive use per day....well, the marginal cost might be worth it....more so, if you factor in resale/trade-in value. Consumers need to make this decision for themselves. But for most, it has almost nothing to do with the tech under the hood.

 

[Chevyguy2021]

The Neo is a great value, and will meet the needs of many everyday laptop users. It can also be a good option as a secondary computer (i.e. folks with a desktop or employer provided computer as primary).

That said; there are plenty of reasons an everyday average consumer might choose the MBA and pay the extra $500. For a moment, let's forget about the tech specs and performance, since for productivity and common computing tasks the difference under the hood between the Neo and MBA are negligible. What might matter to some are: screen quality, audio quality, backlit keyboard, battery life, MagSafe, better camera, and better trackpad. Many people that use their computers for common computing tasks spend hours each day on their laptops. And, they might decide that the MBA features are worth the extra $500 over the 5+ year useful life. One of the misconceptions on MR is that people who don't need Pro computing devices are not professionals or don't use their computers to earn a living. Nothing could be further from the truth. Laptops are the workhorse device for most working folks.

Anyway, if you spread the extra $500 over 5 years and figure 4+hours of productive use per day....well, the marginal cost might be worth it....more so, if you factor in resale/trade-in value. Consumers need to make this decision for themselves. But for most, it has almost nothing to do with the tech under the hood.

Extra $500!??!?! Amazon in the US just had the air 13' for $899 and the 15' for $1099. So now we're talking $699 vs $899. $200 difference 🙂

 

[Mainsail]

Extra $500!??!?! Amazon in the US just had the air 13' for $899 and the 15' for $1099. So now we're talking $699 vs $899. $200 difference 🙂

Yeah. I was just using the retail prices to make a larger point that there are plenty of people that will opt to pay more for additional MBA features, without regard to or concern about the tech under the hood.

 

[Pacific1972]

Welcome to the Apple Universe !

For 3/4 of users, the MacBook NEO would perhaps be sufficient
for the rest of their lives - but technology, of course, keeps evolving.

You can’t compare a $500 computer to one that costs about twice as much (MacBook Air) - and for
many people, $500 is already a lot of money - even for those who use the device professionally !

So, in comparison, the question isn’t what you get for $1,000 or $2,500 from Apple or elsewhere...

The MacBook NEO was developed as a premium product for students and "ambitious beginners"
who might want to use with macOS something other than Windows, Linux, or Android in the future.

Powerful devices don’t automatically enable beginners or intermediate users to understand hardware,
reverse engineering or the programming of games and apps, and some people look to AI as nothing more
than a game of ping-pong or input-output 😉 but of course you already can use XCode !

You can do almost anything with a MacBook NEO: play most of the available games, write applications and books,
perform image editing with AI support, use any browser and any service on the internet, quickly transfer data from
your phone to your computer, use a larger screen USB-C (PD) with clamshell mode, and connect external printers,
keyboards, mice, and external SSDs - in a quality you don't expect !

If you consider that APPLE CPUs = RISC computers, and that over the past five years or so we’ve seen performance
gains with every new generation of Apple processors that simply wouldn’t be possible with Intel or AMD Ryzen
(CISC technology), 8GB CPU/GPU RAM should be enough for now... and the NEO is fast enough for everything
for most people do daily !

Just think of the legendary APPs, Games or Demos created by top programmers in the past...

 

[I7guy]

The Neo is a great value, and will meet the needs of many everyday laptop users. It can also be a good option as a secondary computer (i.e. folks with a desktop or employer provided computer as primary).

That said; there are plenty of reasons an everyday average consumer might choose the MBA and pay the extra $500. For a moment, let's forget about the tech specs and performance, since for productivity and common computing tasks the difference under the hood between the Neo and MBA are negligible. What might matter to some are: screen quality, audio quality, backlit keyboard, battery life, MagSafe, better camera, and better trackpad. Many people that use their computers for common computing tasks spend hours each day on their laptops. And, they might decide that the MBA features are worth the extra $500 over the 5+ year useful life. One of the misconceptions on MR is that people who don't need Pro computing devices are not professionals or don't use their computers to earn a living. Nothing could be further from the truth. Laptops are the workhorse device for most working folks.

Anyway, if you spread the extra $500 over 5 years and figure 4+hours of productive use per day....well, the marginal cost might be worth it....more so, if you factor in resale/trade-in value. Consumers need to make this decision for themselves. But for most, it has almost nothing to do with the tech under the hood.

We’ve owned our Neo since launch. I’ve never said, I want a better screen, more speed, better audio, etc. we use the Neo for basic desktop tasks.

What I have heard said in my house is the transition from windows is difficult. That 500 bucks saved could be invested in some way and reap monetary rewards rather than more tech.

All of which is an individual choice.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Not necessary to "ratchet" anything down - I'm comparing the Neo to an older Windows PC it's replacing. In that context, its performance is quite good. 😎

The Neo is indeed very good value. However it is necessary to ratchet down expectations when comparing to all other Macs. IMO the MBA with its 16 GB RAM, etc. is far better value.

 

[ElPaso]

The Neo is indeed very good value. However it is necessary to ratchet down expectations when comparing to all other Macs. IMO the MBA with its 16 GB RAM, etc. is far better value.

Not if a person doesn't have those expectations. When purchasing the Neo, I wasn't even remotely thinking about what the more expensive MacBooks would offer. My expectations were met - I felt no disappointment, nor the need to lower expectations.

If what I really wanted was a MBA, and I had to settle for a Neo because of price - that would be lowering expectations.

Additionally, I was comparing the strengths of the Neo to similarly priced Windows machines - and the Neo is far, far superior to those plastic imitation PCs lol.

 

[Mainsail]

We’ve owned our Neo since launch. I’ve never said, I want a better screen, more speed, better audio, etc. we use the Neo for basic desktop tasks.

What I have heard said in my house is the transition from windows is difficult. That 500 bucks saved could be invested in some way and reap monetary rewards rather than more tech.

All of which is an individual choice.

It sounds like the Neo is a great computer for you, and I suspect for many others. I believe the MBA will remain popular with business professionals and certain students, not so much because of the additional computing power but because of the additional features that make hours and hours of work more tolerable/enjoyable.

It is definitely a pocketbook trade-off that boils down to individual preferences.

 

[ElPaso]

One thing I'm liking about MacBook is they all - including the Neo - have 3.5 mm plugs for earphones. Most Windows PCs at the $599 price point do not . . . kind of a nice touch if you ask me.

 

[Andy_2341]

The Neo is indeed very good value. However it is necessary to ratchet down expectations when comparing to all other Macs. IMO the MBA with its 16 GB RAM, etc. is far better value.

I would say for long term the MBA is probably the better value dollar for dollar but I'm enjoying using my Neo much more than I ever did my MBA. Sure, it has a slightly lesser audio and display but I find it more enjoyable personally. Performance is more than enough and it definitely blows my school issued Chromebook out of the water.

 

[ElPaso]

I would say for long term the MBA is probably the better value dollar for dollar . . .

It depends on what the long-term use of the devices are. If a person uses the Air exclusively for tasks that can be easily done by the Neo, then the extra money spent for the MBA makes it a poorer value dollar for dollar. On the other hand, you would be correct if the owner of the Neo wanted to start performing tasks that only a stronger Air or Pro could do. That poor sap would have to buy the Air (or the Pro) and trade in the Neo, and would have spent less if (s)he had gotten the more powerful device in the first place lol -

 

[Mainsail]

It depends on what the long-term use of the devices are. If a person uses the Air exclusively for tasks that can be easily done by the Neo, then the extra money spent for the MBA makes it a poorer value dollar for dollar. On the other hand, you would be correct if the owner of the Neo wanted to start performing tasks that only a stronger Air or Pro could do. That poor sap would have to buy the Air (or the Pro) and trade in the Neo, and would have spent less if (s)he had gotten the more powerful device in the first place lol -

In terms of capability, I would guess that the Neo can handle almost anything an everyday consumers will throw at it. At this point, computers are so capable that very few consumers bump into spec issues when running productivity software and common apps.

But, device power is just one part of the buying decision. For business people and some students that spend countless hours each day using their laptop as the primary productivity device, the additional MBA features might be worth $500 over the 5 plus year useful life, e.g.:

longer battery life
better/larger screen
better audio
MagSafe
backlit keyboard
faster Auxilary port
better camera for conference calls
etc..

There are business people that spend the entire work day on their computer, so that's $500 divided by 2000 hrs/yr x 5 yrs =nickel per hour additional cost....assuming no difference in trade-in value. So yeah, I can see lots of people opting for the MBA, even if the difference in tech specs are not important to them. Especially when you consider that there are larger discounts on the MBA vs the Neo because there is more wiggle room on the price.

 

[Andy_2341]

In terms of capability, I would guess that the Neo can handle almost anything an everyday consumers will throw at it. At this point, computers are so capable that very few consumers bump into spec issues when running productivity software and common apps.

But, device power is just one part of the buying decision. For business people and some students that spend countless hours each day using their laptop as the primary productivity device, the additional MBA features might be worth $500 over the 5 plus year useful life, e.g.:

longer battery life
better/larger screen
better audio
MagSafe
backlit keyboard
faster Auxilary port
better camera for conference calls
etc..

There are business people that spend the entire work day on their computer, so that's $500 divided by 2000 hrs/yr x 5 yrs =nickel per hour additional cost....assuming no difference in trade-in value. So yeah, I can see lots of people opting for the MBA, even if the difference in tech specs are not important to them. Especially when you consider that there are larger discounts on the MBA vs the Neo because there is more wiggle room on the price.

This is very true. When looking at usage time and the quality of life features a MBA makes a lot of sense for people who care about those things. It really just depends on the person, their uses, and their time using it.