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.
So are you happy with your new Neo?
- Thread starter The Cockney Rebel
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Andeddu
macrumors 68020
I am at the shopping mall pondering over whether or not to pick up a Neo. I’ve already seen it in person at the Apple Store and I love it, I believe the Citrus model as won me over.
I'll let you know once the UPS truck drops mine off.
Andeddu
macrumors 68020
I have a dental appointment in London tomorrow.
May pop into an Apple Store myself, to have a look.
As it stands, I don't intend on getting one, but I'm genuinely curious.
Just popped into Apple, Covent Garden.
Unimpressed with the Neo, but you get what you pay for.
The screen is definitely inferior to the Air. It looked anaemic. And the reduced PPI was immediately noticeable.
Genuinely happy for those who are happy with this machine, but it’s not for me.
Unimpressed with the Neo, but you get what you pay for.
The screen is definitely inferior to the Air. It looked anaemic. And the reduced PPI was immediately noticeable.
Genuinely happy for those who are happy with this machine, but it’s not for me.
MultiFinder17
macrumors 68030
I spent a bit yesterday setting up my Silver Neo 256GB for my uses. I'm legitimately impressed with this little machine so far, bearing in mind that I walked out of the store with a brand-new MacBook for $500. I don't really have any major complaints so far. I'm sure I'll find some nitpicks over time, but I'm impressed thus far.
- I love the body and build; the build quality is just as good as any other MacBook. It feels much more rounded than other MacBooks, with the lid having the same rounded corners as the base, and it feels really nice in the hand. It looks cute and feels very solid.
- The keyboard is fantastic for a $500 laptop. It's just as nice as any other modern MacBook. Yes, it's not backlit, but it's not too much of a bother. I'm a touch typist, so I don't look at the keyboard much anyway. Plus, with the keyboard being white, the screen lights it up well enough to see in a dark room.
- The screen is fantastic. Colors are fine for my uses, I really don't notice much of a difference from my M4 Air other than the size being slightly smaller which I don't mind at all. I love small laptops, and have happily used a 12" rMB for years now just due to the size.
- The trackpad is just as good for the most part. Same gestures, same feel to it. I've never jived with the Force Touch deep press features, so I don't miss them personally. If you use Force Touch gestures regularly, you will likely be disappointed by their absence. The click is a bit louder than other MacBooks, but it's really not very different in use. Just use it like a regular MacBook trackpad and enjoy.
- The speakers are solid. They're not going to blow anyone away for their quality if you're coming from basically any other recent MacBook, but they're fine. Again, for $500, I'm impressed at how punchy they are. I find them to be a bit bass-heavy for my taste, and they lose out on the treble a bit at full volume. In very bassy tracks the mids can get drowned somewhat as well.
- The performance so far has been just as solid as any other AS Mac, bearing in mind that I'm not doing super intense things on this machine. It's snappy, and swap is quick. I've been dailying other 8GB Macs for years now so I know what to expect, and this machine behaves just like any other 8GB Mac I use. Will I be doing large Xcode projects or heavy video editing on this machine? Nope. I use it for productivity, managing eBay and Facebook Marketplace sales, light photo editing and touch-ups, and curriculum planning for my classes that I teach, and for those uses it's been fantastic so far. I currently have Safari with a few tabs, Mail, Discord, Messages, Terminal, Music, PowerPoint, Pages, and TextEdit open on this machine and it's not breaking a sweat at all.
4sallypat
macrumors 603
Love the 2 Neos I got.
Citrus not so much after I got in my hands - a bit too fluorescent screaming neon color.
Wife did not like it either.
Keeping the Indigo.
Trackpad was a bit weird compared to the 12' rMB but very sturdy and not wimpy.
Keyboard was better than the 12" rMB - much better tactile feel instead of the butterfly style.
Display was deeper in colors and vibrant compared to the 12" rMB.
Sound was far superior to the 12" rMB.
Overall fit for travel - excellent just slightly larger, but didn't feel heavy like my MBA or MBP.
Citrus not so much after I got in my hands - a bit too fluorescent screaming neon color.
Wife did not like it either.
Keeping the Indigo.
Trackpad was a bit weird compared to the 12' rMB but very sturdy and not wimpy.
Keyboard was better than the 12" rMB - much better tactile feel instead of the butterfly style.
Display was deeper in colors and vibrant compared to the 12" rMB.
Sound was far superior to the 12" rMB.
Overall fit for travel - excellent just slightly larger, but didn't feel heavy like my MBA or MBP.
Iv'e done some tests with the 512 GB Neo that I have posted in other threads. I'm impressed with how the Neo performs for casual daily use, which is what it is for. Most of us knew it would not complete with the M4 or M5 MBA nor did we expect to.
About the only complaint I can come up with right now is the color of the keyboard. The black letters on blue keys can be a bit hard to see for me.
About the only complaint I can come up with right now is the color of the keyboard. The black letters on blue keys can be a bit hard to see for me.
I’m thinking that too with my indigo. I don’t even think the letters are black per se more of a darker grey or blue or something. I might exchange for a silver just to have more of a contrast.
MultiFinder17
macrumors 68030
That's part of what convinced me to get the silver one over the Indigo - the contrast on the keyboard is better.
Bungaree.Chubbins
macrumors 65816
I had to go in to the Apple Store to get my iPhone 14 fixed, and had a look at the Neos. Far out I want MacBook Pro to be Citrus! That’s a great colour!
They seem to be killer little machines for their price, I wish I needed one!
They seem to be killer little machines for their price, I wish I needed one!
Yes! I’m happy to be able to own a Mac again! Been using Windows’s for around 6yrs because after my MBA bit the dust in 2020 I couldn’t afford one until now. I don’t do any heavy stuff on my computers so the Neo should get me through a few years.
I'm getting adjusted to the Indogo's keyboard after a few days and it is usable. I'm just use to white key with black letters or black keys with white letters.
I installed all of my RT Systems programs yesterday along with CHIRP. All of those are for programing radios. I also installed HAMRS logging software too. With the RT Systems software, you have to have an individual program for each radio. SO I had several open while copying/pasting frequencies/channels from one window to another. I never noticed any slow down while having all of that and Safari running with 10 tabs open.
The Neo will do just fine for me.
I installed all of my RT Systems programs yesterday along with CHIRP. All of those are for programing radios. I also installed HAMRS logging software too. With the RT Systems software, you have to have an individual program for each radio. SO I had several open while copying/pasting frequencies/channels from one window to another. I never noticed any slow down while having all of that and Safari running with 10 tabs open.
The Neo will do just fine for me.
Zazoh
macrumors 68000
Enjoying mine. Definitely a quality build and performance. I’m a retired programmer whose demands are average. Of note, my whole 30 career, most of those on a Mac, I’ve always used a base model. When compiling a large codebase go get another beverage. 🤣
Apple_Robert
Contributor
Mach 5
macrumors regular
I love my citrus Neo. Setting up sidecar with my 13" Air is so cool.
Purrific
macrumors member
Delighted with my Blush 512Gb, picked it up this morning. Now I have it at home and not in the Apple store, it appears more of a subtle lilac color, which I adore. Keyboard feels very nice, trackpad feels different to my MBP, a spongy feeling, but very comfortable indeed. Looking forward to putting it through its paces over the next few days. So far, it does not at all feel like a compromise. It's delectable, actually.
I had the indigo and I did this just today- I traded it for a silver. It was just bugging me too much the color of the keys. The keys of the silver one are much easier to see easily.