The MacRumors Show: MacBook Neo First Impressions

[MacRumors]

On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss first impressions of the MacBook Neo, Studio Display XDR, and iPhone 17e.

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Following its announcement last week, the MacBook Neo arrived this week. Unlike every other Apple silicon Mac, the MacBook Neo is powered by the A18 Pro chip originally developed for the iPhone 16 Pro, making it the first Mac to use an iPhone-class processor instead of an M-series chip.

To reach its substantially lower price point, the MacBook Neo makes some compromises. Unlike the MacBook Air, it does not feature keyboard backlighting, a haptic trackpad, P3 wide color, True Tone, ambient light sensing, a camera indicator LED, MagSafe charging, Thunderbolt connectivity, or a 12-megapixel camera with Center Stage, nor does it come with Touch ID as standard. It is also thicker with a slightly reduced battery life, and has larger borders around the slightly smaller display.

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

That being said, it is $500 cheaper than a MacBook Air and is designed to compete with lower-cost Windows laptops and Chromebooks, while expanding the Mac lineup with a substantially more affordable option. We talk through the real-world impact of some of these compromises, including performance with the A18 Pro chip and 8GB of memory.

The iPhone 17e retains the same design and price as the iPhone 16e but adds the A19 chip, MagSafe support, Apple's second-generation C1X modem, and 256GB of base storage. Apple also introduced a new Studio Display XDR model, replacing the Pro Display XDR. The new model offers a 27-inch 5K mini-LED panel with up to a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR brightness up to 2,000 nits, and Thunderbolt 5 connectivity. We compare both of these new products to their predecessors, as well as the iPhone 17e and the iPhone 16 as the two lowest-cost iPhones on sale today.

• iPhone 17e vs. iPhone 16 Buyer's Guide: Which Low-Cost iPhone Should You Choose?

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If you haven't already listened to the previous episode of The MacRumors Show, catch up to hear our discussion about Apple's concentrated week of announcements that saw the introduction of 10 new products.

Subscribe to The MacRumors Show for new episodes every week, where we discuss some of the topical news breaking here on MacRumors, often joined by interesting guests such as Kayci Lacob, Kevin Nether, John Gruber, Mark Gurman, Jon Prosser, Luke Miani, Matthew Cassinelli, Brian Tong, Quinn Nelson, Jared Nelson, Eli Hodapp, Mike Bell, Sara Dietschy, iJustine, Jon Rettinger, Andru Edwards, Arnold Kim, Ben Sullins, Marcus Kane, Christopher Lawley, Frank McShan, David Lewis, Tyler Stalma... Click here to read rest of article

Article Link: The MacRumors Show: MacBook Neo First Impressions

 

[haunebu]

Spoiler alert: It's a cheaper, less premium MacBook using commodity parts.

 

[raythompsontn]

To reach its substantially lower price point, the MacBook Neo makes some compromises

There were no compromises. The machine is what is. A compromise is buying blush because yellow was not available.

 

[Chet-NYC]

So I'm sitting here in a high school where I'm substitute teacher. (I worked here as a regular teacher for 32 years before retiring in 2017.)

The Neo became available on Wednesday. I've already seen two students and two teachers with one. Another teacher said they planned to get one this weekend.

It's just anecdotal, but the Neo is going to be a huge seller. I got to play with one in an Apple Store yesterday, and I was quite impressed. No, you aren't going to be running virtual machines all over the place on it, but that's not what the Neo is designed for.

 

[CharlesShaw]

Since Neo is Apple silicon, can it run whatever iOS or iPadOS apps an M-series Mac can run?

 

[ProMotionPotato]

Spoiler alert: It's a cheaper, less premium MacBook using commodity parts.

That’s a category error. The Neo isn’t built from commodity parts in the usual PC sense. A commodity laptop means Intel/AMD CPU, third party motherboard design, Windows license, ODM chassis, etc. The Neo is the opposite of that model with custom silicon, vertically integrated OS, and Apple designed hardware. Calling that “commodity” misunderstands the architecture completely.

 

[tripleburst]

There were no compromises. The machine is what is. A compromise is buying blush because yellow was not available.

Yup. The specs were set to the limits allowed by the A18Pro.

 

[AppleWes]

There were no compromises. The machine is what is. A compromise is buying blush because yellow was not available.

Thank you!

I'm so tired of hearing the word "compromise" thrown around about Neo. It's like everyone ignores the fact Apple still sells Air and Pro (similar to regular vs pro iPad / iPhone.)

I guess they expect MacBook Pro level for the same $599

 

[NIKKG]

$600 starting is not really a great deal. If you wait for a sale, I've seen Lenovo Yoga 2 in1s with 14" OLED touchscreen, 16gb ram and 1tb ssd and a solid AMD processor for under $600 at Best Buy, they actually had it for $500 a couple months ago. If you look around for deals, there are solid good options for less. If I had to get a Mac, it'll be the more capable Mac Air than this.

 

[MichaelAdam]

I tried the Neo yesterday in my local shop and it took me back a long time ago when I use to own a MacBook … It’s not for me but was impressed … Long live the Neo line …

 

[Non-Euclidean]

$600 starting is not really a great deal. If you wait for a sale, I've seen Lenovo Yoga 2 in1s with 14" OLED touchscreen, 16gb ram and 1tb ssd and a solid AMD processor for under $600 at Best Buy, they actually had it for $500 a couple months ago. If you look around for deals, there are solid good options for less. If I had to get a Mac, it'll be the more capable Mac Air than this.

I think anything seen "a couple months ago" with hardware that has gone up 100-300% due to AI, is an utterly irrelevant data point.

Here is your $300 off machine now.

 

[NIKKG]

The price changes almost every other week. A few times it was $500 than it went up to 650, than 600. I know it was $500 because I debated getting it but I already had a Yoga that was a year old and wasn't worth the upgrade to me. My sister actually got the 16" version of this for $650. Like I said, you gotta look for deals. I just got a Acer 514 chromebook plus with the n355 cpu and 500ssd for 160 refurb directly from Acer on Ebay, thats the same model that Costco sells for over $300, in fact its probably a Costco return. I didn't even need this chromebook, but it was so cheap, I'll just have something new to play with. People need to look for deals, the economy is bad and these retailers are trying to clear out inventory. If I had to get a Mac, it'll either be the M5 Mac Air or get the Apple refurbed M4 Mac Air for $750.

 

[klasma]

There were no compromises. The machine is what is. A compromise is buying blush because yellow was not available.

A compromise is a trade-off. Like forgoing some features for a cheaper price.

 

[theluggage]

$600 starting is not really a great deal. If you wait for a sale, I've seen Lenovo Yogo 2 in1s with 14" OLED touchscreen, 16gb ram and 1tb ssd and a solid AMD processor for under 600.

Well, yeah, it's still Apple, and Apple are still expensive.

However, we've gone from
"Why pay $999 for a MacBook Air when you can get a nice <insert PC brand> with more RAM and SSD for $500?"
to
"Why pay $600 for a MacBook Neo when you can get a nice <insert PC brand> with more RAM and SSD for $500".

...sounds like progress, and some of the cheaper PC deals (esp. the cheap RAM/SSD) might get killed off by the price bubble.

Also, Microsoft is doing a sterling job of really annoying their users...

 

[tripleburst]

A compromise is a trade-off. Like forgoing some features for a cheaper price.

This is fair. It’s still about finding the right mix of price, performance and features. I feel Apple hit the sweet spot.

 

[TheOldChevy]

I got mine on Wednesday, and frankly, it is perfect for its purpose: replace an aging iPad. Easy installation, not perceived power limitations for the purpose.

 

[Poot Windbreaker]

Since Neo is Apple silicon, can it run whatever iOS or iPadOS apps an M-series Mac can run?

I wish I knew the answer. Several posts on /macgaming mentioned that the A series of chips is missing a few instruction sets that the M2 and beyond have (no idea if this is true or not). They speculated that this was the reason that several games did not work on the Neo that worked on M2 and higher (same games did not work on M1).

If true, then I would imagine certain games as well as other utilities and productivity apps could also be affected?

 

[sparkie7]

Love what Apple are doing with this low cost MacBook Neo. Kinda like the Mac Studio and Mac Mini - great value. Hope this expands their base with this lower entry point.

 

[citysnaps]

Thank you!

I'm so tired of hearing the word "compromise" thrown around about Neo. It's like everyone ignores the fact Apple still sells Air and Pro (similar to regular vs pro iPad / iPhone.)

I guess they expect MacBook Pro level for the same $599

They use that word because they’re perpetually unhappy with Apple. And using that word gives them a wee bit of joy and happiness. Sadly, that only lasts for an hour or two. And then they need to slag on Apple again in another story.

 

[dampfnudel]

Spoiler alert: It's a cheaper, less premium MacBook using commodity parts.

Less premium with Apple is still better than the similarly priced alternatives available now.

 

[jmoore5196]

If I had to get a Mac, it'll either be the M5 Mac Air or get the Apple refurbed M4 Mac Air for $750.

So you said.

 

[kurtfoster]

I love mine. I can finally stop using my 12 inch MacBook. This will make a great little travel computer. Very happy.

 

[The Game 161]

Tempted to pick one up for when on the go. Ideal for the odd bit of work too

 

[snipr125]

I wish I knew the answer. Several posts on /macgaming mentioned that the A series of chips is missing a few instruction sets that the M2 and beyond have (no idea if this is true or not). They speculated that this was the reason that several games did not work on the Neo that worked on M2 and higher (same games did not work on M1).

If true, then I would imagine certain games as well as other utilities and productivity apps could also be affected?

This is very interesting, if true then its not really the full Mac OS experience.

 

[karlbu]

Just watched Tyler Stalman's review and it can handle 4K video easily, and it handled every other professional workflow he threw at it without issues. So Apple wasn't joking when they said Macbook Neo doesn't compromise on performance.