The Neo Taught Me I Never Needed an iPad

[Cyberguycpt]

Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoy my iPad and understand why it’s a great tool for so many people. However, for most of my daily activities, the NEO is all I need. I don’t play games or draw on it; I mainly use it for social media and watching videos. Occasionally, I need to do more computer-based tasks like typing emails, writing word documents, or creating Excel sheets, which are much easier with a keyboard. Up until now, an iPad was the only option for me because of its price. I wouldn’t spend $1000+ on a laptop for just a few tasks every now and then, but with my educational discount, the MacBook at $599 finally made sense. When I first got the NEO, I was a bit skeptical about how often I’d actually use it, but I’ve found myself using it more than the iPad. I’m curious to know if anyone is experiencing something similar.

 

[teralpar]

Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoy my iPad and understand why it’s a great tool for so many people. However, for most of my daily activities, the NEO is all I need. I don’t play games or draw on it; I mainly use it for social media and watching videos. Occasionally, I need to do more computer-based tasks like typing emails, writing word documents, or creating Excel sheets, which are much easier with a keyboard. Up until now, an iPad was the only option for me because of its price. I wouldn’t spend $1000+ on a laptop for just a few tasks every now and then, but with my educational discount, the MacBook at $599 finally made sense. When I first got the NEO, I was a bit skeptical about how often I’d actually use it, but I’ve found myself using it more than the iPad. I’m curious to know if anyone is experiencing something similar.

I feel the same way. Since getting the NEO, I honestly haven’t used my Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M4) with the Apple Magic Keyboard at all, and I’ve only picked up my Apple iPad mini (7th generation) a few times over the past month—mainly just to play The Sims FreePlay.

The NEO has kind of become my go-to device because it handles the everyday stuff so easily, and for basic productivity tasks it just feels more practical. I never expected it to replace my iPads as much as it has, but that’s exactly what happened.

 

[jz0309]

Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoy my iPad and understand why it’s a great tool for so many people. However, for most of my daily activities, the NEO is all I need. I don’t play games or draw on it; I mainly use it for social media and watching videos. Occasionally, I need to do more computer-based tasks like typing emails, writing word documents, or creating Excel sheets, which are much easier with a keyboard. Up until now, an iPad was the only option for me because of its price. I wouldn’t spend $1000+ on a laptop for just a few tasks every now and then, but with my educational discount, the MacBook at $599 finally made sense. When I first got the NEO, I was a bit skeptical about how often I’d actually use it, but I’ve found myself using it more than the iPad. I’m curious to know if anyone is experiencing something similar.

I traded my 13 M2 ipad Air in when I got my Neo, the iPad is a fine device, I just never fell in love with it. I enjoy my Neo so much more.
But we are all different and it's good to have choices.

 

[torana355]

Tablets have always been a product that i don't see a use for, i either use my Phone or my Macbook Air.

 

[I7guy]

To me the iPad can be used in situations and ways a laptop can’t. To that end I upgraded my 7th gen iPad with an IPP M5. Of course when a “real desktop” operating system is needed it’s either windows or macOS.

But my iPad is my go to device if I can do what I need to do with it and I want a big screen. It’s great to have options.

 

[Apple_Robert]

In my opinion, you are missing a very fundamental point. The fundamental point has 2 parts. The first part is buying the right tool for today's use. The second part is using the right tool for a specific point in time, whether it is 5 minutes or 5 days.

The fact that you now see the Neo as your one device salvation tells me that you had been using the wrong tool for the job, or you had the right tool but, were trying to use it primarily as a different tool, which does nothing more than cause resentment and frictional use.

 

[1BadManVan]

I have an m1 iPad Air, and honestly I never use it as a tablet anymore with the Magic Keyboard on it. I only use it for travel for my work so I just end up using it as a laptop replacement that fits in my lunch bag. I think eventually I'll replace it with a Neo as I do have a locker up at my bunkhouse I stay at for work and can just store the Neo there instead of just dragging the iPad back and fourth all the time

While its not something I feel I need to do in any immediate future, I don't think I'll replace this with another iPad

 

[Cyberguycpt]

In my opinion, you missing a very fundamental point. The fundamental point has 2 parts. The first part is buying the right tool for today's use. The second part is using the right tool for a specific point in time, whether it is 5 minutes or 5 days.

The fact that you now see the Neo as your one device salvation tells me that you had been using the wrong tool for the job, or you had the right tool but, were trying to use it primarily as a different tool, which does nothing more than cause resentment and frictional use.

I mean, the whole point of my post was that I had a device capable of much more than I ever used it for. Before the Neo, there was no perfect device for me. A MacBook was priced too high for my use case scenario, and an IPad while priced right was literally a glorified media consumption device. I still love and use my iPad for bed browsing, just don’t think I’ll ever buy an IPad again especially if the foldable IPhone comes out like rumored.

 

[Cyberguycpt]

To me the iPad can be used in situations and ways a laptop can’t. To that end I upgraded my 7th gen iPad with an IPP M5. Of course when a “real desktop” operating system is needed it’s either windows or macOS.

But my iPad is my go to device if I can do what I need to do with it and I want a big screen. It’s great to have options.

That’s the thing, I have a 11-inch iPad Pro from 2021. The 13-inch screen on NEO makes watching content a little more enjoyable. The 13-inch iPad always felt too big for lying in bed watching TikTok. The one upside to the iPad is that the apps also are one of its downsides. I have all these apps on my iPad, probably from my first-ever iPad, and I only use 10% of them.

 

[mansplains]

I wouldn’t spend $1000+ on a laptop for just a few tasks every now and then, but with my educational discount, the MacBook at $599 finally made sense.

You could’ve easily bought an older used macbook or pc for under $1000 much sooner. Good to hear the neo is working well for you now.

 

[geta]

These are two different devices that serve different purposes.

 

[salamanderjuice]

These are two different devices that serve different purposes.

Not really. They're both computing devices with similarly sized displays and power levels, you can add a keyboard and trackpad to the iPad and do the exact same tasks as you can do on the Neo if Apple hasn't decided those tasks aren't allowed on iPad.

 

[geta]

Not really. They're both computing devices with similarly sized displays and power levels, you can add a keyboard and trackpad to the iPad and do the exact same tasks as you can do on the Neo if Apple hasn't decided those tasks aren't allowed on iPad.

It depends on which iPad we're talking about, because iPad Mini and MBN are not the same size... also trying to mimic a laptop by adding a keyboard and trackpad to your iPad will never be the same mainly because of their different OS.

 

[maflynn]

Two different products for me.
The Neo, represents a device that allows me to work, where as the iPad is more of content consumption device. I use it to watch or read, not produce anything

 

[Bazza1]

I have an old Macbook Air, a M2 Mini, and a Watch. But rather than an iPad, I picked up the small Lenovo M9 tablet for the tasks I knew (and wanted) to do with a tablet. eBook and news aggregator reader, some social media, the web, email, music and video player and a few games. A bit of office work, in a pinch. Runs most of the apps found in Apple Store and syncs with my mail and contacts. And with expandable storage. All in a form that I can easily toss into my shoulder bag or stuff into a larger coat pocket, and all for significantly less than an iPad.
I don't intend it to be a computer replacement and - like iPadOS - it's not really capable of being that, either. Despite the ads from Apple a few years back ("What's a computer?") - a campaign that crashed and burned.

My Air was originally purchased as my sole Mac and with the intent of it being a (comparatively) inexpensive option - back in the day when it was the device of choice for students, road warriors and cafe habitues - but its grown and priced itself out of that market (also replacing the base MacBook in the process), so the Neo seems the likely option for those who want a real OS in a mobile device now.

 

[throAU]

Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoy my iPad and understand why it’s a great tool for so many people. However, for most of my daily activities, the NEO is all I need. I don’t play games or draw on it; I mainly use it for social media and watching videos. Occasionally, I need to do more computer-based tasks like typing emails, writing word documents, or creating Excel sheets, which are much easier with a keyboard. Up until now, an iPad was the only option for me because of its price. I wouldn’t spend $1000+ on a laptop for just a few tasks every now and then, but with my educational discount, the MacBook at $599 finally made sense. When I first got the NEO, I was a bit skeptical about how often I’d actually use it, but I’ve found myself using it more than the iPad. I’m curious to know if anyone is experiencing something similar.

Pretty sure you could get a keyboard case for a base model ipad and get approximately the same functionality for less money?


Not saying that to poo poo the Neo… but you could have gone even cheaper.

Not genuine, but for example

Deal: Magic Keyboard for iPad 11th (A16, 2025)/ iPad 10th Generation, Keyboard Case for iPad 11"/10th 10.9", Multi-Touch Trackpad, Floating Cantilever Stand, 7-Color Backlit Keys, White

【Compatibility】This keyboard case is compatible with iPad 11th Gen (A16,2025) models: A3354/A3355/A3356, and iPad 10th Gen 10.9" models: A2696/A2757/A2777.

www.amazon.com.au

I’m not a base ipad user, i have an ipad pro because i want one, but i could do quite a bit of actual work with a base ipad, a keyboard and a mouse or trackpad in 2026.

I’ve done a full day’s work a few times with only the ipad, including things like remote server administration (both RDP via jump desktop and CLI via shellfish), meetings, IT ticket resolution, router configuration management, email, word docs, etc.

None of those things fundamentally needed the power of an ipad pro, i just like the screen, speakers, etc.



Again, just playing devils advocate here. The Neo is great. But people are far too quick to write off the ipad imho, even the base model unit is pretty capable if you connect a keyboard to it and install a few apps. Especially if you use it as a notepad with a pencil as well.

Genuinely, some days i’d be hard pressed to pick whether to give up the macbook or the ipad, depending on how much of my day is spent in meetings or traveling (both of which the ipad is great for, taking notes and less weight).

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

The biggest drawback about the Neo for me is its a laptop with a keyboard attached to it that I never need. Gets in the way as a media device for my uses and personally I see these devices as having totally separate use cases. If someone wants a laptop/tablet for the same functions, then that would be different, but I have a tablet as an extension of my iPhone and for similar media consumption.

 

[bapegg]

Two different products for me.
The Neo, represents a device that allows me to work, where as the iPad is more of content consumption device. I use it to watch or read, not produce anything

I agree and my use cases for both match yours.

I tried using my iPad as a laptop replacement but that didn't workout since MacOS apps won't run on iPadOS. I use the Neo for when I need to run MacOS apps while portable and will use the iPad when I don't need MacOS apps and want something a little handier to use when portable.

I won't say that I don't need an iPad now that I have a Neo as I find uses for both depending on what I want to do.

 

[Timpetus]

I'm considering replacing my music stand iPad with a Neo. It would be amazing to have another full-fledged Mac in front of me. My main MBP is already fully taken up by running Mainstage for my keyboards, and I'm using an ancient iPad 4 as a music stand, but it's going to die sooner or later and only has 16GB of storage. The base Neo could do so much more for me than any iPad because it's running a real OS.

 

[mlayer]

The MB Neo clearly has all the buzz around it, as it should for what it offers. iPads will probably remain the "third device" as Jobs originally pitched it which is fine. Before people bury the iPad, keep in mind that *every* iPad without a keyboard is one-third the weight of any MacBook Neo/Air/Pro, or in the iPad mini's case, one-quarter of the weight. It's a more portable computer that doesn't need to be propped up on a desk or table to be useful. There's something to be said for that. Are there functionality tradeoffs? Of course. That cuts both ways. If you're more inclined to be Mac-focused, you'll lean in that direction. If you want want to get away from the desktop paradigm you may be more suited to an iPad. And if you feel an iPhone's screen is big enough, you might not need anything else.

 

[NeonNights]

I mean, the whole point of my post was that I had a device capable of much more than I ever used it for. Before the Neo, there was no perfect device for me. A MacBook was priced too high for my use case scenario, and an IPad while priced right was literally a glorified media consumption device. I still love and use my iPad for bed browsing, just don’t think I’ll ever buy an IPad again especially if the foldable IPhone comes out like rumored.

Yep, ditched my M1 iPad Pro shortly after I moved to a foldable. There was just no point reaching for the iPad anymore when my phone is already in hand.

 

[bryo]

True for most things, but one thing I do like a lot with the iPad is rewarding a book! It’s not very pleasant on a laptop.

 

[Corefile]

The iPad always was a content consumption device. Some folk pretended to be productive and creative with them but in the end they're kidding themselves on. iPad OS really isn't conducive to real work. That being said, the lack of Apple Pencil support on the Neo means the certain areas where it can be used productively can't be replicated on the Neo. This is the dilemma which awaits switchers.

 

[bapegg]

There is definitely a place for both iPads and MacBooks. And both work well along side a Mac desktop.

 

[I7guy]

The iPad always was a content consumption device. Some folk pretended to be productive and creative with them but in the end they're kidding themselves on. iPad OS really isn't conducive to real work. That being said, the lack of Apple Pencil support on the Neo means the certain areas where it can be used productively can't be replicated on the Neo. This is the dilemma which awaits switchers.

So you are the gatekeeper of the definition of “real work”?