Things that need fixing on the MacBook Neo

[I7guy]

The Neo isn't meant to be a MBP. It really gets old with people on here constantly complaining about the Neo not having the features they want that the MBP has.

Is it possible people are upset because Apple delivered a compelling package with a high value to price ratio? And therefore try to beat it down?

 

[TechnoMonk]

That is true with the M series chips but not true with the A series chips when it comes to adding more RAM. The A18 Pro only supports a max of 8 GB and the A19 Pro supports a max of 12 GB.

Doesn’t mean they are part of processor. Ram is not on the chip. apple doesn’t publish how Ram is supported or not for A series on iphones, the tear downs show how much RAM is in a model, not the technical limitation.

 

[TechnoMonk]

Is it possible people are upset because Apple delivered a compelling package with a high value to price ratio? And therefore try to beat it down?

It’s not even about value most of the times. When Apple releases new products FOMO is real. Some beat down the product with o get out of FOMo, some buy and then complain about lack of features they knew before after few months. And some who have no intention of owning Apple product but are negative.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Is it possible people are upset because Apple delivered a compelling package with a high value to price ratio? And therefore try to beat it down?

I think that that is a lot of it on here as most of the back and forth is coming from MBP people who really have no interest in the Neo. They put it down because if they don't, they have to face the fact that the Neo can do most things for a lot less than what was paid for the MBP. It also means admitting that the *GB rhetoric is really much ado about nothing (as a whole). The last group are the forum elitist who snub their nose at anything that can't do 2-4 monitors etc.

 

[bapegg]

Doesn’t mean they are part of processor. Ram is not on the chip. apple doesn’t publish how Ram is supported or not for A series on iphones, the tear downs show how much RAM is in a model, not the technical limitation.

I'm not going to argue with you.

It is common knowledge that the A18 Pro chip only supports up to 8 GB of RAM. A simple Google search will show that.

 

[TechnoMonk]

I'm not going to argue with you.

It is common knowledge that the A18 Pro chip only supports up to 8 GB of RAM. A simple Google search will show that.

There are no limitations published by Apple. I would love to see an official Apple document which says it only supports 8GB. Rest is all speculation from tear downs.
Apple uses a different POP for RAM on A18 Pro compared to iPhone. What could be limited on iPhone doesn’t mean it will be for MacBook.

 

[Sami13496]

Only disappointing thing is the weight imo. Smaller battery than the air why does it weigh the same?

It can’t weigh less than the Air, because then the Air wouldn’t be the Air anymore. 🙂

 

[Sami13496]

Here we go again with this topic. Neo is supposedly “inadequate” because it doesn’t have the Air or Pro features. But it’s not supposed to. It’s a more affordable model with fewer features. If you need more features, then buy the Air or Pro.

I don’t think it’s fair to complain that a cheaper model doesn’t include the features of more expensive ones, and then conclude that the cheaper model is somehow bad because of that.

 

[FrozenDarkness]

It can’t weigh less than the Air, because then the Air wouldn’t be the Air anymore. 🙂

iPad pro has walked into the building!

 

[Queen6]

16 hours of battery is excellent. And for people that need more, we have things called electrical outlets. The Neo supports an external monitor.

Think the concern stems from when the display is set to maximum brightness as that reduces runtime on battery significantly. Ultimately there would be a cost index to a higher capacity battery either in physical size and or price to the end user.

Apple MacBook Neo Review - Surprisingly good and capable laptop for $599 with one big flaw

Notebookcheck review of the Apple MacBook Neo Entry with A18 Pro, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD and 500-nit IPS screen.

www.notebookcheck.net

In all fairness NoteBookCheck are planning to add more runtime tests as it's not simply black & white. One factor missing is the ambient light level. As has been reiterated the MBN is not a direct comparison to the MBA or MBP so people should temper their expectations.

Q-6

 

[Fallforward]

Doesn’t mean they are part of processor. Ram is not on the chip. apple doesn’t publish how Ram is supported or not for A series on iphones, the tear downs show how much RAM is in a model, not the technical limitation.

Yes, it is not on the chip. It also isn't a descreet component on a motherboard. The A18 is an Integrated Fan-Out Package on Package (Google it) where the only difference for the Neo is a defective "binned" chip they would otherwise have to trash. Changing RAM for the Neo would be expensive, perhaps more expensiive than using A19 PoP with binned chips and more RAM.

 

[Detnator]

More RAM and storage options. And as a bonus backlit keyboard and MagSafe.

Yeah, Y’know you’re in luck!

They do actually make one like that. And it’s only an extra 500 bucks. It’s called MacBook Air.

 

[Detnator]

16GB of RAM won't make the MBN into MBP replacement.

But 16GB, Touch ID, more ports, backlit keyboard, brighter screen, P3 color, Haptic trackpad, and all the other stuff people wish the Neo had… guess what - that’s a MacBook Air.

 

[Detnator]

I'm interested in MBN because of its size, but it needs more RAM and storage options.

What on earth are you talking about? It’s the same darn size as the 13” Air, within small fractions of an inch - and it’s thicker.

And rest assured, if it had more RAM and storage options, without taking something else out, it would have to be slightly bigger - like, y’know, the Air.

 

[Detnator]

It's strange that some people think that extra memory will turn the Neo into MBA or MBP. 🤷‍♂️

It’s strange that you think people think extra memory is all you’re talking about…

More RAM and storage options. And as a bonus backlit keyboard and MagSafe.

---

Meanwhile…

You don’t seem to understand that RAM and to a lesser degree storage, especially at the moment, are pretty much the most expensive parts that have been left out of the Neo.

By the time you put more RAM, storage, a backlit keyboard and MagSafe in it it’ll be so close to the price of the Air it’s a “what’s the point” scenario.

 

[Detnator]

Yeh, but Only one @ 60Hz display is supported.

And how many of the people this is targeting will care to plug it into even one external monitor, let alone two?

Good grief.

Aside from which, it’s an iPhone running desktop macOS. A few years ago iPhones didn’t even support ANY external monitor.

You really expect this budget laptop to handle 3+ displays (incl. the internal one)…?

 

[Mike Boreham]

I don't even miss it coming from my 12" rMB.

I type by feel - not looking at the keys.

I completely buy into the whole “Neo is not meant to be an MBA, so stop asking for MBA features”, but this is not a good response to the unlit keyboard feature…..so Neo is for touch typists only? 😉

 

[jido]

What on earth are you talking about? It’s the same darn size as the 13” Air, within small fractions of an inch - and it’s thicker.

And rest assured, if it had more RAM and storage options, without taking something else out, it would have to be slightly bigger - like, y’know, the Air.

Yet that is the exact reason why I bought the Neo. Not only it is cheaper, it is also smaller ! I would not be interested if it was the same size as the Air.

 

[Queen6]

Air has the larger footprint; Neo has the greater volume 780cm3 versus the Air's 739cm3. There's not much between them if you do the math with the Neo being 5.55% larger by volume than the Air with a difference of just 41cm3...

Q-6

 

[XboxEvolved]

My idiosyncratic list of things that don't seem quite right on the Neo (well, my Neo at least!). None are deal breakers (although I would really like the Facetime bug to get fixed). Have you found stuff that isn't quite right?

1. Facetime - video is zoomed in and I can't seem to change it to the normal view. I see normal view until I am on a call, then basically just my eyes and nose for the person on the other end. Reading elsewhere it might be tied to Center Stage on other machines, and so perhaps its absence on the Neo is messing something up?

2. External display (Studio Display, original one) - two problems! a) choice of resolutions is very limited and only default (1920x1080) and 4K are crisp. The intermediate setting (2560x1440) is some gosh-awful fuzzy rendering that really isn't useable. I suspect this might be a limitation of the A18 Pro? b) External display, if you choose Advanced>Show Resolutions as List, there is no way to go back to the default icon list, even if you reset the switch. The list has extremely limited choices.

3. Speakers - OK, more of a whine here, but I hope Apple redesigns on the next iteration. While the sound quality is good, it is too dynamic. At a given setting quiet sounds are inaudible and loud sounds are annoyingly loud. Also, the sound is super directional: OUT from the machine, rather than UP towards the humble listener, so you lose much of the listening experience.

Honestly 2 and 3 seems more of personal gripes and 2 is likely a limit of the hardware. Compared to the competition I’d say Apple made the right cuts to get it to the $600 price and by Christmas I wouldn’t be surprised if there were sales on it for even lower than usual. With 3, I’ve heard some of the competitors and yeah it varies but this is definitely decent compared to many.

 

[jaysabol]

Honestly 2 and 3 seems more of personal gripes and 2 is likely a limit of the hardware. Compared to the competition I’d say Apple made the right cuts to get it to the $600 price and by Christmas I wouldn’t be surprised if there were sales on it for even lower than usual. With 3, I’ve heard some of the competitors and yeah it varies but this is definitely decent compared to many.

I think only the FaceTime issue needs fixed. I liked the Neo's speakers myself.

 

[geta]

The Neo isn't meant to be a MBP. It really gets old with people on here constantly complaining about the Neo not having the features they want that the MBP has.

No one is comparing it to the MBP except for some here who think if Apple adds a few basic things it will make it an MBP.

 

[geta]

Yeah, Y’know you’re in luck!

They do actually make one like that. And it’s only an extra 500 bucks. It’s called MacBook Air.

If only they offered a smaller MBA...

But 16GB, Touch ID, more ports, backlit keyboard, brighter screen, P3 color, Haptic trackpad, and all the other stuff people wish the Neo had… guess what - that’s a MacBook Air.

Well, MBN already has Touch ID…

What on earth are you talking about? It’s the same darn size as the 13” Air, within small fractions of an inch - and it’s thicker.

And rest assured, if it had more RAM and storage options, without taking something else out, it would have to be slightly bigger - like, y’know, the Air.

You should check them side by side, because MBA and MBN may weigh the same but they are not the same size.

And it's kind of weird that you think that by adding more RAM and storage they would have to increase its size…

 

[I7guy]

If only they offered a smaller MBA...


Well, MBN already has Touch ID…


You should check them side by side, because MBA and MBN may weigh the same but they are not the same size.

And it's kind of weird that you think that by adding more RAM and storage they would have to increase its size…

Well Apple is not increasing the size of the Neo at least now, so if you want more memory your options are another model.

 

[boswald]

I agree that the Mac Neo is a great device at this price point, but would it have killed them to add MagSafe? Everyone trips over a cord now and then. No need to send a brand new device flying across the room in 2026!