Typing this on a Neo - It's a winner!

[boswald]

I really like the Indigo color! If I didn't get an Air I might've checked one of these out. Like others have said, it won't hurt as much if it's stolen or broken compared to the Air, but I wanted something somewhat future-proof so I opted for more power.

 

[maflynn]

I'm typing this in an Apple Store, on a Neo, right now.

For me, the lack of a backlight is a major impediment. I have a thinkpad t14s laptop and it has a really weak backlight and I find it a significant downside.

Yes, I'm a touch typest that doesn't need to look at the keyboard, and I've been typing for 40+ years, but the fact remains for me the lack of backlight is a downside.

I'm not really knocking apple for not having it, they need to separate the neo from the air, and so the neo absolutely needs to have less features. Its just this specific feature hits harder

 

[boswald]

I agree -- I'm really wondering if folks not happy with the screen tried out perfect 2x retina mode.

Admittedly that reduces usable screen space in the UI, but that's all an Apple issue for not putting in a panel with more pixels (on all the Macbooks, this has been a sneaky cost savings on their part). Tahoe is not helping by making corners more rounded and adding more and more padding all over the UI. Things keep feeling more cramped just from that change alone. 😔

All the Macbooks look a lot better running at perfect 2x retina.

I disagree. I prefer the "More Space" option as it makes everything sharper. At least to my eyes.

 

[Happy_John]

I disagree. I prefer the "More Space" option as it makes everything sharper. At least to my eyes.

The problem is that the "more space" is no longer an option for some people ( by "some people" I mean me). If you have trouble reading departure /arrival displays in airports, say, then it's the retina equivalent of 1440 x 900 on a laptop screen for you, irrespective of the sharpness. :-(

As another poster gently suggested, perhaps it's time for comically magnifying "bottle glass" spectacles for me 😛

 

[maflynn]

I agree -- I'm really wondering if folks not happy with the screen tried out perfect 2x retina mode.

Admittedly that reduces usable screen space in the UI

This is where macos really drops the ball, other operating systems scale the resolution in such a way you get larger text/UI elements without the loss of sharpness. In windows and Linux, I run my monitor at 4k, and then select a scaling factor of 150%, where as in macos I need to choose a resolution of 2048x1152 and in order for me to get that, I have to use BetterDisplay as the default resolution settings were insufficient.

 

[CharlesShaw]

For me, the lack of a backlight is a major impediment.
...
I'm not really knocking apple for not having it, they need to separate the neo from the air, and so the neo absolutely needs to have less features. Its just this specific feature hits harder

Agreed that serving the education/budget market can't also kill the MacBook Air.

 

[AlixSPQR]

Can an external display charge the Neo via the same cable it gets the video signal?

 

[Paul1964]

Can an external display charge the Neo via the same cable it gets the video signal?

Yes if the monitor supports that. It's been shown to work on some YouTube review videos already.

 

[theluggage]

In windows and Linux, I run my monitor at 4k, and then select a scaling factor of 150%

To be fair - at least in my experience - that's still a bit of a lottery in Linux and can lead down an X.org vs. Wayland rabbit hole of incompatibilities.

Windows has had variable scaling since forever - provided the apps are properly written and interrogate the OS for the correct scaling info. Mac has usually been centred around a notional "fixed" resolution (originally 1 pixel = 1 point) and the system of scaled modes help maintain backwards compatibility.

Also, a few years back when I was using a Windows laptop with a mixture of standard def and 4k/high-ppi screens, it worked fine... until it didn't, and a few apps would get messed up and present microscopic UIs. The MacOS system seemed to cope with whatever permutation of displays you threw at it.

Still, it's a bit weird when Apple is the one worrying about supporting 10 year old Apps and, yeah, Apple should have bitten the bullet and gone with proper variable scaling years ago.

 

[smoothbit]

Good feedback, thanks. ( Although I hoped the keyboard would be better). I haven't had a change yet to try one in the real world, but I was a bit worried when I saw a review video where it looked like there was a bit too much flex in the top case around the keyboard, even when the reviewer was saying "there's no flex!".

Like you, day-to-day, I use external magic keyboards (the older ounces without Touch ID) or the older, wired version ( roughly the same profile, maybe with a little upper travel), and that's what I'm happy with, so it's what I'd use as a baseline.

I guess that, if I'm picky about keyboards, I should like mechanical keyboards, but I'm not a huge fan of them.

I'm hoping against hope that it was just that all the display models at the Apple Store had been handled very roughly by interested customers the day before I got to them, or maybe they were just a bad batch and newer ones will have keyboards I like the feel of more.

But all the reviews I've seen mention that the keyboards feel just like other recent MacBooks and if that's the case then I guess I can remove that as a deciding factor between the Neo and the Air, I'll see if that's the case next time I'm in an Apple Store.

And yep, I'm currently using the very first aluminium "Wireless Keyboard" (from 2009) with my 2018 Mac mini, and the first "Magic Keyboard" (from 2015) with my 2015 MacBook Pro, so that's what I'm used to, mechanical keyboards are too much in both travel and noise for me.

 

[maflynn]

To be fair - at least in my experience - that's still a bit of a lottery in Linux and can lead down an X.org vs. Wayland rabbit hole of incompatibilities.

I don't know when you last tried linux or your equipment, but using a number of different distros (finally settling on cachyos) They all behaved exceptionally, no issues at all

Also, a few years back when I was using a Windows laptop with a mixture of standard def and 4k/high-ppi screens, it worked fine... until it didn't, and a few apps would get messed up and present microscopic UIs. The MacOS system seemed to cope with whatever permutation of displays you threw at it.

I've been using scaling on windows for so many years, and I can say its been rock solid.

 

[DeepSix]

Neos not having a backlight keyboard isn't an issue. Not sure why so many are seeing it as a negative. Just wear a headlamp on your head, problem solved. Keys are now lit.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

I don't know when you last tried linux or your equipment, but using a number of different distros (finally settling on cachyos) They all behaved exceptionally, no issues at all


I've been using scaling on windows for so many years, and I can say its been rock solid.

Yeah the microscopic UI issue hasn't been an issue on Windows for me in like at least 5 years. I have used a 4k monitor for at least that long--probably longer.

The only time I see it now is on my work 4k monitor when I remote into Windows Servers for dev work. Visual Studio hates 4k LOL.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

Neos not having a backlight keyboard isn't an issue. Not sure why so many are seeing it as a negative. Just wear a headlamp on your head, problem solved. Keys are now lit.

Yeah I am done with Macs--don't like the direction they have been going. But even if I wanted a Neo, the lack of a backlight on the keyboard is SO BAD. Absolutely a dealbreaker.

 

[Paul1964]

Also, a few years back when I was using a Windows laptop with a mixture of standard def and 4k/high-ppi screens, it worked fine... until it didn't, and a few apps would get messed up and present microscopic UIs.

Yes this was a thing about 10 years ago and it was really bad. Windows didn't handle different scaling on different monitors well at all. It was carnage.

Now though it all works properly and as it should. Maybe you can give it another chance.

 

[DeepSix]

Yeah I am done with Macs--don't like the direction they have been going. But even if I wanted a Neo, the lack of a backlight on the keyboard is SO BAD. Absolutely a dealbreaker.

I dont think it's a deal breaker for most. A LED headlamp costs less than $20 on amazon and will give you a lighted keyboard any time.

 

[Happy_John]

I dont think it's a deal breaker for most. A LED headlamp costs less than $20 on amazon and will give you a lighted keyboard any time.

There’s also the fact that there’s a 13” LED-lit panel above the keyboard. If you’re typing up something on the screen it’s very unlikely the screen will be too dim to provide enough light to see the keyboard, unless you don’t like to able to see what you’ve just inputted.

There’s a reason the keycaps are off-white and not black on this machine.

Each to their own, but the lack of backlighting is not something I’d be thinking twice about. Apple’s desktop keyboards are not backlit.

 

[bryo]

The non-backlit keyboard reminds me a lot of the OG white polycarbonate MacBooks. I really like the silver and white especially, feels like a nod to the 2000s era design language to me.

 

[DeepSix]

There’s also the fact that there’s a 13” LED-lit panel above the keyboard. If you’re typing up something on the screen it’s very unlikely the screen will be too dim to provide enough light to see the keyboard, unless you don’t like to able to see what you’ve just inputted.

There’s a reason the keycaps are off-white and not black on this machine.

Each to their own, but the lack of backlighting is not something I’d be thinking twice about. Apple’s desktop keyboards are not backlit.

Good points, also people shouldn't be having to rely on a light to be able to see the keys. And it's been proven in reports that more light gives us eye strain. And if someone really needs a light they can just get one of those clip on lights that attach on to the lid

 

[eltoslightfoot]

Good points, also people shouldn't be having to rely on a light to be able to see the keys. And it's been proven in reports that more light gives us eye strain. And if someone really needs a light they can just get one of those clip on lights that attach on to the lid

Or.....and hear me out on this. Get a better macbook that has backlit keys. I mean a clip light??? What is this the early 2000's?

 

[turbineseaplane]

Though I usually use an external display and Magic Keyboard, I was surprised by how much the mushy Neo keyboard dampened my excitement for buying one later this year. Coming from my 2015 and 2018 MacBook Pro, I'm used to keys that bounce back much more readily.

The keyboard, trackpad and screen are all just very "ok".

All obviously chosen to help hit the needed price point, which is certainly fine and understandable.

It definitely helps make the product of no interest to me though.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I disagree. I prefer the "More Space" option as it makes everything sharper. At least to my eyes.

You're definitely the only person I've ever heard say that, especially around these parts.

To each our own! 👍

I use scaling with macOS for many reasons, but none of them is because it's sharper, that's for sure.

 

[maflynn]

Yeah I am done with Macs--don't like the direction they have been going. But even if I wanted a Neo, the lack of a backlight on the keyboard is SO BAD. Absolutely a dealbreaker.

I think the Neo is going to shake up the industry, and PC makers will try to respond. I do think the simplicity of this laptop, tied to the simplicity of macos is going to be a huge hit for the segment that doesn't need raw power.

I'm unsure what apple's direction is with the mac and macos. I'll wait to macos27 to see how apple responds. While I don't hate Tahoe, its very clear that its not well received and adoption of tahoe is lagging significantly behind Sequoia if you compared Sequoia in march of '25

 

[Apple_Robert]

I think the Neo is going to shake up the industry, and PC makers will try to respond. I do think the simplicity of this laptop, tied to the simplicity of macos is going to be a huge hit for the segment that doesn't need raw power.

I'm unsure what apple's direction is with the mac and macos. I'll wait to macos27 to see how apple responds. While I don't hate Tahoe, its very clear that its not well received and adoption of tahoe is lagging significantly behind Sequoia if you compared Sequoia in march of '25

I agree with you on the hardware. I think Apple will need to refocus with MacOS 27 as it won't do much good to make headway with new customers, if a lot of the newbies don't like a lot of aspects of the OS their Mac came with.

 

[maflynn]

I think Apple will need to refocus with MacOS 27

Its hard for a company (or anyone for that matter) to admit they missed the mark, and it really depends, will Tim Apple double down on macos 27 or accept the criticisms and change the UI away from liquid glass.