Why I Returned the MacBook Neo

[ThomasJL]

Why do many people on this forum get upset when someone returns something to Apple? I'm glad the OP returned something he didn't like. I couldn't care less if Tim Cook didn't make as much profit due to customers returning products they are dissatisfied with.

 

[Tdevilsg]

The screen is perfectly fine for what it is, especially if you're factoring in its for a 500 dollar machine. I've got an OLED iPad Pro which I do love and comparing it directly against, but the Neo is half of that price with a screen more than capable. I think the videos don't necessarily do it justice. It doesn't look as washed out as it's being made to be.

 

[Pbwallstreet]

The screen is perfectly fine for what it is, especially if you're factoring in its for a 500 dollar machine. I've got an OLED iPad Pro which I do love and comparing it directly against, but the Neo is half of that price with a screen more than capable. I think the videos don't necessarily do it justice. It doesn't look as washed out as it's being made to be.

It looks as washed out as I and any other person says it does, because that is our experience. If it's not that washed out to you, great, carry on.

 

[Mike Boreham]

It looks as washed out as I and any other person says it does, because that is our experience. If it's not that washed out to you, great, carry on.

Absolutely no question that it is more washed out at extreme angles, the question is how much does it matter? Obviously would do for those who habitually view at such angles.

For me there are much more important aspects that would stop me buying.

 

[WalsallSaddler]

With that mindset, even TN panels are fine since they have ok picture when looked at straight on.

But in real-world use, even the slightest shift in viewing angle changes the colors. This isn’t just about extreme angles. And this is portable device!

With Neo, the issue is made worse by pretty bad black color reproduction, and the viewing angles only make it even more noticeable

Absolutely no question that it is more washed out at extreme angles, the question is how much does it matter? Obviously would do for those who habitually view at such angles.

For me there are much more important aspects that would stop me buying.

 

[maerz001]

Absolutely no question that it is more washed out at extreme angles, the question is how much does it matter? Obviously would do for those who habitually view at such angles.

For me there are much more important aspects that would stop me buying.

I can’t tell if you are being sarcastic? I never look at a laptop screen at such extreme angles as the top row, and such results would not bother me. If you are not being sarcastic I would be interested in seeing what a screen with good viewing angles looks like, not that it would not influence buying decision for me.
EDIT Thanks for editing your post to add the MBA for comparison.

Of course the angles are extreme but it just shows in what range it goes gradually from the center.
As soon as 2 people watch a movie one or both are off center and the quality degrades.
And if thats acceptable is totally personal. For the op it’s too much. There is no objectively hard line which makes this screen crap or not. But for sure it has a worse quality than the MBA.
Its personal preference if you will tolerate it. This can’t be solved by discussing

 

[Mike Boreham]

But in real-world use, even the slightest shift in viewing angle changes the colors. This isn’t just about extreme angles. And this is portable device!

Of course the angles are extreme but it just shows in what range it goes gradually from the center.
As soon as 2 people watch a movie one or both are off center and the quality degrades.
And if thats acceptable is totally personal. For the op it’s too much. There is no objectively hard line which makes this screen crap or not. But for sure it has a worse quality than the MBA.
Its personal preference if you will tolerate it. This can’t be solved by discussing

Valid points. With the detailed screen analysis possible I am surprised that there isn’t a way of quantifying colour error at say 10, 20 30 degrees, which would be more useful. It’s the shape of the fall off curve near the start that matters, not where it ends up.

 

[Sami13496]

Are you suggesting people are spending 500 dollars simply to prove a point on the internet?

Not all of course. But perhaps some. When they know they can return it 100% they’re not really spending the money 🙂

 

[adrianlondon]

So ... a built-in privacy filter! Perfect for por... confidential company data.

 

[mk313]

For those, who dont believe that MacBook Neo has really bad viewing angles — just look at this.

Its really bad, almost like TN, not IPS. Even for 600$, and especially for Apple device in 2026.
View attachment 2613647

And now look at the same viewing angles, but on MacBook Air from 2018(!):
View attachment 2613649

That's really interesting, thanks for sharing. Probably explains a lot about this thread (in general, not the OP's opinion. (s)he can & should do whatever (s)he wants with no pushback). I look at those pictures & aside from the upper left one (and some reflection on the upper right one), they look exactly the same to me. Made me appreciate that for my eyes, the NEO screen if perfectly fine.

Interesting that other people seeing the exact same picture describe it as 'really bad'

 

[xDeadTechx]

The sad reality is that people are expecting the Neo to a be a “do everything Mac”.. it’s not. If you’ve had ANY Mac before don’t expect the same level of performance coming from an “M” series level of chip, while the Neo can hold its own it’s designed for those who don’t care about technology, it’s a $600 Mac.. it does what it does and it does it well.

Elderly will love it because it’s simple, they can use FaceTime and browse the web with it.

Education will love it because it’s cheap in bulk and it connects to school resources, the students will like it because it’s easy to use, it’s simple. ($499)

These threads “omfgz why I returned the Neo” ok you didn’t like it, or the screen wasn’t as crisp.. it’s a $600 Mac, what are you expecting? MBA level of detail? Performance? That’s like saying I’m going to buy a Kia but I want Bentley level of style and comfort or performance.

Plain and simple, it wasn’t built for you. It’s built for the kids, it’s built for older adults who don’t give a crap about technology and want technology out way.

 

[WalsallSaddler]

That's really interesting, thanks for sharing. Probably explains a lot about this thread (in general, not the OP's opinion. (s)he can & should do whatever (s)he wants with no pushback). I look at those pictures & aside from the upper left one (and some reflection on the upper right one), they look exactly the same to me. Made me appreciate that for my eyes, the NEO screen if perfectly fine.

Interesting that other people seeing the exact same picture describe it as 'really bad'

It’s easy to check: compare each image with the one in the very center.

On the Neo, it’s clearly visible that contrast is significantly lost, there’s blooming, and especially the black color — it takes on a very grayish tint.

And yes, everyone perceives it differently. For me, it’s a very poor screen from Apple, even for 600$.

 

[WalsallSaddler]

It’s easy to check: compare each image with the one in the very center.

On the Neo, it’s clearly visible that contrast is significantly lost, there’s blooming, and especially the black color — it takes on a very grayish tint.

And yes, everyone perceives it differently. For me, it’s a very poor screen from Apple, even for 600$.

Base iPad has better screen, even Macbook Pro from 2013(!) and Macbook Air from 2018 all has better screen.

Now 2026, even cheap IPS panels has very good viewing angles. On Neo — almost TN-quality viewing angles.

 

[mk313]

It’s easy to check: compare each image with the one in the very center.

On the Neo, it’s clearly visible that contrast is significantly lost, there’s blooming, and especially the black color — it takes on a very grayish tint.

And yes, everyone perceives it differently. For me, it’s a very poor screen from Apple, even for 600$.

That’s how I looked at it. And I just don’t see that it looks any different than the other one, except in the ones that I pointed out, where the screen is half closed. I’m not trying to prove that I’m right or even expect anyone to agree with me, just pointing out that it’s weird that we can look at the same thing and one person thinks it looks completely fine and the other thinks it looks awful

 

[majkom]

got 16 pro intel, see no problem with neo display.. surprisingly, afrer quick play with neo in store, probably old clickable touchpad (and partly keyboard) is showstopper… regardin touchpad, i do use touch instead of click, but with this old tech, i occassionally clicked it while touching it (probably i got accustomed to fact that with heptic one it wont click whatever pressure is applied while touch is set s click - if this makes any sense) - so almost everytime i used it for scrolling/swiping, i did a click, really destroying my ux.. and as to the keyboard, keys are somehow differetly positiined, so i had many typos (probably matter of muscle memory)

 

[Pbwallstreet]

Absolutely no question that it is more washed out at extreme angles, the question is how much does it matter? Obviously would do for those who habitually view at such angles.

For me there are much more important aspects that would stop me buying.

You inserted the term “extreme”. I never said extreme. In fact, I have said subtle change in angle.

 

[Pbwallstreet]

Of course the angles are extreme but it just shows in what range it goes gradually from the center.
As soon as 2 people watch a movie one or both are off center and the quality degrades.
And if thats acceptable is totally personal. For the op it’s too much. There is no objectively hard line which makes this screen crap or not. But for sure it has a worse quality than the MBA.
Its personal preference if you will tolerate it. This can’t be solved by discussing

The video I linked to shows colour reproduction when it comes to Max Tech’s comment about colours/deeper blacks on the MBA screen.

 

[Mike Boreham]

You inserted the term “extreme”. I never said extreme. In fact, I have said subtle change in angle.

Puzzled, as you "liked" my post where I said "extreme"!
I wasn't quoting you, I chose to describe the top row of the notebookcheck screenshot as extreme, because I think it is.

 

[Mike Boreham]

The sad reality is that people are expecting the Neo to a be a “do everything Mac”.. it’s not. If you’ve had ANY Mac before don’t expect the same level of performance coming from an “M” series level of chip, while the Neo can hold its own it’s designed for those who don’t care about technology, it’s a $600 Mac.. it does what it does and it does it well.

Elderly will love it because it’s simple, they can use FaceTime and browse the web with it.

Education will love it because it’s cheap in bulk and it connects to school resources, the students will like it because it’s easy to use, it’s simple. ($499)

These threads “omfgz why I returned the Neo” ok you didn’t like it, or the screen wasn’t as crisp.. it’s a $600 Mac, what are you expecting? MBA level of detail? Performance? That’s like saying I’m going to buy a Kia but I want Bentley level of style and comfort or performance.

Plain and simple, it wasn’t built for you. It’s built for the kids, it’s built for older adults who don’t give a crap about technology and want technology out way.

I agree, but the fact is that this is an enthusiasts forum, not a forum for the intended market of Neo users for whom all this nitpicking about things they won't notice or care about is largely irrelevant.

Almost by definition enthusiats want to understand the full capabilities of any new Apple device, warts and all.

Also, we are all different so one persons complete stopper is a don't care for another, even among enthusiasts.

 

[Howard2k]

I still play a 4 color CGA DOS game. Pink, blue, black and white. Who would need more colors?

Which one?

 

[Tdevilsg]

It looks as washed out as I and any other person says it does, because that is our experience. If it's not that washed out to you, great, carry on.

Wasn’t quoting or replying to you to begin with, so yes, “carry on” as you said. Bottom line is anybody interested in this device and it fits their use case should test it if they can.

 

[DotCom2]

That's really interesting, thanks for sharing. Probably explains a lot about this thread (in general, not the OP's opinion. (s)he can & should do whatever (s)he wants with no pushback). I look at those pictures & aside from the upper left one (and some reflection on the upper right one), they look exactly the same to me. Made me appreciate that for my eyes, the NEO screen if perfectly fine.

Interesting that other people seeing the exact same picture describe it as 'really bad'

I thought the same thing. The target audience for this device doesn't even know what Final Cut Pro is! It's an "ENTRY LEVEL" device, coming from a company that is historically not known for "affordable" devices. It has already been said that it is "BEST IN CLASS", by many reviewers. I am getting this for a 14 year old kid that has never had a laptop before and one for me, as a fun toy to play with and carry around without fear of loss. I think this was a very good decision made by Apple and will be a hot seller during the holidays. IMHO

 

[Ctrlos]

Why would you be looking at a laptop from anywhere other than head-on? If you’re watching TV on it with company they actually sell devices for that for only a couple hundred bucks and you can always HDMI into a hotel TV on the go.

If you’re camping or something with a partner, you’re camping with a partner 😘

 

[Tdevilsg]

I thought the same thing. The target audience for this device doesn't even know what Final Cut Pro is! It's an "ENTRY LEVEL" device, coming from a company that is historically not known for "affordable" devices. It has already been said that it is "BEST IN CLASS", by many reviewers. I am getting this for a 14 year old kid that has never had a laptop before and one for me, as a fun toy to play with and carry around without fear of loss. I think this was a very good decision made by Apple and will be a hot seller during the holidays. IMHO

When I went to grab mine I already saw tons of kids asking their parents about it. They loved the colors and the device itself feels premium. I agree it’s going to do extremely well, and I think it will cannibilize Air sales.

 

[DeepSix]

For those, who dont believe that MacBook Neo has really bad viewing angles — just look at this.

Its really bad, almost like TN, not IPS. Even for 600$, and especially for Apple device in 2026.
View attachment 2613647

And now look at the same viewing angles, but on MacBook Air from 2018(!):
View attachment 2613649

Viewing angles are overrated. Nobody is going to be viewing their laptop screen from 360 degrees.