Will the MacBook Neo be a Success?

[FatLouie]

Gee that statement makes us retired folks useless ?

4 decades of Apple - 3 decades of IT and 2 decades of education IT.

I am retiring in 3 months with a govt pension & SS but learning to become a private pilot and looking to buy a single engine turboprop to fly all over the country.

Will take my lightweight Neo (replaces 12" rMB) along with my iPad Mini to navigate me thru the skies.

Training plane: Diamond DA40 starting checklist for a lesson:
View attachment 2611321

I retired four years ago. 🙂

 

[IvyKing]

So anybody knows why the neo isnt lighter than the air since has significantly smaller battery capacity?!

MacBook Air and MacBook Pro cases are machined, which adds to the cost. MacBook Neo cases are essentially stamped, which requires more metal to be left in the product than when machined. I also wonder if the cases was made a bit thicker to stand up to more physical abuse in the educational market.

I suspect the battery is pretty much a COTS unit as it almost certainly be cheaper than a custom battery.

 

[mk313]

MacBook Air and MacBook Pro cases are machined, which adds to the cost. MacBook Neo cases are essentially stamped, which requires more metal to be left in the product than when machined. I also wonder if the cases was made a bit thicker to stand up to more physical abuse in the educational market.

I suspect the battery is pretty much a COTS unit as it almost certainly be cheaper than a custom battery.

And while I don't believe it's a huge difference, the NEO uses a different type of battery (Li-Ion vs LiPo IIRC). it looks like those batteries are generally heavier, although I have to assume it's not going to account for most of the difference in weight.

 

[DeepSix]

This launch could be bigger than the original iPad.

 

[JPack]

MacBook Air and MacBook Pro cases are machined, which adds to the cost. MacBook Neo cases are essentially stamped, which requires more metal to be left in the product than when machined. I also wonder if the cases was made a bit thicker to stand up to more physical abuse in the educational market.

I suspect the battery is pretty much a COTS unit as it almost certainly be cheaper than a custom battery.

Not stamped but forged, which results in thicker walls and features compared to subtractive CNC machining used in Air/Pro chassis.

Stamped would be the cheap PC notebooks that are aluminum but not unibody.

 

[0423MAC]

The MacBook Neo strikes me as a device for the light-use user. It is probably priced too high for that, to be honest. I would guess that initial sales will go to current Apple users who need something for their kids or grandparents. It will likely find a niche as an e-book reader and a device that retired people take on bus trips. 🙂

I am sure it will do well, but I don't think it will be a device that drags in new users to the Apple ecosystem by the truckloads.

I have never had many people in my circle buy macs at launch, let alone pre-order.

Four have done so thus far and possibly a fifth if the reviews are solid.

 

[JPack]

And while I don't believe it's a huge difference, the NEO uses a different type of battery (Li-Ion vs LiPo IIRC). it looks like those batteries are generally heavier, although I have to assume it's not going to account for most of the difference in weight.

No, the Neo uses the same type of battery tech. The energy density in Whr/kg is the same as MacBook Air M5. The difference comes from the chassis.

https://chemtrec.blob.core.windows.net/criterion/APIS_BPIS_Current.pdf

 

[ivnj]

"Suc" yes, "cess" no.

Just kidding. I think it will be fine for the target audience.

 

[MayaUser]

MacBook Air and MacBook Pro cases are machined, which adds to the cost. MacBook Neo cases are essentially stamped, which requires more metal to be left in the product than when machined. I also wonder if the cases was made a bit thicker to stand up to more physical abuse in the educational market.

I suspect the battery is pretty much a COTS unit as it almost certainly be cheaper than a custom battery.

In that case that chassis is more dense and it will be sturdy, and thats nice for the market

 

[IvyKing]

Not stamped but forged, which results in thicker walls and features compared to subtractive CNC machining used in Air/Pro chassis.

Minor quibble: Forging implies many blows to reach final form (which might be part of the process in making the Neo chassis). I think a better term than "stamped" for what I was picturing as the forming process is "pressed".

IIRC, there is still a bit of subtractive CNC machining needed, but that will be more of a touch-up job. Main thing is that the chassis will be cheaper to make, but still be of good quality.

 

[JPack]

Minor quibble: Forging implies many blows to reach final form (which might be part of the process in making the Neo chassis). I think a better term than "stamped" for what I was picturing as the forming process is "pressed".

IIRC, there is still a bit of subtractive CNC machining needed, but that will be more of a touch-up job. Main thing is that the chassis will be cheaper to make, but still be of good quality.

Forging is the correct term because it involves heat and pressure. Heat and pressure realign the metal so it becomes stronger. Whether it's done by blacksmith hammers (historical) or hydraulic tools (modern) is fundamentally the same.

Pressing is just, pressing. If you just compress or stamp a piece of metal without heat, it doesn't become stronger.

The correct term is forging.

 

[mk313]

No, the Neo uses the same type of battery tech. The energy density in Whr/kg is the same as MacBook Air M5. The difference comes from the chassis.

https://chemtrec.blob.core.windows.net/criterion/APIS_BPIS_Current.pdf

Not according to Apple's website. It lists the Air as having a Lithium-polymer battery, while the NEO has a Lithium Ion one. (But I do agree that the weight difference is not related to the battery, as the Air actually has a larger battery)

 

[frogstik]

for some of us it will be our "everything else" computer. I don't want to take my 16" MBP into the woods for amateur radio stuff, and using my iPhone is a pain in the ass at times. To me it is more useful than an iPad, because of the keyboard -- it fits a very specific niche for me that an iPhone/iPad could do, but would be more annoying.

 

[ivnj]

Ipads have cass with keyboards too. But full mac os vs iPad OS is not the same thing.

for some of us it will be our "everything else" computer. I don't want to take my 16" MBP into the woods for amateur radio stuff, and using my iPhone is a pain in the ass at times. To me it is more useful than an iPad, because of the keyboard -- it fits a very specific niche for me that an iPhone/iPad could do, but would be more annoying.

 

[danpass]

I don't see how the 8gb is viable in today's world. Even students are going to have multiple desktops with multiple programs with multiple tabs in each of those desktops.

My rMB 12 with 8gb was getting crushed in 2017

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[bapegg]

for some of us it will be our "everything else" computer. I don't want to take my 16" MBP into the woods for amateur radio stuff, and using my iPhone is a pain in the ass at times. To me it is more useful than an iPad, because of the keyboard -- it fits a very specific niche for me that an iPhone/iPad could do, but would be more annoying.

One of the main reasons I bought the Neo is for POTA activations. Yes my M3 iPad with Magic Keyboard will work too. But I can't run radio specific MacOS programs on an iPad.

I will be even more happy when Winlink and Vara are available as a MacOS app instead of having to use work arounds.

 

[frogstik]

One of the main reasons I bought the Neo is for POTA activations. Yes my M3 iPad with Magic Keyboard will work too. But I can't run radio specific MacOS programs on an iPad.

I will be even more happy when Winlink and Vara are available as a MacOS app instead of having to use work arounds.

100% Agree! I'm going to probably use iDigi for FT8 -- what logging software are you using? I dig WRL, and they've been saying they're releasing a native app someday, but it's still not here yet.

 

[kantonwynd]

It will probably be the most popular MacBook ever, which may be the slogan for the next MacBook Neo. Thanks to the much more affordable price, many more people are able to enter the Mac world.

 

[bapegg]

I've looked into WRL but haven't used it yet. I use HAMRS for POTA logging. Another nice thing about the Neo vs an iPad is that you can run WSJT-X and Grid Tracker natively on the Neo. Plus I can run alll of my RT Systems software on the Neo.

 

[mk313]

I don't see how the 8gb is viable in today's world. Even students are going to have multiple desktops with multiple programs with multiple tabs in each of those desktops.

My rMB 12 with 8gb was getting crushed in 2017

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I don't know. I also have the 12", and no doubt the 16 GB version runs much better with a lot of tabs open than the 8 GB one. But I also have an 8 GB M2 MacBook Air with 8 GB & it runs really well. I don't notice any slowdowns on the same sites that cause issues for the 12".

 

[Spock]

I don't see how the 8gb is viable in today's world. Even students are going to have multiple desktops with multiple programs with multiple tabs in each of those desktops.

My rMB 12 with 8gb was getting crushed in 2017

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Two open Safari tabs would crush the rMB... You have to keep in mind that Apple Silicon is a totally different architecture than that 12 inch MacBook.

 

[JPack]

I don't see how the 8gb is viable in today's world. Even students are going to have multiple desktops with multiple programs with multiple tabs in each of those desktops.

My rMB 12 with 8gb was getting crushed in 2017

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Intel isn’t the same world as Apple Silicon. People should stop using Intel Macs as any sort of comparison. The top end MBP 16 in 2019 would puff its fans at full speed if you connected even a 4K monitor.

 

[ikjadoon]

Neo is the #1 new release in Amazon US for Computers & Accessories: Amazon.com New Releases: The best-selling new & future releases in Computers & Accessories

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Less concrete, but Walmart has completely sold out of its Blush stock in both 256GB and 512GB, and Best Buy is fully out of the 256GB Blush version.

 

[conmee]

Intel isn’t the same world as Apple Silicon. People should stop using Intel Macs as any sort of comparison. The top end MBP 16 in 2019 would puff its fans at full speed if you connected even a 4K monitor.

Agree on not using Intel Macs as a point of comparison, but as for the last sentence, c'mon that's not true. 🙂 I've been able to run both an Alienware 4K@180Hz and the Apple Studio Display 5K@60Hz (not simultaneously) on my old 2019 16" MBP (5500M 8GB VRAM) without any fan noise. To be fair, just about anything else outside of a couple browser tabs or email would, yes, make the fans spin up lol. I'm just saying, the 2019 16" MBPs (especially the ones with 5500M GPU) are prone to spin up quite often for even mundane apps/workload. But they could drive a hi-res display just fine.

As for a 2017 rMB, 8GB was the least of its problems, having an overheating Intel CPU topping out at 1.4Ghz, crap Intel integrated GPU, and slow SSD had as much or more to do with peformance. I think the NEO will be just fine with 8GB for its intended audience.

 

[hans1972]

View attachment 2611552

Neo is the #1 new release in Amazon US for Computers & Accessories: Amazon.com New Releases: The best-selling new & future releases in Computers & Accessories

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Less concrete, but Walmart has completely sold out of its Blush stock in both 256GB and 512GB, and Best Buy is fully out of the 256GB Blush version.

I find the #4 quite interesting.

HP Laptop with 4Gb of RAM and a 64Gb SSD.

Last time Apple shipped a laptop with 64 Gb SSD was the 11" MacBook Air from around 2012.