IIRC, Apple’s roadmac, er, roadmap to its apps was to make it more subscription to Creator Studio. Perhaps this is the device its intended users are for?
Doesn’t need much local storage because, iCloud storage.
Doesn’t need much power, aka its iOS on A-processors, not M-silicone.
Perfect for notes, email, web, and basic Apple applications.
I think Apple is targeting those that want security over Microsoft or Google Chrome books. Microsoft’s Surface products are very expensive for notebooks. And Google could flip on a dime with support or features.
I remember a friend once told me, Apple will, eventually, have one OS. Its clearly now looking like that direction.
Someone like me, well, I would soon upgrade my old iPad to the newer M4 iPadAir, with Pencil Pro, and possible Magickeyboard. A lightweight, email/web access (wifi or tethered) sketching device, not heavy on images. I have a Mac Studio for that..
It’s worth pointing out that M CPUs were derived from the A CPUs — Apple Silicon started with A series CPUs for iPhone/iPad. Now, specifically the A18 Pro that’s being used for the first time in a Mac (well apart from the original Dev Kit Mac mini equipped with an A12Z Bionic) for most tasks will perform equally or better than the original M1 that Apple put into the late 2020 MBA. Such performance level was not previously guaranteed, but A series CPUs have now reached that point and I’m convinced it’s thus not at all a coincidence we’re now seeing them come over to low-cost Macs.
Since many non-students seem to be talking about the Neo as a secondary/tertiary/travel device, it will be interesting to see what impact its release has on iPad sales. A basic iPad with an Apple keyboard costs around the same as the Neo.
I bought an iPad Air in 2022 to use with my drone. Last week I gave it to my daughter (I’d bought a new drone with its own screen).
As much as I tried, I simply didn’t get along with the iPad. It’s simply not the way I want to do computing. Perhaps it’s a reflection of my age, but I’m not a heavy iPhone user either. I make calls, send texts, use maps, and check the weather.
I’d hate to rely on an iPad when I travel, although I know many people would happily do so. I’d take the Neo every day of the week over an iPad.
CostCo was the vendor for the no name net book in the 2009 time frame. I traveled the world for the last ten years with my MacBook Pro of the day. I have also traveled with my M series iPad Pros because of the cellular capability and small size for the airline fold down tables.
We seem to be now in a space where disposable cell phones and erasable laptops may be the norm for international travel or maybe even domestic travel.
That has to be a very basic iPad though. Even the A16-based bare bones 11" iPad with 128 GB and keyboard starts at $600.
If OTOH you spec an iPad Air, even just an 11", and add the KB, you’re looking at a bare minimum of $868. And that’s with just 128 GB.
Next to the MacBook Neo, the iPad is looking pretty overpriced right now. The best way I can see to get this to work is by double-checking if a keyboard is really a requirement. If somebody doesn’t need a keyboard, they can get a comparably priced iPad. But as soon as they want to add a keyboard, the Neo is going to get them far more bang for their buck.
That basically was my point. A 256 GB A18 Neo without an education discount is $599. A 256 GB 11" A16 iPad with a keyboard is $698. (The Neo also has 8 GB RAM compared with the iPad’s 6 GB, though typical iPad usage likely uses less RAM than typical MacBook usage.)
The main advantages of the iPad are that it is a little lighter, it can be purchased with a cellular option, and you can use a pencil with it.
If you’re in the $600-700 price range, the Neo seems to be a far superior deal.
My personal travel setup—as opposed to business travel—for the last few years has been an iPad Air with a Magic Keyboard. Prior to that, I used an iPad Mini. I changed to the Air from the Mini when the Mini stopped getting upgrades and I decided I prefer a physical keyboard.
For me, the pros of iPad versus Mac travel are being able to use the Apple dual-port 35W charger + World Adapter Kit on both my iPhone and iPad (no need to bring a heavy 60-80 watt charger, only need to carry one charger), the ability to undock the iPad and use it as an e-reader, and (usually) no need to take the iPad out at airport security checkpoints.
But having said all that, I will give the Neo serious consideration when it’s time to replace my iPad Air. It seems to have and do everything I want when traveling plus it’s easy to set up multiple, temporary macOS user accounts.
I should mention that I have a 6th Gen iPad (A10) with a third-party bluetooth keyboard that worked well as an alternative to a Mac on road trips where I didn’t expect to use Microsoft Office much.
I’m actually quite pleased with its performance for most tasks, but it’s stuck at iPadOS 17, so I don’t want to use it for anything sensitive, especially on public networks. We also have a 9.7" iPad Pro with an Apple Keyboard in the family. It feels like it can do a good job for a few more years, too, but it’s limited to iPadOS 16.
I had been considering selling them both and using the proceeds to get a new iPad for a very specific task, but the Neo changes the equation.
Thank you! That’s really helpful. I have a Buffalo LinkStation sitting idle that macOS no longer wants to talk to via Time Machine, so this could be a viable solution for me.
Thanks for this. I think it’s a right move for Apple to compete with Chromebooks which are all over the place. It’s a good entry into Apple’s Mac ecosystem for those who don’t and those who do have only iPhones.
OK. I’ve jumped. My Use Case is a little bit different from what others are talking about. I needed to update my fifth-generation iPad Air 64 to one with higher storage, as my current iPad used more than 25 Gb for the OS and a basic set of apps, so there was no way there was enough storage left for full-size RAW photos and high-res movies to be created during an upcoming 6-week trip. For less than a new iPad 256 and the ridiculously expensive ‘magic’ keyboard, I get a MacOS laptop with 512 Gb that will run my road trip apps and allow me to sort and triage my movie files and RAW photos. I don’t need to do any processing or editing, I just need to do the weeding ;-) I’ll add to that my compact little 2Tb external Lacie SSD drive, and I’m set. the Neo arrives today, so I’ll post an update if I find any stoppers/issues.
I think Apple absolutely hit a homerun with the Neo. I would never buy one for myself, as I rely on the additional capabilities (and screen size) of my MacBook Air 15” and my Mac Studio. But it is a fantastic value for a budget computer (far better than any Chromebook or Windows PC in the same price range), and I expect a future iteration of the Neo (with 512GB storage and Touch ID) will very likely be the first computer I buy for my kids. None of the features in the MacBook Air that are missing in the Neo are important features for most kids (except, probably, older kids who want/need to do intensive graphics/video editing). (I’m not sure about video games, but since a huge percentage of games run on iPhones and iPads, I would assume the Neo is adequate for that too.) The MacBook Neo is a great way to introduce kids (or other people with basic computing needs) to Macs. Plus, the synergy of using an iPhone together with a Mac greatly increases the value of the Neo over Chromebooks and budget Windows laptops. I think the Neo will pay tremendous dividends for Apple in the years ahead, as many kids start off using a Neo and get hooked into the Apple ecosystem and continue purchasing Apple devices for many years.
… and today, it is easy to get a basic USB-C hub that includes power-delivery pass-through. For less than $20, you can get a USB-C hub that includes a type-C port, two type-A ports, HDMI and up to 85W (more than enough for a Neo) power pass-through.
There is an unconfirmed report that macOS Tahoe 26.3.2 (released yesterday, exclusively for MacBook Neo) enables MacBook Neo to support Studio Display (2026) and Studio Display XDR.
When connected to a 4K external display, all other MacBooks will offer a “more space” display mode with the same amount of usable desktop space as a non-Retina 2560×1440 screen. The MacBook Neo doesn’t offer this display mode. The default view gives you the usable space of a 1080p monitor with Retina-resolution graphics, or a native 4K resolution with apps that are mostly too tiny to see and use comfortably. Putting the display in any other mode means putting up with non-native resolutions and the resulting blurriness.
You may or may not notice this if you use a 4K screen with your MacBook Neo. I used 27-inch 5K iMacs for years, so the “more space” 1440p view is what my eyes perceive as “normal;” this is also the same amount of usable desktop space you get at the default resolution when you use a Studio Display. This just isn’t possible with the Neo.
I wonder if this is a limitation that will be addressed with the 26.3.2 update. It seems odd that a notebook capable of DP 1.4 and 4K native support cannot scale its native 4096x2560 to 2560x1440 (1/1.6). (Not that many MBN users will be attaching to a 4K display and expecting high res.)