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Parallels confirms MacBook Neo can run Windows in a virtual machine

macrumors.com

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Re: Parallels confirms MacBook Neo can run Windows in a virtual machine

#331

Post by simondotau »

everdrive wrote: post #56
Aurornis wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every thread about Windows on Hacker News includes claims about apps taking 30 seconds to launch, web pages taking 20 seconds to load, simple applications being unusable, and other extreme performance problems. These are puzzling for anyone (like me) who uses Windows at home without all of these extreme performance problems. That was until I realized how many reports are coming from people talking about their work la…

There's an unspoken rule in corporate America, colleges, etc. Laptops MUST be loaded down with terrible software, no exceptions. My last corporate laptop actually had the paid version of winzip in 2025, and it ran with a little tray icon that I couldn't disable or remove. That was in addition to all the other corporate crap I couldn't remove. Some of this is not _just_ a corporate problem. Why would Winzip have an au…

IT department: If security software isn’t slowing the computer down, it’s probably not doing anything. Our security software is reassuringly bloated.

Re: Parallels confirms MacBook Neo can run Windows in a virtual machine

#332

Post by [deleted] »

DaiPlusPlus wrote: post #265
todotask2 wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who has been working in IT support for years, for most people a Windows laptop in the $400 range is cheaper if you add on-site IT support, parts replacement, and a longer warranty period. I wonder where Apple stands here.

> parts replacement For a $400 laptop?

[deleted]

Re: Parallels confirms MacBook Neo can run Windows in a virtual machine

#333

Post by derefr »

serf wrote: post #326
coldtea wrote: post #313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have 32GB Macs, and you had them 7 years ago already, you're not even remotely close to the target market for it. Parent said "In the education market, educators, students, aides... nothing close at this price point". That has zero overlap with the "felt the need for 32GB 7 years ago" not-exactly-crowd.

>If you have 32GB Macs, and you had them 7 years ago already, you're not even remotely close to the target market for it. that market is already saturated with a zillion decent-spec chromebook style machines. The only reason the Neo market is even slightly different is to cater to crowds that want the apple offerings for OS and fashion/reputation. The market we're talking about has no real reason to care what kind of…

> a zillion decent-spec chromebook style machines

The interesting/unique thing about Apple's offering at this price point is the build quality, not the spec.

If you're a school IT department buying these in volume, you want something that actually lasts more than a year before pieces of plastic begin chipping off, hinges start wearing out, etc. And you want something that's easy to clean / sanitize sticky little kid fingerprints off of, and also to undo e.g. residue (from kids who thought it'd be a good idea to stick stickers on their take-home laptop) without worrying about either the adhesive or the thinner permanently damaging the chassis.

In both cases, Apple can actually promise this with the Neo, while none of the Chromebook OEMs can for their equivalent offerings at this price point. (The other OEMs can promise it, but only for offerings at higher price-points schools aren't willing to pay.)

Also, Apple can now promise that you can keep a pile of spares and spare parts, and swap parts between them easily, replace consumables like batteries, etc. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbPCGqoBB4Y). Which is essentially table stakes for the education market, but it's good that they've caught up.

Re: Parallels confirms MacBook Neo can run Windows in a virtual machine

#334

Post by ActorNightly »

hodgehog11 wrote: post #202
ActorNightly wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Web browser and youtube. You know, what people mostly do on macbooks.

Aside from gaming, I can do basically everything on Mac that I can on Linux or Windows. That's a hell of a lot more than a Chromebook. Take it from someone who has owned both a Chromebook and a Macbook; suggesting that they are in the same league is silly. Also, used != new. I'm surprised people need to be reminded of this.

I have a newer model work issued MBP.

My personal laptop is my phone which is a Samsung S25 ultra with Dex that I use with a lapdock.

When I travel and need to do work (i.e coding), I don't even bring my mac because I can do everything on my phone with a VPN. VSCode runs as a local web app, python works. The only thing that doesn't work is pytorch with pip install, but I don't need it for work and I could get it to work easily if I compiled it myself.

The UI is fast, I have twice the ram of the Neo, all my apps in one place, my phone lasts longer because lapdock charges it, and I can easily multitask between work and personal all on one device.

And thats with the "limitation" of android. Before I got that setup, I had a $300 ebay refurbished Thinkpad (don't even remember the model, just one where I could get a ram stick to get it to 32gb), and I ran with #!++ linx and i3wm. It booted up faster than my work macbook, was way more responsive, and I didn't have to jump through MacOS bullshit like permissions and all the other crap when trying to do stuff.

The simple truth is that Macs never were, are not, and never will be worth it for anything. Anytime you try to argue this, you out yourself as an obvious fanboy thats wants his shiny new metal laptop to feel like he as some sort of better tool.

Re: Parallels confirms MacBook Neo can run Windows in a virtual machine

#335

Post by m-schuetz »

dawnerd wrote: post #312
josephg wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good. So many software developers have gotten so lazy with RAM usage in the past few decades. I hope the Neo is a kick in the pants to get everyone in the Apple ecosystem to take memory usage seriously. More efficient software benefits everyone.

It's really quite bad. 'Telegram Lite' is using 1.16GB with just a single chat vs Signal using 193MB. Somehow vscode (including their renderers) manages to come in pretty low compared to even Apples native apps.

> Somehow vscode (including their renderers) manages to come in pretty low compared to even Apples native apps.

Because the issue isn't electron, it's not freeing resources which you can do in any language/platform.

Re: Parallels confirms MacBook Neo can run Windows in a virtual machine

#336

Post by spullara »

spullara wrote: post #217
LoganDark wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Last I checked UTM doesn't have GPU acceleration. Parallels' proprietary GPU driver is the only reason to pay for it.

fair

I have Intent working on it. Maybe AI can make progress on this, but we will see.

Re: Parallels confirms MacBook Neo can run Windows in a virtual machine

#337

Post by tkzed49 »

TiredOfLife wrote: post #263
alwillis wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is Apple's "Nintendo moment" when they realize they can package old hardware and win on polish and ecosystem. The A18 Pro isn't even two years old yet; it debuted in iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max September 2024. What's funny is none of the PC laptops manufactures can match the speed and quality of the Neo. The benchmarks for the A18 Pro are impressive; its Single Thread Performance beats all mobile processors […

Outside of some specialized benchmarks only Geekbench 6 is more or less usable for comparisons between generations or manufacturers.

out of curiosity, what makes Geekbench 6 better?

Re: Parallels confirms MacBook Neo can run Windows in a virtual machine

#338

Post by auggierose »

cj wrote: post #281
auggierose wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know. Both of my macs are over 7 years old, and have at least 32GB of RAM. Certainly would not buy an 8GB one now.

Even if your only use case is using Chrome?

Especially if that is my only use case.

Re: Parallels confirms MacBook Neo can run Windows in a virtual machine

#339

Post by AnthonyMouse »

pants2 wrote: post #300
sspiff wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't bought an 8GB laptop since probably 2012 when I got a Sony Vaio that they upgrade to 12GB for free because of a delivery delay. I wouldn't buy an 8GB device in 2026, but this device isn't targeted at either of us. For a lot of people who are looking at sub $800 laptops, the option to get an Apple will probably be enough to convince them. And apart from the limited memory, it really isn't a bad buy. I also f…

You might be surprised, with NVMe swap 8GB is surprisingly capable. ~1.6GB/s Read/Write.

Flash has finite write endurance. NVMe swap can burn through it pretty quick. Which is isn't that bad because if it wears out you can replace it... unless the drive is soldered.

Re: Parallels confirms MacBook Neo can run Windows in a virtual machine

#340

Post by AnthonyMouse »

josephg wrote: post #282
pastel8739 wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> even if aarch64 is more memory efficient, it can’t be too drastic Why not? All the other advantages of M processors (performance, battery life) have absolutely been drastic

Yeah. Also the bandwidth of modern soldered-on Mac SSDs is insane compared to where it was in the Intel era. The performance impact of moving applications in and out of swap should be much lower than it was a few years ago.

> Also the bandwidth of modern soldered-on Mac SSDs is insane compared to where it was in the Intel era.

This is because they're newer, not because they're soldered. PCIe 5.0 NVMe drives can do ~15GB/s without being soldered.

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