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MacBook Neo is so popular that Apple doubled production

macrumors.com

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Re: MacBook Neo is so popular that Apple doubled production

#341

Post by Eric_WVGG »

codedokode wrote: post #103

The screen is too small, not usable for work, you can buy a 15-inch Linux laptop for the same price. And it might even have replaceable RAM and SSD. Also, 8 Gb is too little, it will become a useless toy several years later. Also, there are just 2 USB ports and no USB-A. Also I wonder how long the keyboard lasts and how does one replace it.

Funny, I don’t think the screen is small enough.

I was hoping that this would be a return of the 2015 12" Macbook, but good. I’d love to have a sporty little alternative to my 16" Tankbook for sunny, light work days.

> Also I wonder how long the keyboard lasts and how does one replace it.

Apple has been using a single keyboard across their entire line going back at least 25 years. This one is the same as every other current model, and the teardowns report that replacing it is a breeze.

Re: MacBook Neo is so popular that Apple doubled production

#342

Post by Telaneo »

benoau wrote: post #7
no_wizard wrote: post #3

I’m not shocked in the slightest. Great price point for younger folks to buy or be given as a gift, the build quality is good for what it is and it is snappy for most uses. It’s many years too late IMO but I suppose the economics only made sense once they controlled their own chipset. I imagine doing this in the intel days would have been a far worse choice

It actually was done in the Intel days, and it was also wildly popular - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asus_Eee_PC

I have one. They were never fit for purpose for anything beyond reading email, watching 360p Youtube (back then, not so much now), and browsing very basic sites. I guess maybe Flash games were also on the table. The Celerons and Atoms in those machines were comparable to Pentium IIIs. There's a reason the Netbook was a fad. Most people discovered they didn't enjoy using them, while they not long after discovered that they did enjoy using these fancy new smartphone thingies.

Re: MacBook Neo is so popular that Apple doubled production

#343

Post by tim333 »

hadlock wrote: post #18
OskarS wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not even young people: I have a very expensive MacBook Pro M5 i got from work, but my personal laptop is old and needs replacing. I’m a well-paid senior software developer and could afford any computer I wanted. But the MacBook Neo is a top contender even for me. I mostly need something for like editing documents, hobby coding and watching YouTube videos. It runs Codex or Gemini-CLI fine. For the price point, it seem…

The fact that everything bolts together inside like a ThinkPad and there's no glue means it's highly repairable. I've been looking at getting one as well, they're almost too good, I'm worried apple will revert to gluing things together as they're user repairable, which means they ought to last nearly forever. I've been eyeballing one as well, I would prefer the higher end air or pro but being able to take the whole t…

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Re: MacBook Neo is so popular that Apple doubled production

#344

Post by Telaneo »

naikrovek wrote: post #337
Telaneo wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It really seems like the PC makers don't understand the benefits of low power chips sufficiently. I'm sure they would understand, if you could show them the equivalent 25 watt x86 part. If you find one at 25 watts or lower, it'll be too slow to really bother with. And if it uses much more power than that, then a fan quickly becomes mandatory. It's easier to excuse having a fan than having a processor that's just do…

There are 15W intel CPUs and .. they suck. Idle, windows and corporate “stuff” will put that at 75% utilization with no input from the user other than simply logging on. And the fan starts about 30s in and never stops. It’s embarrassing for intel.

And it's not much better on the AMD side! Like, the closest thing they have is the APU they put in the Steam Deck, which has a fan! I'm sure it would be a bit better if you put that thing in an aluminum body, so the heat can dissipate better, but after you've installed Windows on it, forget it.

I can kind of imagine a world where a suitably low-power Intel or AMD chip can exist; they've got good engineers and can probably do it if they put their minds to it, but that chip will be next to useless without a Windows that won't throw out half the chip's potential before you've even started a program.

Re: MacBook Neo is so popular that Apple doubled production

#345

Post by michaelt »

baq wrote: post #275
kristianp wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microsoft or giant piles of poo like crowdstrike?

Ask serious security folks at serious orgs if they can afford to not run crowdstrike regardless of OS.

Can any serious security folks at serious orgs confirm they can't afford not to run crowdstrike?

Re: MacBook Neo is so popular that Apple doubled production

#346

Post by aidenn0 »

brandon272 wrote: post #321

I have always had this notion that buying a Mac is the "premium" option, not just in quality, but maybe in price too. I am in the process of trying to find a business notebook for my spouse who is a Windows user. The goal is to have something that is as close to a Macbook Air as possible in terms of price, weight, performance and durability. What I am learning is that nothing that like that exists in the PC world. It…

At a certain level of build quality the Mac has at many times in this century been a good value. Except maybe if you load it up with RAM and/or storage which always seems to have a much higher marginal cost than non-MAC hardware.

Re: MacBook Neo is so popular that Apple doubled production

#347

Post by elxr »

taude wrote: post #244

I bought one: I was hesitant about the 8 GB of memory at first. But I'm happily running Chrome with like 20 tabs and some other apps, and performance isn't an issue. It's mostly a couch laptop. I run Obsidean, messaging apps, writing tools. I use some CLI toolings... I really wanted a Framework 12, but I got $180 credit on a ipad AIR 4, and sold a 2017 Macbook Pro for $150 (US), so that effectively made this a 280 up…

Way too much keyboard backlight discourse around this laptop. Just learn to type folks, it takes 2-3 weeks.

As long as you're able to quickly feel out the homing bars, you should know where all your keys are. First thing I do on every laptop is turn off keyboard backlighting.

Ram wise, I agree that for light use, with mostly note-taking, writing, and browser use; 8GB shouldn't cause any serious problems. But those of you who know you regularly go over 8GB should really consider something else. There are plenty of used M2 and M3 airs with 16GB out there for reasonable prices. Of course if you're hard-capped at $600, then the Neo is pretty dang nice.

Re: MacBook Neo is so popular that Apple doubled production

#348

Post by HatchedLake721 »

philistine wrote: post #197
adgjlsfhk1 wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the clear demonstration of this is how small Apple's motherboard is for the neo (and other M series) compared to everyone else). It really seems like the PC makers don't understand the benefits of low power chips sufficiently. If you cap your chips TDP such that it can be cooled passively, you save money on heatsink, fan, vents, power circuitry (e.g. fewer capacitors), battery size, etc.

You are so right, and I blame some of the thinking on this very website. People are adamant that they need to upgrade the RAM, change the storage, and replace the battery on their laptops. Adamant . All that means that you need a separate memory controller, a separate this and that. It adds up, and PC makers are forced to put in a fan. On its face, it doesn't sound stupid at all. The thinking that you need to be able…

It’s not this websites thinking, it’s every tech person’s thinking.

Apple is an example of great consumer focus vs tech requests of “but I want to run Kubernetes on my iPad it’s powerful enough”.

That’s thanks to Steve Jobs. iPhone was a #1 smartphone for a decade without ever mentioning the RAM or CPU MHz in the announcements or marketing material. Even if there was less RAM or worse specs than the Snapdragon at the time, iPhone was still faster and sold more.

This philosophy is still at the core of Apple.

I wish more companies worked this way, but I don’t know anyone even close.

Re: MacBook Neo is so popular that Apple doubled production

#349

Post by canpan »

brandon272 wrote: post #321

I have always had this notion that buying a Mac is the "premium" option, not just in quality, but maybe in price too. I am in the process of trying to find a business notebook for my spouse who is a Windows user. The goal is to have something that is as close to a Macbook Air as possible in terms of price, weight, performance and durability. What I am learning is that nothing that like that exists in the PC world. It…

I am totally a linux user. But even on the high end, the build quality of laptops more expensive than apple is often worse than apple.

Or it's hit and miss and you need to hope to get the good one. I want a lightweight, non-plastic laptop with good keyboard, solid battery life, and no hinge problems. Apple is consistently delivering it. Good luck finding that outside apple.

Re: MacBook Neo is so popular that Apple doubled production

#350

Post by m463 »

ptmcc wrote: post #335
m463 wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

well, also apple has been inflating the price for phones since forever. the iphone launched at $499 EDIT: hmm.. I guess iphone 1 was $499 or $599 and that required a 2-year AT&T contract. Don't know what the actual price was. I do know the top iphone 17 pro max is $1,999. but it does have 2tb of storage, which is amazing in a different way.

$499 2007 dollars when the first iPhone launched is about $820 in 2026 dollars The basic iPhone 17 starts at $799 The 17e is only $599 If anything the iPhone is getting cheaper in real terms, not more expensive

of course you're right, but phones have been getting more expensive.

They have also become more capable and it seems having a more capable phone has really benefited people.

also: by your numbers that means $1,999 in 2026 would have been $3200 in 2007.

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