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MacBook Neo

apple.com

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Re: MacBook Neo

#891

Post by franciscop »

theopsimist wrote: post #657

List of differences from the MacBook Air: * Only supports 8 GB of unified memory * No MagSafe * One of the two USB-C ports is limited to USB 2.0 speeds of just 480 Mb/s * No Thunderbolt support means the Neo cannot drive either of Apple’s new Studio Displays. However, it can push a 4K display with 60Hz refresh rate over USB-C. * “Just” 16 hours of battery life, compared to the 18 hours quoted for the 13-inch MacBook…

* Max storage is 512GB instead of 4TB.

I currently have 1TB and I'm pretty happy with it, but I've had 256GB and 512GB in the past and I was not happy with those. This might be the only reason I would not consider this laptop.

Re: MacBook Neo

#892

Post by karmakaze »

karmakaze wrote: post #550
lateforwork wrote: post #306

This is a major challenge to Microsoft. A 13-inch Surface Laptop costs $899 [1], that's 50% more than an equivalent MacBook! And even at that higher price the Surface Laptop doesn't have a good screen: it uses 150% scaling (as opposed to the ideal 200%) which means you have subtle display artifacts. Other than Microsoft nobody even makes decent laptops in the Windows world. I am typing this on an Lenovo Yoga, it has…

That Surface has 16GB RAM though. > Your new MacBook Neo. Just the way you want it [sic] . 13-inch MacBook Neo in Indigo A18 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine Apple Intelligence Footnote ※ 8GB unified memory 256GB SSD storage U.S. English Magic Keyboard with Lock Key 20W USB‑C Power Adapter Two USB-C ports, 3.5 mm headphone jack Support for one external display 8 GB unified memory is brand-new e-wast…

I will take MKBHD's take on this[0]. Great as a higher-end 'chromebook' etc. Could be an upgrade for my Surface Go 3 but not as portable. Definitely more useful than a tablet.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBX5WH9b4M4

Re: MacBook Neo

#893

Post by wffurr »

jurmous wrote: post #297

For those wondering: Geekbench CPU single/multi and GPU Metal scores. - M1: 2,347 / 8,342 / 32,377 - M2: 2,587 / 9,669 / 44,712 - A18Pro: 3,539 / 8,772 / 32,288 So Neo is really comparable with the M1, although it has quite faster in single core speed.

A series chips also use a slightly different instruction set with memory tagging and pointer authentication. IIUC it's Armv9, which the M series chips don't support.

Re: MacBook Neo

#895

Post by winrid »

The A18 Pro single thread passmark score is 4k, that's up there with pretty premium desktop CPUs, very impressive if it can do it for any meaningful time.

Re: MacBook Neo

#896

Post by hedora »

giobox wrote: post #816
theopsimist wrote: post #657

List of differences from the MacBook Air: * Only supports 8 GB of unified memory * No MagSafe * One of the two USB-C ports is limited to USB 2.0 speeds of just 480 Mb/s * No Thunderbolt support means the Neo cannot drive either of Apple’s new Studio Displays. However, it can push a 4K display with 60Hz refresh rate over USB-C. * “Just” 16 hours of battery life, compared to the 18 hours quoted for the 13-inch MacBook…

My only real issue with this design is as far as I can tell there is no markings on exterior explaining which USB-C port is "the good one" - an important point given one port is dramatically slower than the other. I suspect many users will probably accidentally plug stuff like external SSDs into the slow port without realizing. It's maybe too much to hope for at this price point, but would have been nice for a machin…

In fairness, it still sounds better than the 1st gen touchbar macs.

Those ran the CPU at 10% normal speed if you charged with the wrong USB port.

The 8GB max DRAM thing is a brutal limitation though.

Re: MacBook Neo

#897

Post by anoncow »

Instead of launching neo, Apple could have enabled something like Dex on their phones. This is still a welcome device if Apple has excess inventory of A18 lying around as this helps people get a laptop for cheaper.

Re: MacBook Neo

#898

Post by hedora »

game_the0ry wrote: post #559
lateforwork wrote: post #306

This is a major challenge to Microsoft. A 13-inch Surface Laptop costs $899 [1], that's 50% more than an equivalent MacBook! And even at that higher price the Surface Laptop doesn't have a good screen: it uses 150% scaling (as opposed to the ideal 200%) which means you have subtle display artifacts. Other than Microsoft nobody even makes decent laptops in the Windows world. I am typing this on an Lenovo Yoga, it has…

> This is a major challenge to Microsoft. > Other than Microsoft nobody even makes decent laptops in the Windows world. I get the impression that microsoft and the pc world have given up on consumer hardware and instead are completely focused on enterprise and ai. That's why windows 11 is saturated with bugs and is basically unusable, but enterprise is forced to buy it.

There are some decent-looking AMD + nvidia laptops from Razer. No idea if they run Linux well, or are reliable, but they seem to tick all the spec boxes. For instance, they have a higher resolution than the monitor I owned in 2001. (3200 × 1800 @ 120Hz minimum on their 14"); probably OK battery life if you don't use the discrete GPU.

From what I've seen of Win 11 in VMs, it doesn't seem compatible with the phrase "decent laptop".

Of course, they start at > $2000.

Re: MacBook Neo

#899

Post by falkensmaize »

ciupicri wrote: post #393
billyhoffman wrote: post #164

For years Apple has been selling an M1 Apple MacBook Air for $649 via Walmart. It was still using the old wedge case design and is literally unchanged from fall of 2020 when it came out. It was the base model with 256 GB storage and 8 GB of RAM model, no upgrade options, no colors. The price point was designed to get customers who would not pay for a $1000 computer into using a Mac. Sourcing those 2020 era M1 compone…

So what if it's a Mac, applications suddenly don't need as much memory? Can it open a table with a gazillion rows? Can it open ten tens if not hundreds of web pages? Can it run multiple programs at the same time? Having only 8 GB sucks unless you're using it as a terminal or media player.

Clearly the target audience for this device are the 90% of users who are going to use this to watch YouTube, talk to ChatGPT and upload photos to Insta, or whatever the kids are doing these days. It’s not designed or marketed at power users, although my past decade plus experience with Macs is that they can stretch a lot further than their specs would suggest.

Re: MacBook Neo

#900

Post by stevefan1999 »

This laptop is almost perfect for me, nix the 8GB to be a little cheapskate in 2026, but given the RAMageddon and SSDageddon artifically caused by the solid state cartels lately from Micron, Samsung, SK Hynix, WD, all of you pieces of shit who is part of this cartel...we have had to accept 8GB for the moment, but for future? At least 12G, because a lot of slop software are using electron to run.

I just want a small laptop or handheld device where I can use ssh and kubectl, maybe sometimes running VSCode to have remote access. The 13 inch form factor is a godsent. I missed my 11-inch MBA 10 years ago so much.

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