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The MacBook Neo

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Re: The MacBook Neo

#991

Post by izacus »

lurking_swe wrote: post #367
izacus wrote: post #291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After growing up in eastern Europe it's still wild to see young Americans stupidly demand less choice and more monopolies in their market. Like seriously, having laptop choice is causing you crippling issues? Is other people having a laptop to choose based on preference causing you distress when you go to Apple store?

I don’t think you fully understood their argument. The problem is not that other manufacturers offer choices – the problem is that for a typical consumer it’s IMPOSSIBLE to really understand which computer in the lineup is appropriate for their needs. It seems most of them are focused on B2B sales. Of course, if you are a gamer or a nerd like myself, you don’t mind spending a week finding the perfect computer. But th…

I fully understood their argument and found out how ignorant it is by just looking at a huge list of all MacBook models on sale in local Apple Store which isn't all that different from an Asus or Dell list.

The posters are ignorant of how much they internalized Apple complexity and then uses that to crap on products they don't even know.

Re: The MacBook Neo

#992

Post by yeukhon »

rekabis wrote: post #482

I am perfectly fine with many of the technological restrictions on this device, and think it represents a great balance. However, I think that two will bring sour tastes to people’s metaphorical mouths much more than expected: the RAM and drive space. There should have been a 16Gb option. Nosebleed the price if you have to, or include a SODIMM slot if needed, but the option should have been there to expand the memory…

16GB is going to leap you into the air category. They intentionally make this an entry premium laptop. The retina itself and MacOSX’s mandate of font conformity make this premium over other budget laptop in that price range.

Re: The MacBook Neo

#993

Post by yeukhon »

rurban wrote: post #6

I've used an MacAir with 8GB ram starting at 700€ for years, writing and testing compilers. This was until the macOS and butterfly keyboard desasters, which made me go back to 450€ ThinkPad Ryzen laptops with Fedora, upgraded to 64GB RAM. My wife is using a fancy new air for 2500€, which is way better. But I still think of the good old MacAir times, they'll try to bring up again.

I never have problems with butterfly keyboard. It felt good. Not sure why you guys have such big hate against it.

Re: The MacBook Neo

#994

Post by Reason077 »

dhosek wrote: post #403
SllX wrote: post #351

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The iPad line makes a lot more sense when you’re just shopping and realize you’re just on a price ladder. Start from the bottom and climb up picking up features along the way until you reach the point where you’ve got what you want or you’re not willing to spend more money. The Neo is either easy to recommend or rather easy to not recommend. It has a fixed 8GB of RAM. I think that’s too little for a modern Mac operat…

From all the reviews, those of us who are skeptical of 8GB of RAM are very much wrong (I’m guessing it’s lingering PTSD from being stuck on underperforming systems with too little RAM that makes us buy much more RAM than we actually need). I’m inches away from buying a couple of these for my kids.

> "From all the reviews, those of us who are skeptical of 8GB of RAM are very much wrong"

Yes and no. I had a M1 MacBook Air for several years, with 8 GB. It's fine if your needs are relatively simple (ie: just a browser, with not too many tabs, and a few other simple apps). But try to run too many apps and it would tend to hit a wall and get very slow.

One thing that did seem to help a lot was to keep the SSD relatively empty: the SSD seems to get slower once it has Last year I upgraded to an M4 Air and got 24GB, which makes a world of difference. But I gave the M1 to my niece and she seems very happy with it!

Re: The MacBook Neo

#995

Post by ThePowerOfFuet »

B1FF_PSUVM wrote: post #516
smackeyacky wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting I will look at replacing the battery if that’s a possibility. Thanks!

The Intel MacBook Air battery was very easy to swap, just opening the bottom lid. Amazon has kits for about 40 bucks with the two necessary screwdrivers included.

Don't buy lithium-ion batteries on Amazon.

Especially not very large ones like in a laptop.

Re: The MacBook Neo

#996

Post by ksec »

ErneX wrote: post #544
ksec wrote: post #484

This is going to be against a lot of the comments and opinion posted on HN here. The best selling Macbook in history, as percentage of total MacBook sold is the 11" $899 MacBook Air. That was when Apple learned people are willing to give up on performance and features just to get a Mac, or just to use OSX. And despite the declining state of macOS, as Gruber said it is still zillions times better than Windows. Apple M…

Here’s a teardown: https://youtu.be/5k7Lv7f-5CQ

Pretty much everything I expected from the Quick Look of it on Dave2D. Only surprises were the keyboard.

I dont think there has ever been a MacBook that has been designed with this level of practicality. I think we need to go back to Powerbook era and I dont think we have that either.

Would have been perfect if they come with A19 Pro 12GB DRAM and double the SSD speed next year.

Re: The MacBook Neo

#997

Post by herdymerzbow »

nine_k wrote: post #635
herdymerzbow wrote: post #562

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every time I've considered an alternative to my Mac laptop I'm confronted by this much choice (and that of other manufacturers) and I also have to deal with unknown and varying performance of keyboard, display and trackpad. One thing PC manufacturers seem to prioritise and focus on is tech specs + performance and interface is tacked on (or at least the interface designers departments in their companies aren't leading…

The choice is really simple: it's a Thinkpad series T, with an AMD APU, the most powerful configuration you can afford :)

I used a work provided thinkpad in 2000 and I really liked it at the time. And I've been dabbling with linux every since then. But only switched my main desktop OS to linux last year (from Windows 11). So my last upgrade cycle linux wasn't really on the cards (for me).

The one thing that makes it harder for me to go the way of the think pad is the lack of models on display anywhere in Australia. For a 7 year commitment I really don't want any uncertainty about the feel of the machine. Lenovo do have plenty of ideapads available at retail and some thinkpads, but not the higher tier.

Re: The MacBook Neo

#998

Post by seec »

SllX wrote: post #734
runako wrote: post #707

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> fixed 8GB of RAM. I think that’s too little for a modern Mac operating on the modern web. The best comparator here is likely the iPhone 16 Pros, released in late 2024. These were the flagship iPhones until late 2025. They are only one generation old. They have the same CPU and the same 8GB of RAM. I have never heard anyone complain that they suffer performance-wise from having too little RAM. Many of the apps non-d…

> The best comparator here is likely the iPhone 16 Pros, released in late 2024. These were the flagship iPhones until late 2025. They are only one generation old. They have the same CPU and the same 8GB of RAM. I have never heard anyone complain that they suffer performance-wise from having too little RAM. I have 8GB of RAM in my M2 iPad Pro running iOS (yes, it’s “iOS” despite what Apple’s crack marketing team might…

Yes, I think they changed something in the new iOS; they are trying to get people to swap old devices.

I had issues with swapping before, but with the latest iOS, it has become very annoying on an old iPhone with a small amount of RAM (3GB, I think).

Apple fanboys laugh at Android users for many things, but they can use their devices longer even though they might not have the fastest CPU around (8GB+ has been normalized forever in Android world).

Re: The MacBook Neo

#999

Post by adastra22 »

adastra22 wrote: post #814
smackeyacky wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting I will look at replacing the battery if that’s a possibility. Thanks!

Just did this on a 2017 MacBook Air. Battery was cheap ($50?) and it was simple to do. Machine is working just fine now.

For what it's worth, if anyone comes back to read this, the battery just died :\

Didn't even last a month.

Re: The MacBook Neo

#1000

Post by bigyabai »

lostmsu wrote: post #121
tuesdaynight wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMO, there's nothing comparable to MacBook Air in its price range if you are an average user. Neo is even better in that aspect. The model you cited sounds better if you are planning to use Linux and are computer literate. But if you just want something that is good (not perfect) at everything usual, a MacBook is a no-brainer.

I don't think MacOS is better than Windows, so I disagree with that take.

Most people that I have interacted with consider macOS to be more confusing and less usable than Windows. It's not just you.
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