MacBook Neo

Sales guff- https://www.apple.com/uk/macbook-neo/

Tech spec- https://www.apple.com/uk/macbook-neo/specs/

Seems a capable little gadget for the price, plainly intended to grab a chunk of a market sector currently dominated by Windows-based machines by showing that "Apple" needn't equate to "costs a bomb" and that MacOS is quite friendly. The reviews I've read have (with some reservations) been quite impressed.

I'm tempted...

Edited by billford (Wed 11-Mar-26 12:39:21)

That looks appealing to me too Bill.

I do find it incredible that they are now taking smartphone processors and putting them in very capable laptops. There was a time where a smartphone processor was a very cut down version of the laptop processor.

The power in a standard smartphone processor is astonishing. It is no wonder the only time I use a laptop for personal use now is for full on gaming - everything else I pretty much do on my phone these days. I love the idea of the Neo but just have no real world scenario that I would need it for.

EDIT : To add - it also proves that you could run Mac OS on an iPad without issues - the processor is capable so what (apart from market segmentation) is to stop them?

Edited by ian72 (Wed 11-Mar-26 14:57:54)

If you’ve ever tried using VNC, or the like, on an iPad to access a desktop running MacOS you’ll know why you couldn’t usefully run it on an iPad. Yes, you could add a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, but then why bother with the iPad? And you still would be left with a tiny screen.

Horses for courses.

In reply to a post by ian72:

There was a time where a smartphone processor was a very cut down version of the laptop processor.

Agreed, but it has not been true probably since they went 64bit with the A7 chip in 2013.

The iPad won't run a mouse centric OS until all models of iPad come with a built in keyboard.

I wonder if a future Neo with a touch screen could run more iPadOS apps, however too many apps are blocked from installing on Mac by the vendor (e.g. many newspaper apps that work well on iPad).

In reply to a post by billford:

I'm tempted...

Temptation duly succumbed to

Dealing with the reservations raised in most of the reviews I've read:

I'm a long way from being a power user so the paucity of memory isn't really an issue, although it'll probably bite me one day when I forget I haven't got 64GB like the desktop and leave too many things running. (Easily fixed- quit a few )

Nor am I gamer except for things like Solitaire etc, which I doubt will unduly tax its video processing capabilities

I've never had (or felt the need for) a backlit keyboard, and what you've never had you don't miss... early days yet, but I'm happy

Nice one Bill, it warms one’s cockles to spoil yerself every once in a while don’t it ?

Yup, it's along while since I bought meself a new toy

In reply to a post by billford:

Yup, it's along while since I bought meself a new toy

Well enjoy it !

Thanks, I intend to... the trackpad is taking a bit of getting used to, it's a lot more sensitive than the one on my old (2012 and defunct) Macbook!!