If you think MacBook Neo is a bad deal, it’s not for you
Summary created by Smart Answers AI
In summary:
- Macworld analyzes Apple’s new $599 MacBook Neo, examining whether its low price justifies the 8GB RAM configuration questioned by reviewers.
- The device targets casual users, students, and iPhone owners who are looking for seamless ecosystem integration rather than high-end specs or performance.
- Compared to Windows laptops and iPads with similarly priced keyboards, the MacBook Neo offers superior build quality, performance, and storage capacity.
Apple announced an all-new MacBook this week with a starting price of just $599, and as you might have guessed, everyone has an opinion on it. If social media feeds are to be believed, the most common criticism is that it’s not really a good deal because it’s a slow piece of garbage with only 8GB of RAM and will be obsolete and useless in just a few years.
Clearly, Apple isn’t going to make a Mac laptop as good as the MacBook Air at nearly half the price. But are these compromises really decisive? Let’s dig.
“There is not enough RAM”
At the heart of most complaints is the fact that an A18 Pro with only 8GB of RAM will provide a poor user experience. Sometimes this shot is carefully covered – sure, it’s fine now, but in a few years it won’t be able to run the latest AI models, or whatever!
If you’re the type of user who knows every spec of your computer and considers those details carefully, then the MacBook Neo isn’t for you.
It’s not what’s inside the MacBook Neo that matters.
Michael Simon / Foundry
There are millions of people whose entire laptop usage consists of sending emails, browsing the web, shopping online, reading news, watching YouTube videos, and scrolling through social media. The closest you get to creating anything is cutting the end of a video or cropping some photos. They often don’t update to the latest version of the operating system and don’t really care. They are totally happy with their 4 year old laptop and don’t really know what kind of processor it has or how much RAM it has.
They went to Best Buy or another big box store, looked through the laptops on display, and picked one that was cheap and looked good. Users like this are everywhere and rarely end up with a Mac because starting prices are usually $1,000 or more.
The MacBook Neo is made for them. And for eighth graders who need to write reports. And so that the grandchildren buy it for their grandparents who don’t understand all these new computer developments, but the HP laptop they have been using since 2010 no longer starts.
For these target markets, the MacBook Neo will be more than enough. We know this because the MacBook Air M1 and M2 sold with just 8GB of RAM still do all of these basic things very well. And yes, maybe in a few years they won’t be able to run the latest big AI models locally. Much of AI is being migrated to the cloud anyway, and it’s simply not necessary for the day-to-day tasks these users spend their time on.
I’m also not sure a $599 Chromebook can handle the latest AI models in 2028.
“Just get an iPad and a keyboard”
I can’t believe how many people have suggested that an iPad with a keyboard/trackpad cover would be a better deal.
The most basic iPad with the Magic Keyboard Folio costs $598, almost exactly the price of the MacBook Neo. Only, it is smaller (11 inches), slower (A16) and has half the storage (128 GB).
Foundry
Of course, iPads have their own strengths, mainly cameras and touchscreens, but getting iPad hardware comparable to the MacBook Neo certainly costs more.
And importantly, iPads run iPadOS, not macOS. Everyone who wants a touchscreen tablet already has an iPad. The MacBook Neo is for people who want a Mac. They want to run Mac Software.
“You can get a better PC for less”
And them? You can definitely get a Windows laptop or Chromebook for this price. Or less. Much less!
Similar priced Windows laptops are typically larger, with thicker, heavier bodies. They seem cheap and plastic. They have slow processors, RAM and storage. It’s not uncommon to find better specs in some places (more storage, more RAM, bigger screens), but it’s unlikely you’ll find them all. And compromises abound too.
But they don’t work well, feel good, or look good. Put a $600 Windows laptop side by side with a MacBook Neo, and it feels cheap. And do you have any idea how much bloatware and junk you get on a sub-$1,000 Windows laptop these days? Why do you think the price is so low?
There aren’t many $599 Windows PCs that won’t look cheap next to the Neo.
Foundry
There are a billion iPhone users who would appreciate a computer that can easily sync all their messages, photos, and favorites. They want to copy something on their laptop and paste it on their phone. They want to use their phone as a webcam. They want Find My on their computer. And they don’t want to mess with a bunch of third-party utilities and software to achieve this.
People don’t buy Macs simply because of how the benchmarks or specs compare to a Windows machine of the same price. They buy them because they’re Macs. Just like people buy Windows desktops because of the games they want to run, people buy Macs because of the Mac software they want to run.
The price East functionality
We could compare the MacBook Neo to other products all day long. (That’s $100 less than the wheels for the Mac Pro!) That would miss the point.
The fact is, this is a Mac laptop that’s hundreds of dollars cheaper than any Mac laptop, and it will do all the “laptop basics” just fine. This opens up the possibility of introducing a Mac to an absolutely huge market that simply wasn’t accessible before.
This is the basic MacBook. The first MacBook. The test MacBook. The MacBook you don’t need to be too careful with.
RAM, ports and display are not the features. THE price is functionality.
