popcar2Mar 4

Apple introduces Macbook Neo - cheaper Macbooks starting at $599

https://piefed.ca/c/technology/p/569462/apple-introduces-macbook-neo-cheaper-macbooks-starting-at-599

Apple introduces Macbook Neo - cheaper Macbooks starting at $599

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Show threadpopcar2Mar 4

Honestly I’m expecting this to take up most of the mid-range laptop market. 8gb RAM and only 256GB storage is lame, but the rest of it probably makes it really good value (especially with components getting more expensive recently).

Unless you’re buying used or refurbished, most laptops I found at ~$600 or less kinda suck. Either it has terrible specs, or uses cheap plastic, or has a terrible screen, etc.

I don’t like Apple, but hopefully this is a wake-up call for other vendors. Lower end laptops should stop being cheap garbage.

Show threadwoelkchen

makes it really good value

An iPad Air costs the same but comes with a much better M4 processor. The main difference is a less crap operating system in macOS.

Mar 4 at 3:08pmWeb
Show threadXLEMar 4
In addition to being more locked down, you’d also have to figure out/purchase peripherals like the keyboard and mouse yourself, right?
Show threadpopcar2Mar 4

An iPad Air costs the same but comes with a much better M4 processor.

Sure, but a tablet isn’t a laptop.

Show threadwoelkchenMar 4

Sure, but a tablet isn’t a laptop.

So form factor, not hardware internals should be the deciding factor in cost?

Show threadRomkslrquszMar 4

To a degree, yeah.

The laptop form factor is engineered with lid and palmrest assemblies, if you’re going to compare the two then you’ll want to add a nice keyboard to that iPad. Apple’s is $270.

Show threadwoelkchenMar 4

Apple’s is $270.

Typical Apple tax, completely unrelated to the few dollars a keyboard costs to make for real.

Show threadRomkslrquszMar 4

You’re not entirely wrong, in that the Apple Tax is real.

Nonetheless, the quality of the Magic Keyboard is substantially higher than that of a keyboard you can get for “few dollars”

Ultimately, your assertion was:

An iPad Air costs the same but comes with a much better M4 processor. The main difference is a less crap operating system in macOS.

An iPad Air with a keyboard that matches the form factor and build quality of a MacBook Neo does not actually cost the same, it costs an additional $270.

Show threadwoelkchenMar 4

The MacBook doesn’t have a touchscreen. It cancels the keyboard cost out.

They don’t even put touch ID on the entry model.

Show threadZangooseMar 4

Ok but if you want to do actual work on it then these things absolutely do not cancel each other out because you have to spend $270 on a keyboard/trackpad regardless, and now have to use a clunky touchscreen on your 13 inch tablet half the time.

Yes, the M4 is much faster and it is probably only stupid product segmentation keeping it on the iPad. But the reality is, iOS/iPadOS puts OS-level limits on how much you can even take advantage of that hardware even if there is an iOS app for the thing you want to do

TLDR: If you really want a MacBook just get a refurbished M1/M2 MacBook and call it a day, bonus points for putting Asahi on it

Show threadwoelkchenMar 4

you have to spend $270 on a keyboard/trackpad regardless

That’s Apple tax, not manufacturing cost. MacBook replacement keyboards sell for 10 dollars on Aliexpress.

iOS/iPadOS puts OS-level limits on how much you can even take advantage of that hardware even if there is an iOS app for the thing you want to do

I’m comparing hardware to hardware, not artificial Apple software restrictions.

Show threadZangooseMar 4

I’m comparing hardware to hardware, not artificial Apple software restrictions.

That’s great but hardware doesn’t exist in a vacuum. With an ecosystem as locked-down as an iPad’s you can’t just ignore the software. It’s not like you’ll ever be able to uninstall it because it’s intentionally locked down, unlike a macbook which allows installing apps and even modifying the bootloader to boot into a different OS.

Edit: Forgot to mention the fact even for people that might not care about that, iOS will automatically kill any app that uses more than a certain amount of RAM (I think it was 4GB? I don’t remember the exact number) so in a lot of scenarios you can’t even take advantage of the hardware in an iPad because of the locked down software

Show threadAatubeMar 5
you can’t buy an iPad without a touchscreen. your argument feels like arguing that tariffs won’t affect consumers because they’re paid by the importers
Show threadSkunkWorkzMar 5
What something should be priced at is what the market is willing to pay for it. People are definitely willing to pay more for a MacBook than an iPad. Also there are similar spec’ed Chromebooks on the market that cost around the same price and people buy them. The Neo is competing with Chromebook.
Show threadpanda_abyssMar 4

You can’t really use an iPad as a laptop. The hardware exists and should work, but the software is awful.

It’s often several seconds to switch to Safari on my iPad Pro with M series chip. We’ve had app switching in computers for 40 years. Why can’t iPad do it?

Show threadMurrayLMar 4
Except for them to be directly comparable you’d also have to get a keyboard cover for the iPad, making it more expensive than the MacBook, and it’d still have one fewer USB port and no audio jack.
Show threadwoelkchenMar 4

Except for them to be directly comparable you’d also have to get a keyboard cover for the iPad, making it more expensive than the MacBook

One has a keyboard (cheap components), the other has a touchscreen. The cost cancel each other out.

Show threadirate944Mar 4
Better specs sure, but I would sooner cut my wrists than to try to work on an iOS device