Christina WarrenThere are obvious deficits to the MacBook Neo — connectivity is a huge one, but I’m just stoked there is a $500 MacBook (assuming you use the student discount, which of course you obviously should) and in fun colors!
Jason Snell@film_girl I just wonder how much connectivity the buyers of a $599 laptop need....
D. Griffin Jones@jsnell @film_girl If that type of customer is plugging in external storage at all, it would probably be one of those self-contained Samsung SSDs, not an OWC ThunderBay or Synology that costs 3× as much as the Neo
@dgriffinjones @jsnell I’m not talking about that. I’m saying a single USB 3 port (not even USB 4) sucks. At least offer two. This means that even $30 Anker dongles are going to be VERY bandwidth constrained. I still think this is a winner but the user really needs to never wants to connect it to an external display or use it with multiple accessories. That trade-off that felt OK in 2020. It fees less OK now. I’m still a fan, but this sort of cheaping out is still a thing we should critique
@film_girl @jsnell Ah, I see. Definitely agree there.
Although speaking of displays, how far can it go with only DisplayPort? The tech specs page for the new Studio Display doesn’t list the MacBook Neo…
@dgriffinjones @jsnell it can only support a 4K display. Meaning Apple doesn’t sell a display that works with the MacBook Neo. Which OK. And look, $300 Chromebooks support HDMI 1.4 so this feels just like a choice to use the cheapest most cut down CPU they could. And that’s fine. But I’m not going to praise them for being cheap fucks, even if I largely like the product.
Daniel Lyons@film_girl @dgriffinjones @jsnell The typical customer for this product doesn’t even realize that it’s possible to use an external monitor with a laptop.
@dandylyons @film_girl @jsnell I mean, you shouldn’t assume that people buying cheap computers are dumb, they may just not have the money for the $1,099 model. That’s a lot of money.
@dgriffinjones @film_girl @jsnell This has nothing to do with intelligence. They’re plenty smart, they just don’t know about external monitors because frankly they don’t care. They just want a cheap, light portable laptop. And that’s what it is.
Not everyone is a techy and that is fine.
ChancerubbageI’m assuming at least wifi and Bluetooth is included.
@jsnell I think having only a single USB 3 port sucks, full stop. It’s offensive to me, tbh. The DTK from 6 years ago had better than this. The bandwidth problem here makes even getting a dock a very, very difficult trade-off. Especially when full MacBook Airs with 16GB of RAM have been available (granted not widely for $600, but certainly for $700 more commonly). We can quibble on if the buyer cares, but my point is they shouldn’t have to worry.
Dan Moren@film_girl @jsnell I agree that I don't think most people buying this will know or care BUT I do think there's a usability problem, when you plug in to the wrong port and don't know why everything is slower. That seems like a bad experience.
@dmoren @jsnell I think that they will care when it bites them in the ass. Which it will if they try to use this as more than a Chromebook. And maybe the average buyer won’t do that. But I also feel like it’s sort of shitty for us to assume that buyers of $600 or $700 computers don’t know or care about stuff like this. This is a good price for a Mac but come on.
@film_girl @jsnell I get your point, and I'm not trying to be shitty about it. I think the vast majority of users—*all* users—mainly plug stuff into their laptops to charge, and data transfer rates don't even end up figuring into it. And, like I said, I think the worse sin is that they're not the same, so how do you even know which port is the "good" one?
It will be interesting to see if they do rev this next year and add the A19 Pro whether it will have two USB-3 ports.
bbech@dmoren @film_girl @jsnell I think how I have so many peripherals on my computer and then I got to friends and family homes and they at most have a monitor and a keyboard/mouse wireless dongle. Most just rawdawg a laptop.
In college I just rawdawged a laptop and I’m sure most high school and college students will too.
Jonathan Gulbrandsen@dmoren @film_girl @jsnell they thought of that part: https://www.macrumors.com/2026/03/04/macbook-neo-usb-c-port-limitation/
Leonick@dmoren @film_girl @jsnell
If they couldn’t manage two proper USB 3.x ports it would have been better of with the two essentially being a hub, sharing the bandwidth of the one internal port.
If they couldn’t manage two proper USB 3.x ports it would have been better of with the two essentially being a hub, sharing the bandwidth of the one internal port.
Steven Op de beeck@film_girl @jsnell this MacBook isn’t for you, it’s for people that will use the ports on this laptop a few times per month, mostly for a usb stick or some headphones, and charging.
@stevenodb @jsnell $150 Chromebooks have better connectivity options is my point. No one — especially not people who spend $600 or $700 on a laptop — should have to worry that they plugged their thumb drive into the wrong port and were transported back to 2004 when speeds are so slow they are genuinely unusable. Apple hasn’t sold a laptop with USB 2 since 2013. (1/2)
No, this laptop isn’t for me, but I’m not going to be classist enough to pretend that these buyers don’t deserve the same basic features every laptop sold for over a decade has had. (2/2)
Paul Chernoff@film_girl @jsnell The USB port issue is my biggest nit because I can't imagine it saving Apple much money and it is an annoyance to have 2 different USB-C ports. I'm not sure I would remember to use a specific port for charging and attach a monitor to the other. I hope that this decision wasn't made just to differentiate this model from the MBA.
After that I would make the RAM 16GB but I am going to guess economics are really against that these days.
@film_girl @jsnell Would the use of the A18 chip prevent having 2 full USB-C ports? I don't know. But as you say, it is Apple's choice because they designed and selected the processor.
@film_girl @jsnell I agree that the monitor limitation to 4K took me by surprise. I think Apple is leaving money on the table by not offering more monitors, but there is a wide selection of 4K monitors on the market. And don't get me started on a monitor rant.
Oddly the Neo limitations mean that I won't have to argue with the C-Ring about not buying these for my office. And we are still happily using many MBA M1s (16GB RAM, 512GB SSD).
@film_girl @jsnell Definitely not. I’m moving my office slowlly to M4s and M5s.
I am wondering if the 2 deaths of M1 MBAs in my office were truly accidents.
davd@film_girl @jsnell I‘m rather worried about 256GB SSD, given how bad macOS manages disk space…
Penguin@film_girl @jsnell Agree, but only to the point of not differentiating the ports with, say, a charge symbol that says this port is for charging & not data. The A19 will take care of the 12GB RAM when it arrives next year, maybe it can manage 2 USB 3 ports too.
@PenguinToot @jsnell this assumes we get annual updates to the Neo, which I hope we do but I don’t think we can count on.
David Cohen@film_girl @jsnell @gruber said it was a technical challenge for Apple to even *get* a second USB port to work with the A18, so it may not be a “sucks for you, cheapskate” flex
Nick Heer@jsnell @film_girl Is the USB 2 port (or, more precisely, having only one USB 3 port of the two) perhaps downstream of the choice to use the A18? I agree that it’s not a dealbreaker but it *feels* nickel-and-dimey (and confusing, given that they look the same).
@nickheer @film_girl yes, it was impossible to do two usb 3 ports on this chip.
@jsnell @nickheer yes. And that was a choice Apple made. They could have used an iPad chip or an older iPhone Pro chip. I understand the technical limitations; my point is these were all limitations that Apple chose. And fine. But I don’t give them any grace or a pass on this just because they want 50% margins.
Greg Thompson@film_girl @jsnell @nickheer A couple things from a Tech Director for a K-12 School Corporation.
1. Chromebooks are getting more expensive by the day with the RAM Shortage.
2. The screen on the Neo Destroys any Chromebook I have ever seen.
3. Yes Jamf is Expensive, but we have already invested and set up that architecture for our 1:1 iPads.
4. Yes, Most schools buy "cheap" Chromebooks, but you get what you pay for. $350 for a device that falls apart in a year or 2.
1. Chromebooks are getting more expensive by the day with the RAM Shortage.
2. The screen on the Neo Destroys any Chromebook I have ever seen.
3. Yes Jamf is Expensive, but we have already invested and set up that architecture for our 1:1 iPads.
4. Yes, Most schools buy "cheap" Chromebooks, but you get what you pay for. $350 for a device that falls apart in a year or 2.
@film_girl @jsnell @nickheer
5. There will be resale value for the Neo after 4 years of use, Chromebooks are junk after 2 years.
6. We will absolutely transition to these from our iPads at Grades 7-12.
5. There will be resale value for the Neo after 4 years of use, Chromebooks are junk after 2 years.
6. We will absolutely transition to these from our iPads at Grades 7-12.
@gc_headtech @jsnell @nickheer wouldn’t it be more economical to write off the cost of the machines as amortized than to resell for what, $200 at most? again, genuine question. Transition from iPad I can see, but again, my question is: would you ever get the approval to double the budget to get off Chromebooks?
@gc_headtech @jsnell @nickheer agree with all of that. And it would be better longterm to buy higher quality machines. But let me ask you: would your district agree to double the budget for laptops? I understand you have to replace them more often, but would they even entertain doubling the budget today? Genuine question.
@film_girl @jsnell @nickheer
That's the thing, it's really not double the budget when you look at Chromebook prices and the residual value after our lease. We still make money on selling back iPad 7th gen devices.
That's the thing, it's really not double the budget when you look at Chromebook prices and the residual value after our lease. We still make money on selling back iPad 7th gen devices.
@gc_headtech @jsnell @nickheer fair enough. I assumed the tax implications on sales wouldn’t be worth it but fair enough!
@film_girl @jsnell @nickheer No Tax for K-12 Public School Corporation (Federal or State) We always take our residual value and roll it into the next lease. As a bonus many companies are now working with us to have community buyback programs where we sell our used iPads to the local community.
Philipp Sommer@film_girl @jsnell @nickheer "They could have used an iPad chip or an older iPhone Pro chip."
They use an iPhone 16 Pro chip.
Raphael Rychetsky@film_girl @jsnell @nickheer I’ve read so much about the USB-C 2.0 port that I wish Apple gave it only one USB-C port at all
philmehew@film_girl @jsnell @nickheer A great point..why do we have iPads with laptop chips in them and laptops with phone chips in them…can’t imagine it makes more than a 10% cost difference, and if they wanted to break into the lower price market, they aught to have absorbed that additional cost to show users in that price bracket what a proper Mac is like to own.
CodeMacLife@film_girl I’m really impressed with it. I hope I can get the educational discount as a teacher. Even my son has shown interest in the Neo.
Wayne Dixon@film_girl did you order one in Blush color?
@waynedixon I need to see it in person before I buy. I might get the yellow. The yellow looks really good.
@film_girl it’s a bold color, which I applaud. I wonder if the bold color choice is to gauge how well it’ll sell to see if people really want a bold color or not.
DaveP@film_girl No backlit keyboard is the one that's absolutely killing me
Max Leibman@film_girl I'm planning to use the student discount to get the 512 GB one down to $600. 😉
And hell yes on fun colors. I'm going for the yellow, both because it matches my iPhone 14 Plus, and because the "indigo" is not the bright pop I was hoping for. (Also, I basically had that color of blue for a computer already on my Surface Laptop and Surface Go).
And hell yes on fun colors. I'm going for the yellow, both because it matches my iPhone 14 Plus, and because the "indigo" is not the bright pop I was hoping for. (Also, I basically had that color of blue for a computer already on my Surface Laptop and Surface Go).