Charlie StrossMar 22

Meanwhile, a thought about the Macbook Neo:

The Neo uses an A18 Pro SOC, the 2024 iPhone Pro cpu—the iPhone 17 Pro runs on the A19 Pro. (The Neo soaks up their stockpile of high-end phone rejects.)

Apple's about to ramp up for the 2026 iPhones, which will release in September on the A20Pro.

Phones outsell laptops by a huge margin so I think the current Neo will be quietly replaced by an A19 Pro model in September, to use up the reject stockpile once as iPhone 17 sales tapers off.

/1

Show threadCharlie StrossMar 22

Implication: if you want a Macbook Neo this year, maybe wait until September—unless you expect the coming supply chain shock to hit Apple, too. Which is not impossible if TSMC can't meet their chip delivery dates.

If that happens, prices will shoot up and scarcity economics will take over, so buy now and be prepared to run it for the next decade.

/2

Show threadCharlie StrossMar 22

I don't need a Macbook Neo. My current "cheap mobile writing machine" niche is filled by a M3 Macbook Air. But my newest iPad and iPhone are two generation old Pro models.

I suspect … no new iPad for me in 2026/27, but *maybe* a spec-bumped Neo in Sept/Oct, which will cover a lot of the iPad use cases (and is cheaper).

Then aim to run it forever.

(I'm overdue for a complete re-think of what I do with my herd of computers, and therefore what I actually need.)

/3 (end)

Show threadTubemeisterMar 22

@cstross Mmmh. Don’t want a Neo, but I may have to ponder a new Air after all.

The 2020 M1 doesn’t actually feel slow yet, which makes an impressive change from intel era macs, but it is getting on a bit and the thought of running it for another 5-10 years is a bit um.

Show threadWoozle Hypertwin

@Tubemeister @cstross

I'm personally on team "cheap used laptop from ebay but with Linux", for whatever that's worth.

Mar 23 at 6:48pmWeb
Show threadTubemeisterMar 23

@woozle Yeah, BTDT.

I flipped back and forth between Mac and Linux every couple of years, getting annoyed with either the fragile never-quite-right project nature of Linux or the slick but rigid somebody-had-a-meeting-and-decided-you-can't-do-that nature of the Mac.

I now have both: A personal Mac and Linux on the work Thinkpad. :-)