discussion MacBook Neo

[moocow]

Wow this sub thread is so dead. Anyway Macbook Neo released for $600 USD or $800 CAD with pre-order starting now and delivery starting March 11, 2026. Key points:

• Color ALU case
• 8GB of RAM
• A18 Pro CPU which is the same as iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max
• 13 inch screen, 2408 x 1506 IPS screen
• 256GB storage for the base model, 512GB for $1K
• 3.5mm jack (combo?)
• USB-C 3.0 and USB-C 2.0 (yes, I'm reading it straight off Mac website)
• 1080p camera
• Wifi 6 (ax)
• Can only support 1 external display

So looking at the competitors at the similar price point:

• Dell XPS 13 Snapdragon 512GB, 16GB, is $850 to start but it's Snapdragon Snap Plus
• Dell XPS 13 Intel Core Ultra 7 256V Series 2, $950 to start, Ubuntu 24.04, 16GB, 512GB storage
• HP 13 inch are all $1.5K to start
• Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga Gen4 13inch, Intel 13th gen 1315U, 8GB of solder RAM, 256GB storage, same screen size but lower resolution at 1920x1200, $890
  • All other 13 inch are more than $1.5K

 

[JD]

I could see it pairing well with Microsoft W365 or AVD solutions for large enterprises. Cheaper fleet to manage compared to Dell/Lenovo/HP, and likely more friendly to the younger generation of employees now.

 

[Izerous]

With only 8GB ram it was dead to me on arrival and paid it no attention. 32GB is my personal bare minimum and even for the kids and stuff I aim for 16GB minimum.

 

[Izerous]

I could see it pairing well with Microsoft W365 or AVD solutions for large enterprises. Cheaper fleet to manage compared to Dell/Lenovo/HP, and likely more friendly to the younger generation of employees now.

Only 1 external monitor means most offices I could think even considering it would just keep to their volume Lenovo orders

 

[lowfat]

I'd likely order one if it had a keyboard backlight.

 

[Lysrin]

I'd likely order one if it had a keyboard backlight.

I know it's not the most tech oriented feature, but I'm the same. I really like backlight everywhere but especially on a laptop these days.

 

[Bond007]

With only 8GB ram it was dead to me on arrival and paid it no attention. 32GB is my personal bare minimum and even for the kids and stuff I aim for 16GB minimum.

Agree for windows. For Apple it doesn’t need as much, but 8 is still very (too) slim…even if they could have gone to 12GB. That said, with apples track record I would still trust this will be perfectly fine for the light general tasks that its target market will mostly use it for.

I know it's not the most tech oriented feature, but I'm the same. I really like backlight everywhere but especially on a laptop these days.

Even if they charged $30-50 upgrade for it, I am sure people would go for it. But it is probably not going to happen, as it will drive sales to more expensive MacBooks that have it, and simplify the build on these budget machines to just one keyboard.

 

[Lysrin]

...

Even if they charged $30-50 upgrade for it, I am sure people would go for it. But it is probably not going to happen, as it will drive sales to more expensive MacBooks that have it, and simplify the build on these budget machines to just one keyboard.

Yeah, absolutely. I already watched one video where the guy said those things are specifically left out to partition their buyers, and maintain the current market for the more expensive offerings. It'd be dumb not to do it that way really, not rocket science of marketing, but I can still want it in the Neo lol

 

[Izerous]

Agree for windows. For Apple it doesn’t need as much, but 8 is still very (too) slim…even if they could have gone to 12GB. That said, with apples track record I would still trust this will be perfectly fine for the light general tasks that its target market will mostly use it for.

My last work laptop was a mac pro 16GB wasn't really enough for my day to day work tasks. Things like x-code are absolute pigs depending on what your doing. Mac vs Windows both need 16GB+ unless are your doing is really basic tasks anymore.

 

[moocow]

Just looking at my MacBook Air M3 with 24GB of RAM, with a 8 or 9 FF tabs open, background stuff like Zscaler, Team, Slack, and other stuff. I'm already up to 16.5GB of RAM consumed under office condition.