I’m not shocked in the slightest. Great price point for younger folks to buy or be given as a gift, the build quality is good for what it is and it is snappy for most uses.
It’s many years too late IMO but I suppose the economics only made sense once they controlled their own chipset. I imagine doing this in the intel days would have been a far worse choice
It's amazing you can get an iPad for $349 and a Macbook for $599. Even the plastic 2009 macbook alone was $999 at the lowest. Very strange to see a company do this when everything else just seems to have gone up and up.
It was not the normal Apple Mac Pricing to begin with. But let see if they will stick to $599 next year when it comes with 12GB RAM and hopefully double the SSD speed. I wouldn't be surprised it would have similar sales if it was priced $699.
It was also a very low initial production volume to begin with. So doubling isn't because it is doing above everyone's expectations, it is because Apple underestimated the demand. That is also ignoring the summer back to school season.
Not surprising. I've been looking at potentially getting one for my mother. Her last Windows 10 laptop is pretty long in the tooth, and there's no way in hell I'm getting her one with Windows 11 on it.
The Neo seems to fill the same niche that the Chromebook once did, and, since she's already in the Apple ecosystem due to her iPhone, an "Apple Chromebook" seems like an attractive proposition.
I would like to know how these are on XCode - would love to have the cheapest/most lightweight possible way to build iOS apps (derived from some cross-platform builder like Expo/Lynx/Dioxus) since I have no other use for MacOS.
Looking at tech specs, it seems like the one with 512GB drive might be serviceable. I have a very old 256GB Air and I struggle to keep enough drive space open to have XCode installed on it.
They're fine if you just need it mainly for the build/bundle step.
I've used an 8GB M1 mac for react-native iOS dev for over a year back when the M1 first came out.
If I had to look for the cheapest way to build iOS apps, but still on a laptop form factor (aka no mac minis), and I don't use macOS for day-to-day development, I'd do exactly this.
As a fellow family IT specialist, about a decade ago I took the stance that if it's not Apple, I'm not fixing it. I'm not dealing with some bullshit issue with weird proprietary drivers or crapware. The straw that broke the camel's back was a Dell laptop that wasn't working with the Wifi until I turned off IPv6.
It's also why I don't use Linux for a desktop unless I have to. I've had years of debugging weird issues with drivers, editing /etc files, changing X settings and so on.
MacOS isn't perfect. In fact, I think Apple keeps making it worse because they have no real product vision now and it's just a bunch of teams making local changes to justify their own existence. But you can look at MacOS in one of two ways: as a better Windows (by having a UNIX-like core) or as a better Linux (by having a better UI subsystem). Either way it's a win (IMHO).
I'm torn on the Macbook Neo, personally. It really is just a giant iPhone 18 with a keyboard. Plus you can get a Macbook Air at times for $900. That's $200 more than the high-end Neo. Like is it that different to a (cheaper) iPad, which you can also get a keyboard for? I guess it's just not for me.
I got my mum onto Apple devices (mac and iPhone) over a decade ago, and support dropped sharply in the first 6 months. These days it's incredibly rare that she needs help with anything, and she does more on the computer than she ever did.
The mac has helped her improve here computer skills and confidence in a way that Windows never did.
My son had a Mac for college. But then the accounting department gave out assignments that required a PC based software package. And it took quite a while to crunch numbers. So I ended up having to get him a relatively high end PC laptop as well. It turns out the professor had never even used the software before. But, that's the academic world.
I am typing this from a 6 year old m1 macbook, and it is still going strong. I think even with the recent flaws of macos and instability, the hardware is pretty great, and if you don't like something, you can still hack your way through it. No windows for me, the only reason I used to rely on windows was its vast software array, reversing applicability and videogames. Now that good cross platform reversing tools are available, and I have migrated to PS5, macos just makes the most sense to me. I got it for 800 USD 6 years back, and it has already given me more bang for the buck.
There’s lots of stuff not to like about macOS, but there’s something about it that makes it click much more for average people.
For my partner in particular I noticed that they use way more features than they ever did with windows. Boring stuff like spotlight search to find files, space bar to preview documents, airdrop to send stuff to an iPhone, etc.
With windows I got called over constantly for questions like “how do I find x, I forgot where I put it”, “can you help me get this on my phone, I want to send it to <friend>”.
It’s not like good solutions for this don’t exist elsewhere, but something about MacBooks make people better at discovering those features.
I have secret pet theory that part of it is actually just that people know about Apple stuff that it’s supposed to be intuitive and so they have more confidence in trying to figure it out, which makes them have more success at it and that turns into a positive cycle.
> The thing about Apple is that as the "IT" guy for my family, its ecosystem is the one which needs the least attention from me.
> It really just works.
It's always surprising when companies don't understand that people what inexpensive, quality goods. The original Ford Maverick retailed for $19,995, Ford absolutely could not keep up with production. Ultimately, they raised prices both because they could and in order to reduce demand because they could not actually product enough units.
With 12GB it's a seriously cool offering. I actually know 8GB works as well, and I've seen people on MacBook Airs with 50 tabs open, full IDE's and breezing. But I still would want at least 4GB more to be on the safe side.
I don't doubt the Neo is a quality product, but I'm curious whether cheap MacBooks are going to sabotage Apple's cachet as a luxury brand. It's my personal experience that iOS users tend to look down on "green bubbles" in a way that can only be explained as some sort of brand superiority complex.
I'm sure millionaires wouldn't appreciate it if Lamborghini sold a $25K model...
The Neo's value prop is great for many people. I keep needing to remind myself that most computer users can get by fine with 8GB or RAM, and that the I'm not the target market for products like the Neo. I do get nervous with how future proof 8GB of RAM will be in terms of total usable lifespan for the Neo. Maybe the idea is shortened timeline to obsolescence means more sales. Not digging on the build quality, but just if 8GB or RAM will still be fine 5 years from now.
I would rather own a used MacBook AIR than a new MacBook Neo. I usually don't like used computers but I just can't stand the anxiety of having to only have 8Gb RAM. Sure, it swaps, it compresses memory etc.. but still.
I think Apple's cost efficiency advantages are really compounding now and it'll get increasingly hard for competitors to catch up. Everything they put in the product is either in-house or benefit from their scale and negotiating power.
In the MacBook Neo's case, everything from the in-house chipset and scale (for stuff like aluminum body) and the more RAM-efficient software is working in its favor. I'd bet that a different laptop manufacturer will struggle to make a profit at all if they made a $599 Neo-equivalent product with lower scale, having to pay for chips and Windows licenses, and having to put in 12GB of RAM instead of 8 to get a similar user experience.
You’re right, and it really comes down to the years and years of production buildup and engineering experience that Apple has with its SoCs. It seems almost impossible for other laptop manufacturers, who still rely on sourcing CPUs from Intel and AMD, to be able to compete. Chip design isn’t even an ability that most if not all other laptop companies currently have.
Apple is also uniquely good at smoothly transitioning users to new tech, e.g. the creation and phase-out of Rosetta 2. It’s hard to imagine a switch to Windows ARM would go over well without a large effort like this.
The screen is too small, not usable for work, you can buy a 15-inch Linux laptop for the same price. And it might even have replaceable RAM and SSD. Also, 8 Gb is too little, it will become a useless toy several years later. Also, there are just 2 USB ports and no USB-A.
Also I wonder how long the keyboard lasts and how does one replace it.
I was hoping that this would be a return of the 2015 12" Macbook, but good. I’d love to have a sporty little alternative to my 16" Tankbook for sunny, light work days.
> Also I wonder how long the keyboard lasts and how does one replace it.
Apple has been using a single keyboard across their entire line going back at least 25 years. This one is the same as every other current model, and the teardowns report that replacing it is a breeze.
Apart from the price, I think what's really attracting people to the Neo are the cool colors. I was at an Apple Store a couple of weeks ago trying to buy a M5 MacBook Air and I was eavesdropping on the conversations going on next to me from people looking at the Neo. Almost all of it was positive and people really love the colors!
I suspect Apple is going to cannibalize some MBA sales with the Neo because I'm recommending the Neo to anyone like my mom who use their laptop mostly just for browsing and FaceTime calls, and even the MBA is overkill for that.
Having "accidentally" purchased one, I can tell you that doing anything 8GB or RAM on a mac laptop is impossible. I have no idea what people are doing with this laptop. Macs are absolute dogs at 8GB.
Awesome, it’s nice to see a large company actually trying to make a decently crafted product for the entry level market and for it to be popular! I hope Apple can continue this and release more nice products at lower prices especially at a time where hardware is going parabolic.
In addition to the iPad having cheaper parts than the iPhone, the iPad reuses many of the same components for several years. The current iPad uses the same display as the previous generation iPad that was released in 2022 - three years and counting. But every single iPhone generation has changes to most of its components, and every single year has a new iPhone.
I am more interested in the XPS13 at a similar price point mentioned in the article. My intention is to run Linux, and that probably won't happen for a long time on modern Apple hardware.
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[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 74.6 ms ] threadIt’s many years too late IMO but I suppose the economics only made sense once they controlled their own chipset. I imagine doing this in the intel days would have been a far worse choice
I have to imagine the Neo is lower margin %, but maybe I'm wrong.
It was also a very low initial production volume to begin with. So doubling isn't because it is doing above everyone's expectations, it is because Apple underestimated the demand. That is also ignoring the summer back to school season.
The Neo seems to fill the same niche that the Chromebook once did, and, since she's already in the Apple ecosystem due to her iPhone, an "Apple Chromebook" seems like an attractive proposition.
Looking at tech specs, it seems like the one with 512GB drive might be serviceable. I have a very old 256GB Air and I struggle to keep enough drive space open to have XCode installed on it.
I've used an 8GB M1 mac for react-native iOS dev for over a year back when the M1 first came out.
If I had to look for the cheapest way to build iOS apps, but still on a laptop form factor (aka no mac minis), and I don't use macOS for day-to-day development, I'd do exactly this.
The thing about Apple is that as the "IT" guy for my family, its ecosystem is the one which needs the least attention from me.
It really just works.
They have used Windows and Linux before (my kids and wife, that is), but something is always not quite right and needs my involvement.
These days gone 100% Mac, my interventions are usually initial setup and whenever the Samsung printer jams.
It's also why I don't use Linux for a desktop unless I have to. I've had years of debugging weird issues with drivers, editing /etc files, changing X settings and so on.
MacOS isn't perfect. In fact, I think Apple keeps making it worse because they have no real product vision now and it's just a bunch of teams making local changes to justify their own existence. But you can look at MacOS in one of two ways: as a better Windows (by having a UNIX-like core) or as a better Linux (by having a better UI subsystem). Either way it's a win (IMHO).
I'm torn on the Macbook Neo, personally. It really is just a giant iPhone 18 with a keyboard. Plus you can get a Macbook Air at times for $900. That's $200 more than the high-end Neo. Like is it that different to a (cheaper) iPad, which you can also get a keyboard for? I guess it's just not for me.
The mac has helped her improve here computer skills and confidence in a way that Windows never did.
It's not a perfect laptop, but I promise you people who spend $600 on their computer have never seen anything comparable.
There’s lots of stuff not to like about macOS, but there’s something about it that makes it click much more for average people.
For my partner in particular I noticed that they use way more features than they ever did with windows. Boring stuff like spotlight search to find files, space bar to preview documents, airdrop to send stuff to an iPhone, etc.
With windows I got called over constantly for questions like “how do I find x, I forgot where I put it”, “can you help me get this on my phone, I want to send it to <friend>”.
It’s not like good solutions for this don’t exist elsewhere, but something about MacBooks make people better at discovering those features.
I have secret pet theory that part of it is actually just that people know about Apple stuff that it’s supposed to be intuitive and so they have more confidence in trying to figure it out, which makes them have more success at it and that turns into a positive cycle.
chromebooks likely need even less attention
It’s a hell of a lot more interesting than silver or dark grey.
I'm sure millionaires wouldn't appreciate it if Lamborghini sold a $25K model...
In the MacBook Neo's case, everything from the in-house chipset and scale (for stuff like aluminum body) and the more RAM-efficient software is working in its favor. I'd bet that a different laptop manufacturer will struggle to make a profit at all if they made a $599 Neo-equivalent product with lower scale, having to pay for chips and Windows licenses, and having to put in 12GB of RAM instead of 8 to get a similar user experience.
Apple is also uniquely good at smoothly transitioning users to new tech, e.g. the creation and phase-out of Rosetta 2. It’s hard to imagine a switch to Windows ARM would go over well without a large effort like this.
Also I wonder how long the keyboard lasts and how does one replace it.
I was hoping that this would be a return of the 2015 12" Macbook, but good. I’d love to have a sporty little alternative to my 16" Tankbook for sunny, light work days.
> Also I wonder how long the keyboard lasts and how does one replace it.
Apple has been using a single keyboard across their entire line going back at least 25 years. This one is the same as every other current model, and the teardowns report that replacing it is a breeze.
I suspect Apple is going to cannibalize some MBA sales with the Neo because I'm recommending the Neo to anyone like my mom who use their laptop mostly just for browsing and FaceTime calls, and even the MBA is overkill for that.
I hate MacOS. I used MacOS for 10 years. When came back to Windows, I felt as I can breathe again.
I hate there are no comparable price/performance in Windows world.