MacBook Neo makes the rest of Apple’s lineup much harder to justify

Since the announcement of the $599 MacBook Neo Over a week ago, I was wondering: does this destroy the value proposition of other non-Pro laptops in Apple’s lineup? It’s a pretty interesting question, because even at its incredibly affordable price, macbook neo it still manages to feel quite premium.

After testing the laptop after its launch on Wednesday, I’m even more perplexed about how this fits into Apple’s lineup, but not in a bad way.

MacBook Neo makes few compromises

At $599 (and $499 for students), the macbook neo It really includes all the things you would expect from an Apple product. Despite being the “cheapest MacBook”, you don’t really notice it from the outside. It has an incredibly well-built aluminum chassis, a glass screen, an excellent keyboard, and still lights up brightly.

The main thing you’ll notice missing compared to other MacBooks is the Force Touch trackpad. He macbook neo It uses a traditional clicking mechanism, though it still clicks all the way around, unlike the even older springboard trackpads on pre-2015 MacBooks. Plus, if you stick with the base model with 256GB of storage, you’ll miss out on Touch ID. For an additional $100, you can add Touch ID and double the internal storage.

Simply put, Apple didn’t have to try that hard. Even the 2020 M1 MacBook Air, which people often want to compare this to, didn’t have a 500 nit display. It was limited to 400 nits, and that was a limitation that many expected to appear in the macbook neobut Apple decided not to. In my last approximately 72 hours of using the macbook neoI have been impressed by how little it is missing compared to my macbook air.

When thinking about him macbook neoThere are two comparable Apple products that immediately come to mind: the macbook airwhich was previously at the bottom of Apple’s lineup, and the iPad air + magic keyboard.

Does it break other Apple products?

macbook air now costs $1099 after its M5 update, putting it $400 more than the macbook neo with 512GB and Touch ID.

Obviously, the macbook air It still has some things going for it. For one, you get 16GB of RAM on the macbook airso if you’re a big multitasker, the Air probably makes more sense. The MacBook Air has a P3 display, which will be important if you work with color. MacBook Air also offers a Center Stage camera, so if you want your FaceTime calls to feel more dynamic, that’s something the MacBook Air offers.

Essentially, macbook air offers some slightly more premium features than the macbook neoand if you have it in your budget, it will still be worth buying.

That said, not everyone is a very informed buyer. Many bought the macbook air simply because they wanted a Mac and prefer laptops, so macbook air It was the cheapest option. Now, macbook neo It is the cheapest option and comes in some attractive colors like Blush, Indigo and Citrus to attract buyers.

I have the feeling that many people who could have bought a macbook air previously now you might consider a macbook neo. Even they both weigh 2.7 pounds and have similar dimensions, so they are both about the same shape.

Another great thing I’ve noticed about him macbook neo In my tests: it does not heat up. My macbook air It sometimes gets hot during certain tasks, such as photo editing. in it macbook neoI didn’t feel any heat at all: I was completely cold. A18 Pro works great in a MacBook chassis.

iPad Air vs. MacBook Neo

iPad air + magic keyboard It’s a more interesting argument. iPad air starts at $599 (though it often goes on sale for $100 less, sometimes even more), and Magic Keyboard for iPad Air It normally costs $269. Let’s call it $800 on average, taking into account discounts on iPad air.

At $800, a iPad air The configuration comes with less storage than any other. macbook neoto 128 GB. It also comes with a much smaller 11-inch screen, as well as iPadOS instead of macOS. Sure, you have an M4 chip instead of an A18 Pro, but for the workflows you’ll be doing on the iPad, the M4 chip is incredibly overkill.

None of those things are necessarily shocking, but the reason I point this out is that the iPad air was often positioned as a “budget” Apple laptop configuration compared to the macbook airand now the macbook neo ruin that equation. Even if you want to compare the cheap iPad + Magic Keyboard Foliothat configuration costs $598 total, just a dollar less than what it costs macbook neo would cost

In short, the argument that iPads are budget Apple laptops is completely dead. If you value iPads for the Apple Pencil, they will still be valuable, but frankly, I find it hard to imagine why anyone would want to bother using the iPad. iPad either iPad air like a hybrid laptop when you could just buy one macbook neo.

Wrap

All in all, the macbook neo It feels incredibly disruptive to Apple’s lineup. In the short term, I think Apple should probably adjust some of its pricing or improve its products a lot.

For example, does the Magic Keyboard for iPad Base Does it really need to cost $249? The iPad itself only costs $349, and the fact that this configuration costs only $1 less than a macbook neo It’s a little ridiculous.

With iPad airI think the iPad itself should probably see a price cut or get some feature improvements to make it stand out more. TO 120Hz ProMotion display and Face ID would be good starting points.

Finally, macbook air You should probably get a higher premium. It would be great to see it have a tandem OLED display like the iPad Pro, even if it meant the macbook air It starts at a higher price like $1299. I could see a future version of the macbook neo have a 1TB/16GB version for around $999 to fill the shoes of ~$1000 macbook air.

What do you think about the macbook neo launch? Do you find it as disturbing as I do? Let us know in the comments.

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