Apple MacBook Neo - a $599 laptop

[Jan]

Apple announces new low-cost MacBook

Apple rolled out the $599 (R9,550 excl. VAT) MacBook Neo in its biggest push yet into low-end laptops, aiming to challenge Windows PCs and Chromebooks for budget-minded shoppers.

The machine is $400 less than any new-generation laptop Apple has sold before, coming in well below the now $1,099 MacBook Air.

 

[RedViking]

@Smiggles in case you want more

 

[Smiggles]

This thing will sell like hotcakes.

@Smiggles in case you want more

 

[RedViking]

This thing will sell like hotcakes.

256GB of storage and 8GB or RAM is a ripoff though.

 

[Vorastra]

8GB RAM

 

[G.A.S]

I get that they want to penetrate some of the "cheaper" laptop market. But it feels to me like a year-and-a-half old A18 Pro processor is asking for it to be obsolete quickly; at the very least it should have been the A19 Pro. At least it isn't as bad as the iPad which is still stuck on the A16...

That said... over here it will probably cost the same as a "new" Mac Air M2...

----
From the MacRumors forum:

This just goes to show the extreme potential of iPhones and iPads that Apple has limited by their own shallow iOS releases

^ This though. Especially on the "M" class iPad Air and Pro when combined with a keyboard and mouse.

 

[bwana]

I'm probably going to pick one up for my kid before they head to university.

That said 256gb of storage is almost as idiotic as the usb 2 speed usb-c type port, so I'll pony up the extra $100 to double the storage.

 

[Smiggles]

But it feels to me like a year-and-a-half old A18 Pro processor is asking for it to be obsolete quickly;

We already have a good idea how capable the new MacBook will be - 9to5Mac

Once the new low-cost MacBook launches this week, those wanting to buy a portable Mac will have a choice of...

9to5mac.com

Geekbench 6, single-core​

• M1: 2,369
• A18 Pro: 3,409

Yep, in single-core performance, the smartphone chip is faster – and there are a number of other benchmarks, such as NPU performance in AI tasks, where the same is true.

Geekbench 6, multi-core​

• M1: 8,576
• A18 Pro: 8,492

This chip smokes the M1.

 

[Rickster]

8GB RAM

Remember its not windows, doesn't gobble up RAM like a starving animal.

 

[Priapus]

Remember its not windows, doesn't gobble up RAM like a starving animal.

No point having this debate with Windows users. They won’t understand how efficient MacOS is with ram.

Also for those of you laughing at 256GB SSD and Two usb ports - this is an entry model machine for Apple. So it makes sense.

This thing is going to sell like hotcakes and I bet in a year MaCOS market share will have increased somewhat.

 

[RedViking]

Remember its not windows, doesn't gobble up RAM like a starving animal.

Maybe this was 50 years ago. Windows adjust ram usage accordingly. Some applications can be terrible at managing ram, for example the "whatsapp" application, but that is more the application that needs to be sorted.

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

wonder if it could be jailbroken to run linux?
sure its on many people to do list after launch, just like all IOS devices

where people actually want to use the devices full capabilities without Apples meddling

 

[Vorastra]

Remember its not windows, doesn't gobble up RAM like a starving animal.

 

[Smiggles]

wonder if it could be jailbroken to run linux?
sure its on many people to do list after launch, just like all IOS devices

where people actually want to use the devices full capabilities without Apples meddling

Linux runs Office, Adobe PDF and Affinity app now?

 

[G.A.S]

We already have a good idea how capable the new MacBook will be - 9to5Mac

Once the new low-cost MacBook launches this week, those wanting to buy a portable Mac will have a choice of...

9to5mac.com

This chip smokes the M1.

Sure, but the M1 is 6 years old already. But they really should have done the A19 Pro.

 

[G.A.S]

We already have a good idea how capable the new MacBook will be - 9to5Mac

Once the new low-cost MacBook launches this week, those wanting to buy a portable Mac will have a choice of...

9to5mac.com

This chip smokes the M1.

And that goes to my second point: iOS is holding the chip back from its true potential...

 

[Sapphiron]

Remember its not windows, doesn't gobble up RAM like a starving animal.

Windows is not the only RAM problem. The modern Web, without an ad blocker, on 8GB is painful.

 

[Sapphiron]

wonder if it could be jailbroken to run linux?
sure its on many people to do list after launch, just like all IOS devices

where people actually want to use the devices full capabilities without Apples meddling

Or future spying, the way governments are going with age verification.

 

[Sapphiron]

Despite the 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, its not easy to find 16GB windows laptop at that price point now.

 

[G.A.S]

Windows is not the only RAM problem. The modern Web is. without an ad-blocker, browsing the web on 8GB is painful.

The modern Web is painful without an ad-blocker, regardless of your amount of RAM...