Apple unveils $599 MacBook Neo powered by A18 Pro iPhone chip

[trparky]

You should probably read up on how Apple systems actually manage memory before jumping to conclusions, rather than just defaulting to hating Apple because… it’s Apple.

Exactly. Hell, if we look at iOS and how often it beats high-end Android devices that often have double or even triple the amount of RAM, that should tell you something.

People may hate on Apple and many times rightfully so, but this ain't one of those times. Apple is legendary in optimizing their hardware and software to an inch of its life.

 

[Burty117]

Ordered, arrives next week, I'm away for work so won't get to play with it until the weekend.

I've been wanting to play with MacOS for years, I've been in the market for something I can have next to the sofa that's good enough for my needs, I was planning on getting another iPad (my current iPad is from 2012 and totally useless these days), but this is £1 more expensive over an entry level iPad and has an A18 pro instead of an A16, and runs actual MacOS.

So this little laptop is actually, really good, incredibly impressed for the money. Kinda makes Windows laptops at the same price range look like a silly purchase to me.

This is my first foray into MacOS, I've owned iPod's, iPhones, iPad's, Apple Watches, but never touched Mac's, always seemed overly expensive, But the Neo? What an awesome little laptop.

 

[trparky]

Kinda makes Windows laptops at the same price range look like a silly purchase to me.

The low-end of the PC laptop market has always been a pathetic excuse for a product category.

For years, “budget laptop” has really meant “barely functional compromise.”

• Shitty screens with dull colors and brightness levels that struggle against a cloudy day.
• Chassis that creak, flex, and feel like they were engineered to lose a fight with basic physics. Cheap plastic hinges included which are often the first thing to fail.
• One RAM slot, if you're lucky... thus locking the system into single-channel memory and permanently kneecapping performance.
• Keyboards that feel like typing on a damp sponge.
• Touchpads that range from mediocre to actively hostile.
• Enough preinstalled bloatware to make you wonder if the OEM is being paid by the megabyte. And if you think a clean Windows install fixes that mess, think again.
• Storage that technically qualifies as an SSD but performs like it’s apologizing for existing. If you're lucky, you'll get a DRAM-less QLC drive. If not, an eMMC.
• CPUs like Celerons and Pentium Silvers that struggle with the radical concept of multitasking.
• Wi-Fi chips so weak they lose signal if someone figuratively walks between you and the access point.
• Speakers with the acoustic presence of a phone in a coffee mug. You can forget about bass.

I could keep going, but you get the idea.

For decades the Windows OEM ecosystem treated the low end as a dumping ground for the cheapest parts they could source.

Then along comes the MacBook Neo, casually demonstrating what a budget notebook looks like when someone actually cares about the product.

Not perfect. Not high-end. Just… competent.

Which, apparently, was too much to ask for all these years.