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0 pointsNoLinkToMe22d ago0 comments

Interesting that it's the same weight, less wide and less tall than the Air model, though it is a bit thicker.

Seems like an amazing entry-level offer for kids and students. But to be honest for myself I also don't really much added value of an Air or Pro anymore.

I think the memory of 8gb is the biggest limit for a device you want to use another 6-8 years, except for the most casual of users. Those who have multiple apps and tens of tabs open will enjoy an experience difference with 16gb Air/Pro. And the battery life is significantly (but not radically) better on the Air/Pro.

Really great to see.

0 comments

nobleach22d ago

8GB of "unified" memory. That means it's also shared by the GPU. I realize these things aren't meant to be gaming rigs, or CAD workstations, but I do agree that this isn't very forward thinking.

post-it22d ago

I use a MacBook Air with 8 GB of memory and it's fine. If I've got a browser and VSCode and Blender and PrusaSlicer and Claude and XCode all open it gets a little slow, but Mac is very good at memory management these days.

Someone using just a browser and Word would have absolutely no problem.

justonceokay22d ago

I’ve used a computer with 4 gigs for the last 15 years and it still does emails, recipes, and YouTube. I.e. 100% of my computer needs.

ciupicri22d ago

What's so special about this Mac memory management? It uses the SSD better and makes swapping faster? It predicts what I'm gonna use or stop using and it swaps in/out accordingly?

2 more replies

qn9n22d ago

It's mostly for people who need to edit some documents, a few photos here and there and other things like that. 8GB of RAM is going to be enough for the average user.

soapdog22d ago

it is quite forward thinking, but for Apple, they are thinking you will need to upgrade.

moolcool22d ago

Assuming nothing really bad comes out of the reviews, this looks like the best computer for like 99% of users. I really can't imagine buying some plastic-fantastic Acer unit when this is on the market.

99990000099922d ago

This isn't for anyone to use for 6 to 8 years.

This is for people who want the cheapest MacBook possible, with the edu discount it's only 499$.

You drop it being silly, cool that's only 500$.

qn9n22d ago

The thing is you could use it for 6 to 8 years if all your doing is editing documents and other tasks like that. No one is buying this to play games on or code massive AI powered applications, it's literally the "Well I need a computer sometimes may as well get the one that matches my phone"

NoLinkToMeOP22d ago

> This isn't for anyone to use for 6 to 8 years.

Why not? I would.

hypfer22d ago

Uhm but you do realize that $500 is actually a lot of money for people that aren't living in SF and hop between startups every second tuesday, right?

There is no "only". It's $500.

99990000099922d ago

Keep in mind this is the same website where someone casually mentioned buying a $5,000 Lecia for their kid.

Would you rather junior drop a $500 laptop while they're not paying attention, which is what kids do, or drop a $2,000 laptop?

The second hand market on this is also going to be great. Maybe Junior upgrades to an M5 air when he starts college, he's going to sell his Neo for 300$ which is very accessible for most.

My first laptop was 350$, brought after working for 6.75$ an hour. It was objectively a piece of junk, but hey I got to do computer and it lasted about 3 years before randomly failing for one reason or another.

2 more replies

ericmay22d ago

It can be a decent sized purchase if you were buying it outright, but $500 is just not a lot of money in America for the vast majority of citizens.

Though I agree with you completely regarding the "oops I dropped it".

qn9n22d ago

When compared to the rest of the line up it is only, the Air is now $999 for the base model, that's 1k, 500 is cheap in comparison and for the quality it beats out a lot of laptops in this price range.

1 more reply

lurking_swe22d ago

what are you talking about? my wife still uses an M1 macbook air with 8GB ram and loves it. Literally zero desire to upgrade. I noticed her mac _sometimes_ needs to page memory to disk, but she doesn’t even notice because of the SSD and the M1 chip is crazy fast for most tasks.

Don’t see why the same can’t be true for this machine…

99990000099921d ago

That’s fine. But Apple has an upgrade path for most people. They’re probably selling this with a very low margin.

You start with a 500$ Neo, and after 2 or 3 years trade it in for an Air or Pro. That’s where they make real money.

qn9n22d ago

I think 90% of people will be fine with just an iPad. Some will need a small bump for laptop OS but not necessarily the specs which is where the Neo comes in, then the Air is for medium workflows and Pro is for if you do anything long running and intensive. It's quite a good ladder actually small steps that just add what each tier needs.

paxys22d ago

From the marketing it’s obvious that this is built for students, so I doubt they intend for the useful life to be greater than 3-4 years.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

nobleach22d ago

8GB of "unified" memory. That means it's also shared by the GPU. I realize these things aren't meant to be gaming rigs, or CAD workstations, but I do agree that this isn't very forward thinking.

post-it22d ago

Someone using just a browser and Word would have absolutely no problem.

justonceokay22d ago

I’ve used a computer with 4 gigs for the last 15 years and it still does emails, recipes, and YouTube. I.e. 100% of my computer needs.

ciupicri22d ago

What's so special about this Mac memory management? It uses the SSD better and makes swapping faster? It predicts what I'm gonna use or stop using and it swaps in/out accordingly?

2 more replies

qn9n22d ago

It's mostly for people who need to edit some documents, a few photos here and there and other things like that. 8GB of RAM is going to be enough for the average user.

soapdog22d ago

it is quite forward thinking, but for Apple, they are thinking you will need to upgrade.

moolcool22d ago

99990000099922d ago

This isn't for anyone to use for 6 to 8 years.

This is for people who want the cheapest MacBook possible, with the edu discount it's only 499$.

You drop it being silly, cool that's only 500$.

qn9n22d ago

NoLinkToMeOP22d ago

> This isn't for anyone to use for 6 to 8 years.

Why not? I would.

hypfer22d ago

Uhm but you do realize that $500 is actually a lot of money for people that aren't living in SF and hop between startups every second tuesday, right?

There is no "only". It's $500.

99990000099922d ago

Keep in mind this is the same website where someone casually mentioned buying a $5,000 Lecia for their kid.

Would you rather junior drop a $500 laptop while they're not paying attention, which is what kids do, or drop a $2,000 laptop?

The second hand market on this is also going to be great. Maybe Junior upgrades to an M5 air when he starts college, he's going to sell his Neo for 300$ which is very accessible for most.

2 more replies

ericmay22d ago

It can be a decent sized purchase if you were buying it outright, but $500 is just not a lot of money in America for the vast majority of citizens.

Though I agree with you completely regarding the "oops I dropped it".

qn9n22d ago

1 more reply

lurking_swe22d ago

Don’t see why the same can’t be true for this machine…

99990000099921d ago

That’s fine. But Apple has an upgrade path for most people. They’re probably selling this with a very low margin.

You start with a 500$ Neo, and after 2 or 3 years trade it in for an Air or Pro. That’s where they make real money.

qn9n22d ago

paxys22d ago

From the marketing it’s obvious that this is built for students, so I doubt they intend for the useful life to be greater than 3-4 years.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse