Macbook Neo

Most of my work laptops over the years were Windows, with a few MacBooks dotted in between.

Moving to a MacBook involves a slight learning curve but it's easy enough for most people.

I will say one thing, Windows 11 is shocking, and not in a good way. Meanwhile there's been no major change to how a person uses a MacBook since I first used Mac OSX about 20 years ago. In a work setting Mac and Windows can co-exist if you are using MS Office, as it means files created on one can be opened and edited on the other.

I saw this and thought of you:

I've a MacBook Air for light use, travel etc. I've a gaming PC I can also use for anything heavy duty but find myself using the MacBook for pretty much everything non gaming related as it boots quicker (well doesn't really need to boot at all). They're great laptops for general light computing, the build quality, trackpad and form factor is top notch. Pretty much my only gripe would be to get rid of that stupid notch on the display.

You can get a refurbished M4 Air off Apple for €859 which is probably a much better deal than buying the Neo for more or less full price at launch. Might be different in a few months time when you can get the Neo discounted or refurbed.

Because it's €160 more expensive, not €260. If it was €260 you might have a point. Refurbed from Apple won't be like buying a used laptop, it'll come in a box that says Apple Refurbished on it instead of the original box it was sold in but other than that it's as new. The Air is better in pretty much every regard and it's not overpowered at all. €160 isn't a massive jump in price but you are getting a fair amount for that money, the extra 8gb of RAM is probably worth €160 alone at today's mental prices. You'll also get a charger with the Air which I believe is an extra with the Neo.

If you really want the Neo I wouldn't be buying it at launch unless you really need a laptop right now. Give it a few months and you'll be able to get it for a €600 or less.

I actually like the current version of Win11. I haven't really had any problems with it. Use it a lot at work, all the features across many machines.

I have a MacBook Air M1 much the same as a Neo. Nice machine, great battery life, good screen good speakers etc. But I don't love MacOS. It's fine for office stuff and browsing. But anytime I've a big workload I reach for a Windows machine. Old habits maybe. My Windows machines are faster.

Neo is a basic student machine or lite home user. You really want a 16GB these days, if you multi task much. To get 16GB you really need an Air. Even a used M3 or M4 Air would be a smarter long term buy than a Neo.

If you a lite user and need the cheapest thing then a neo. I suspect that 8gb will be an issue in 2 yrs time. That said I'd guess the majority of MacOS user base has 8GB. So Apple might keep optimising for that for a long time.

Considering Apple moved all their machines to 16gb before the Neo I think even Apple admits MacOS needs 16GB going forward. All the reviews I've seen, it runs out ram quick enough when pushed multitasking.

People love online content that complains...Doomscrolling.

Lite computing sure.

I don't hit a limitations of 8gb in lite tasks no. But that's all I do on my MacBook Air. P

But buying it new now you'll likely have it for 4yrs. Will it be enough then?

This looks like a polished mid-range Chromebook and in many ways the approach on both OS is the same. It will benefit from the urge most non- novice users hold to avoid the Windows end-user universe if at all possible.