Comment on the MacBook Neo: Apple can be cheap and good – who would have thought
Since Wednesday, Apple has had its cheapest MacBook on the market. Even after the first few days, one can't stop being amazed.
MacBook Neo in operation: completely sufficient for many users.
(Image: Apple/Bearbeitung durch heise medien)
A portable Mac for 700 Euros – and that in times of inflation: Few observers of the IT market had this on their radar. While the PC world is seeing massive surcharges for RAM and SSDs, and even the entire category of entry-level notebooks seems to be on the verge of extinction, Apple simply comes along with a MacBook Neo, which buyers have to make surprisingly few compromises with. On the contrary: One would hardly have expected such a machine to be conceivable at this price – especially from Apple, where they always keep a close eye on high margins.
The converse is probably true: Only Apple can mass-produce a device like the MacBook Neo in this quality and with these features; others simply can't because the economies of scale are missing. The Cupertino-based company has, for example, (only for them thanks to mass production!) inexpensive iPhone chips in its supply chain that easily outperform many x86 PCs – and large parts of the ARM competition as well. These are then used in the Neo, and everyone is happy. It is conceivable that the company still makes a surprisingly good profit on the device – if only indirectly through paid services or the fact that users get a new entry-level drug into the ecosystem.
Saved in the right places
My first experiences with the Neo can be summarized very simply: This is a real Mac, with hardware stability, speed, and ease of use that you would have gotten years ago for twice the price (if not more). Restrictions exist precisely in the areas that the target group – Mac newcomers – probably won't care about anyway: Ports (only one fast USB 3 connection, otherwise USB 2.0), the trackpad (mechanical instead of purely haptic, but that doesn't matter at all, nobody builds better physical trackpads than Apple), and the screen (features like color temperature adjustment and brightness sensor omitted).
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What doesn't bother me at all after the first few days of use, however, is the limited RAM configuration of only 8 GByte or the comparatively sluggish SSD. The latter is barely noticeable because it's only slow compared to better devices; for normal use in everyday tasks and media consumption (and even small to medium-sized video editing projects), it doesn't matter. And with many open apps, the necessary swapping is hardly noticeable.
Not a disposable device
The MacBook Neo is therefore a completely adequate machine for the average user. Added to this is Apple's typical build quality. Nothing rattles, the aluminum casing in really nice colors (I recommend "Citrus") looks bombproof, there are no gaps, and opening and closing the display is extremely satisfying. You can throw the Neo on the sofa for a moment like any Mac; it doesn't matter. The keyboard is also good (i.e., no worse than on an Air or even a Pro), and the trackpad can be clicked anywhere at the top and bottom.
The most striking thing about the MacBook Neo is how inconspicuous it is: You just use it like a Mac, minus the fact that it didn't cost an arm and a leg. (And if you really want something more, you can buy a MacBook Air M4 (starting from 968,99 €) for under 1000 Euros, which is currently on sale.) Today it also emerged that Apple has managed to significantly simplify repairs on the Neo as well. There is no sealing with glue or pull tabs, only screws, and the possibility to replace small components like ports or speakers in just a few minutes. So the Neo isn't even a disposable device. Who would have expected that from Apple?
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