Another budget range product by Apple after the Mac M4 mini, MacBook Neo was dropped recently. It felt quite average at first from the specs perspective. But after rigorous tech analysis by reviewers it changed the minds of a lot of people.
Does it provide value for money?
At the very first glance, everyone was quite shocked that it was using the processor from iPhone 16 pro. The A18 pro chip instead of their previous generations of M series. The M2 chip would have made a lot more sense than this. Because come on, phone processors are not made for computers' heavy workloads and focus on ultra energy efficiency. So, when they are trying to cut the budget, going 3 generations backward in the M series could have done enough. But this iPhone processor probably enabled them more cost cutting.
The entry level variant 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD, 13 inch display with 500 nits peak brightness and 36.5 watt-hour battery make a pretty basic deal. As we are already used to paying Apple a lot more than appropriate for their product, buying it for $600 doesn’t really feel much. But from the hardware perspective, it isn’t really the best you can get. There are budget range laptops with better hardware. But there is a catch. And it isn’t small.
The Apple way
Apple really did some stuff with the MacBook Neo in the “Apple way”. First, comes the premium design of the outer body which absolutely beats the budget laptops. It really gives you the premium look that you can show off. Then comes the retina display and the sound quality. It has become normal for MacBooks to have the best display and speakers in any budget range for a long time now. MacBook Neo didn’t differ.
Now the trend with the non-Apple brands making the laptops dumber with time, leaves us with little expectations from budget range laptops. Though it is not impossible for them to build more performance heavy laptops. But the Apple fever has left us with budget range laptops that are only suited for the most basic users. Though I said earlier, the hardware in MacBook Neo isn’t the best one in this budget, another Apple “Apple way” is extracting every last drop of outcome from their devices. Because they have one trump card. They design everything in house which lets them optimize every component a lot better than non-Mac computers. Non-Mac computers lag a lot behind because so many brands have to go right at the same time that it just isn’t possible. Almost all the major to minor components are developed by different brands and they have to make it compatible with components made by a lot of different brands.
Therefore, MacBook Neo doesn’t have the best hardware in its budget. But the optimization and squeezing out every last bit of performance makes it not only stand out in the budget laptop market but also better in some cases.
Can MacBook Neo really cause the death of the budget laptop market?
MacBook Neo is without any doubt a good deal in its budget and one of the most value for money machines from apple. Definitely Apple is giving up a good margin of profit which is not really likely. Apple mostly sells overpriced products. The MacBook Neo is actually a smart business step to include more people into Apple’s ecosystem. Also, with a $100 discount for students makes it more likely for students without heavy engineering needs to buy it. The majority of people getting into Apple’s ecosystem with Neo will probably upgrade to a high end MacBook in near future. Just like google pulled a lot of users by making Chromebooks and student subscriptions in their softwares.
MacBook Neo to kill the budget laptop market, has to do one thing. Continuing this lineup. If the MacBook Neo lineup continues long enough it will seize the budget laptop market for sure. But here comes the reality check. Like the previous most value for money product from Apple, The Mac M4 mini’s entry level model just got discontinued without really a convincing reason. Apple isn’t really likely to provide value for money products for long. Overcharging is Apple's way of doing business.
Another reality check is the growing price hike in the RAM chip market led by booming AI data center infrastructures. While discontinuing the Mac M4 mini Apple also mentioned it. The RAM price hike is going to make it impossible to make any computers or phones in budget range in the upcoming years. So, MacBook Neo is probably going to be the only product of its lineup. Hoping for more generations in this lineup is by far a long shot. So, if you’re really considering buying a MacBook Neo, better buy it before it goes out of stock. This is not an advertisement by the way. If you want a MacBook Neo or not you get a basic idea from this article and you guys are smart. Do check out detailed reviews before buying.
Another probable alternative
Let’s hypothetically think the RAM costs magically gets down (a very long shot). In that case, the chances of MacBook Neo’s getting discontinued is the obvious probability. But if this lineup hangs around in the market for 2-3 years, we’ll see a great shift in the non-mac budget laptops. People buying in that range will shift to MacBook Neo more. This loss in customers will force the other brands to find out the actual problem. People don’t buy non-Apple products just because they are cheap. In a lot of cases, it is because it is out of Apple’s ecosystem. As Apple’s extreme optimization trump card isn’t available for them, their users actually want something else. For a lot of people it is being performance heavy instead of a sleek cheaper Apple like product.
What's coming next?
MacBook Neo, if it stays in the market, will not kill the budget laptop market rather it will reshape the budget laptop market. The trend is likely to be, If you want completely basic use with a good battery backup and posh look you’ll choose MacBook Neo. On the other hand, If you want the best heavy lifting laptop possible in budget range and the open ecosystem of being compatible with diverse techs, you’ll go for a non-mac laptop.
However, this is being generous in assumptions. Observing the current trend of tech companies racing for AI and pushing everything’s cost to an unimaginable peak, a more realistic assumption is MacBook Neo will be discontinued soon. Other Budget laptops will just keep making their machines dumber to stay in business. And the budget laptops will most likely become almost useless even for basic use. Already the performance-focused laptop market has shrunk and you have no other option than buying gaming laptops that are more than $1000. In upcoming years, budget range customers will have to go more than $1000 range and performance seekers will probably have to go at least near or more than $2000 range.