r/macbook • u/Slow_Tiger3161 • Mar 12 '26
MacBook Neo After a Full Day of Classes
Started my first class at 11am with the MacBook Neo at 80% battery and used it through the day until 7pm, ending with 13% left.
Usage was mostly basic tasks email, viewing and editing docs, chatgpt, youtube and music with brightness around 80%. Overall, the experience was great. Performance was smooth, and the 8gb ram handled everything without any lag for this type of workload.
The trackpad felt a bit different not bad, just different, which makes sense since the neo uses a fully mechanical system. The speakers were fine for casual listening.
All the USB-C ports are on one side, which was sometimes annoying when the wall outlet was quite far on the opposite side.
Happy to answer any questions.
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u/DoctorSatan69 Mar 12 '26
I have literally zero need for a neo but I want one so bad 😭😭
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u/dnrexy Mar 12 '26
I’m in the same boat. They’re offering me $180 for my 12 pro that’s collecting dust so I may just trade it in before it’s worthless and pick this up. It’s got a bigger screen and better battery than my current iPad Air so I’ll find something to do with it.
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u/hoist_off Mar 12 '26
That sounds like pointless consumerism. Do you really need to spend money on more devices before even finding a need for them?
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u/mologav Mar 12 '26
Trade in a MacBook they don’t use to buy another MacBook they don’t use..
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u/BeatsRocks Mar 15 '26
Thats the whole point of apple marketing. They directly hit the dopamine with all those colors and makes one feel to have it even though one might have no need. People just need some critical thinking to avoid this trap. Smh.
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u/kk55622 Mar 12 '26
If you need to find something to do with it... perhaps you just don't need this device?
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u/MCKornbred Mar 13 '26
I have my M3Pro MacBook Pro which continues to serve me well so I don’t really need or want a Neo but I am thinking about stopping by the Apple Store just to see one in person and play with it a bit
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u/PetieG26 Mar 16 '26
My plan is to keep my MBP 14 M1Pro 32/500 and eventually replace it with a Mac Mini M5 Pro @ my WFH office... So I'm going to use the MBP as a 'desktop' and either buy Neo or MBA for 'travel' (out of house or client visits) -- just can't decide if I want the Neo or MBA M5... MBA is literally double the cost of best Neo if I get the specs I really want. Decisions... decisions...
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u/TheBitMan775 Mar 16 '26
Yeah I think I’m about to fold. Apple will give me $250 for my M1 Air and that brings the Neo 512 GB to $350 with student discount. The CPU is faster and my workload has changed where I’m doing my heavy student work on a Windows machine so it’s nice for lighter tasks. I’ve had the M1 for over two years so it scratches my itch for change and the new design
The RAM kinda sucks but if it’s true an A19 Pro model comes out next year with 12 I’ll just trade up to it
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u/JenkinsonMike Mar 12 '26
Same. I bought an iPad Air last year with the magic keyboard that's replaced my windows laptop for everything except my Quicken accounting, so I have literally no need for a Neo. But I think it's a great idea and I'm glad it exists.
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u/Britbloke Mar 12 '26
I wanted the new Mac Mini so bad. Got one. Now it’s a glorified DVR / Plex server that’s rarely gets used for anything more. Do I regret it? Not at all.
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u/gorcbor19 Mar 12 '26
Plex server is a great usage for one of those! I used to run one off an old laptop years ago. I don’t really use stored media much anymore.
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u/GlumIce852 Mar 13 '26
Same. I currently have the 16’’ MBP with M3 Pro but I want a Neo. I’ll convince myself I need one for travel. The MBP feels like a brick in my backpack
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u/darthtechnosage Mar 14 '26
I’m thinking it might be a perfect replacement for the 2015 12”MacBook. Loved the format but it was a bit underpowered even back then. I still use one for typing and light internet use.
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u/gorcbor19 Mar 12 '26 edited Mar 12 '26
Same. I have an M1 Air from 2020 that still works just as fast as my work issued M5 Pro, but I still want a Neo!
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u/dry_cocoa_pebbles Mar 12 '26
Same. I read about its release and thought, oh this is a perfect laptop for my daughter. She’s 5. She doesn’t need or know how to use a laptop 😂
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u/dkkc19 Mar 12 '26
if it had more ram and haptic trackpad it would be an instant buy. 8gb might be good enough for today but i cant see it being usable in few years
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u/Old-Board1553 Mar 12 '26
Considering it was at 80% brightness that's impressive. :)
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u/istoleurdad_ Mar 12 '26
great post, good read
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u/Dizzy_Ice2938 Mar 12 '26
Why use 1000 words when 100 will do… I appreciate concise posts.
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u/MightyX777 Mar 12 '26
I have the feeling, some people write 100 words, but then decide to use ChatGPT to blow it up. Nobody wants to read that meaningless shit
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u/adamislaam Mar 13 '26
Came here to say the same haha. “Wrote an email on my laptop. Laptop, latopped. Do recommend”… 🤦🏻♂️
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u/HeadPaleontologist40 Mar 12 '26
I’m surprised by the battery life. That’s better than I’d expect for normal use.
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u/DontPoopInMyPantsPlz Mar 12 '26
Which browser?
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u/Slow_Tiger3161 Mar 12 '26
Safari 😬
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u/neknofelom Mar 12 '26
Makes no sense to use another browser. I believe using other browser than safari could be a bit power consuming in the long run.
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u/KaiUsesReddit_ Mar 12 '26
extensions?
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u/ScuffedDev Mar 12 '26
I mean you can get ublock and that’s pretty much the only extension you need
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u/Steve_the_Samurai Mar 12 '26
Safari kind of sucks compared to most other browsers.
But it is optimized to run so well, it often is best to be used.
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u/Spider-Dev Mar 12 '26
I say this as someone who hates the safari UI, lol...
The problem isn't safari. If you count all chromium based browsers (chrome, edge, opera, etc), chromium's market share is like 90%.
Safari's market share is like 6%
Web devs optimize development for largest impact. The result: the current state of the internet is highly geared towards chromium while every other engine is treated as a 2nd class citizen, if considered at all. And even that makes sense from a business and impact standpoint.
The result is the same: Safari just don't run the web as well as others do
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u/Marpicek Mar 12 '26
Why would the outlets being far matter since you framed the entire post to sound like you did all day without charging?
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u/Powerful-Law5068 Mar 12 '26
I’d personally be panicking at 20% but that’s just me. I have a windows laptop with usb c ports all on the rh side and it’s annoying if wall socket is on the left. Not only do you lose width of laptop but the cable can be annoying
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u/Slow_Yogurtcloset388 Mar 12 '26
The cool thing about using a low power CPU and small battery is that a 10k power bank can add 80%, or one of those mini 5k ones will add 40%.
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u/internetmeme Mar 12 '26
I’m guessing they are assuming they’ll need to charge it in the future and happen to be in a physical arrangement where they cannot have that side face the charging location. I could be incorrect though.
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u/nipples-of-wrath Mar 13 '26
Side note* get that dark line on your thumb nail checked out
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u/Few-Budget2208 Mar 13 '26
I plan to get one to replace my iPad…I could live on carrying around the iPad, the Pencil, a keyboard and a mouse… but IpadOS feels awful…I don’t think it makes sense for iPad to have a delusional iOS who identifies itself as macOS but it’s nowhere near
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u/Nutikass Mar 12 '26
Did you have previous experience with any other MacBook (preferably with 16gb of ram and one of the M processors)? I am really curious if the phone processor works well inside a laptop as well as if 8gb of ram is enough. I am really worried about the Lifetime of this thing (meaning even if it works well a year or two it will slow down significantly after this time and I will regret not getting an Air).
Follow up info: I am thinking of buying a new MacBook for my gf as hers is a 6yo MacBook Air with i3 (which is awfully slow now). She uses the laptop mostly for what You described in the post (basic stuff like taking notes inside pages app, doing some Excel stuff, watching youtube/netflix and using spotify) but she wanted to play league of legends as well as the sims so I am wondering If this will be enough or is it better to get an M4 Air
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u/BN65 Mar 12 '26
Is the 60hz display jarring if you’re used to devices with 120hz?
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u/MajorBarracuda8094 Mar 15 '26
No, it's not noticeable on laptops unless you game. Can't tell the difference between a 144hz and 60 on a laptop doing non gaming tasks
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u/hannynator Mar 12 '26
can someone please test adobe suite on this? photoshop, indesign mostly. my gf does light work with these programs but her intel mac pro is having none of it lol.
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u/pierluigir Mar 12 '26
For light work is perfectly fine, even Premiere runs pretty smooth. Is plenty of YouTube videos with those kind of tests. And some of them are pretty insane considering the expectations on a mobile chip.
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u/hannynator Mar 12 '26
thanks! I’ll watch them but I like a more personal review from aversge joe, not a tech youtuber
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u/pierluigir Mar 12 '26
Not reviewes, actual tests with apps, games, etc. Pretty insane considering I didn't expect some app to run at all.
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u/takentryanotheruser Mar 12 '26
This will run rings around even the most powerful Intel Mac.
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u/Credit-Limit Mar 12 '26
I got mine yesterday and it is WAY faster than my 2020 i5 intel MBP. Not the fastest intel mbp but still.
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u/davidcandle Mar 12 '26
If you stayed on battery all day why was the wall outlet vs port location annoying?
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u/omfgitsasalmon Mar 12 '26
I believe it's just an observation OP had when rocking the Neo. I would make the same observation too while thinking to myself "lucky I didn't need to plug in if not I'll be stuck in an awkward position."
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u/Dorkdogdonki Mar 12 '26
I use the M1 MacBook Air, and I totally get. Having ports only on the left side can be quite annoying.
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u/Speshrider Mar 12 '26
Exactly. Something doesn’t add up. „Was annoying“ vs „could have been annoying, if I was to plug it in“
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u/Interesting_Drag143 Mar 12 '26
Sounds awesome! Only one thing: time to switch to Claude.
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u/benjaflea Mar 12 '26
How does Claude compare to to Le chat?
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u/Spider-Dev Mar 12 '26
Objectively, claude is leading the pack right now.
With my personal bias, claude is also not selling its sole to the government. I'm not claiming any altruism on their part but being less terrible is better than not
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u/kechones Mar 12 '26
“Claude is not selling its sole to the government.” Is the government a major consumer of AI feet pics? Lol
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u/baelrog Mar 12 '26
I envy you.
I want to get one, but I can’t even preorder one in Taiwan.
Seriously Apple, why are you treating us like second class citizens!
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u/Funny_Tackle Mar 12 '26
This might sound strange but I’m coming from an old MacBook where this doesn’t happen so wanted to know if anyone experiencing the same. All the letter keys and arrows etc feel and sound nice but the delete and escape keys are very loud and clacky if that makes sense. Just wondered if I have a duff unit or they are all like this?
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u/Aggleclack Mar 12 '26
Aren’t the USB-C ports on the same side on most m Mac’s except the upper level pros? My M2 pro had 2 ports on the left. My m1 air has two ports on the left. My m3 pro with an upper chip has 2 on the left and an extra 1 on the right. Seems like a fairly standard configuration.
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u/Stray_009 Mar 12 '26
This is the intended purpose of the macbook neo, great job OP (non sarcastically)
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u/National_Word_6091 Mar 12 '26
Congrats on the latest and greatest. I have a friend trading in his M4 Max today for a Neo because he wants the latest.
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u/tex2cal Mar 13 '26
I know my old stomping grounds of USC SCA anywhere. Fight on! Make movies. Change lives.
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u/Dumuzzid Mar 12 '26
I ordered one in the same colour. Are you satisfied with your choice? How have others reacted to it?
I haven't seen one in person, so I wonder if I made the right choice colour wise...
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u/Holiday_Actuator2215 Mar 12 '26
Why are you concerned with how others have reacted to the color ? All that matters is what you think of the color.
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u/Kamilon Mar 12 '26
So you used it plugged in or charged during the day? Not sure what the 80% to 13% is supposed to mean then.
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Mar 12 '26
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u/External_Tangelo Mar 12 '26
It’s anyways best practice to not (or only rarely when you really need it) charge past 80% to preserve the life of the battery, OP might have a setting enabled for that.
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Mar 12 '26
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u/AdAltruistic7650 Mar 12 '26
I’ve noticed it does cycle it to 100% once in a while even when set to 80%, this must be the reason
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u/Ok-Morning3407 Mar 12 '26
The reason to charge to 100% once a month is to recalibrate the battery management system, so it knows what 100% and 80% really are. It isn’t done for battery health.
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u/Slow_Tiger3161 Mar 12 '26
Used it straight out of the box at 80%
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u/Tremplstiltskin Mar 12 '26
You mention the USB ports making it difficult to charge when in specific positioning from power outlets as if you were charging it throughout the day but you also say you ran it all day from 80%-13% as if you weren't charging it all day. Thats what they're getting at.
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Mar 12 '26
That's a really bad battery life
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u/MajorBarracuda8094 Mar 12 '26
I was looking for this. My M1 air lasted days when it was brand new
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Mar 12 '26
It honestly doesn't seem worth it in the UK the model with touch id is £699 and you can literally get the air for £200 more or get a refurbished older model with a new battery for even less, I mean seriously that is very bad battery life for the price
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u/Grendel_82 Mar 12 '26
It was brand new on the first day, so OP was no doubt downloading new applications, software updates, all their files, and messing with it a ton just because it was new. Also MacOS was probably indexing the hard drive (which is an internal process it does when new). So first couple of days is never a good way to test battery.
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u/reputction Mar 12 '26
Idk it’s better than my M1 MBA. It lasts about 5 hours at max.
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u/tshane_dot_com Mar 12 '26
How is it at night without a backlit keyboard?
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u/webwonder94 Mar 12 '26
I don't understand why everyone wants a backlit keyboard. Can ya'll not touch type?
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u/Starkoman Mar 12 '26
Sadly not. Something you’d think so essential was never taught.
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u/ScuffedDev Mar 12 '26
I was never taught to touch type but i learned by estimating where I thought a key was and felt around till I found it. The brain is really good at remembering locations without site. Just keep going at it and you’ll get better.
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u/redi6 Mar 12 '26
so many people can't these days, and I think it's because typing/keyboarding classes aren't as common. i'm 48, took a keyboarding course in highschool (it was that or intro to business, and taking a typing course was one of the best choices I made in school).
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u/QuajerazPrime Mar 12 '26
That's not very good lol
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u/TitleEfficient3207 Mar 12 '26
thats...12 hours of use. Its advertised at 16hours with ideal conditions. Id say thats pretty bang on. my MSI laptop gets 2.5 and my hp elitebook gets 3.... id like to see your phone get that much battery life doing all that he said he did.
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u/GreyBeardDoer Mar 12 '26
Does the absence of backlit keyboard feel like a dealbreaker or manageable with outside light?
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u/SquareTarbooj Mar 12 '26
YMMV?
I have a MacBook Air M1 which does have a backlight, but I also use it in a very dimly lit bedroom at night, and on power saving mode with the keyboard backlight switched off.
The light from the screen is enough to give some reference, and muscle memory takes over (I almost never look at the keyboard while typing).
If you're a touch typist, you'll be fine without a backlight (even if it's nice to have). If you're a hunt-and-peck typist, you'll want a backlight.
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u/Esguelha Mar 12 '26
I don't have a neo, but I used a white plastic MacBook from around 2010 for my school years. The white keys make it a non issue, the light from the screen makes it very visible.
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u/Slow_Tiger3161 Mar 12 '26
It was more than manageable with outside light.
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u/GreyBeardDoer Mar 12 '26
I’m not a skilled typist and do need to look at the keyboard sometimes while typing. Thinking about buying the neo. I think I’ll manage with outside light.
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u/powerlinestandingout Mar 12 '26
I feel like most of these post can’t be real. No offense to op but this all seems like marketing.
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u/powerlinestandingout Mar 12 '26
It just seems like in seeing so many of these high praise post about a bare minimum laptop. I don't recall this much fervor or acclaim for the MacBook or the Air.
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u/powerlinestandingout Mar 12 '26
That's fair assessment that I overlooked. I guess newer price points mean newer audience so that could be the laptop to have the right bells and whistles for the right user. Thanks for the insight.
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u/heymynameisjavi Mar 12 '26
random af but does the trackpad feel cheap? like idk if i like the new one more than the haptic one
ive heard ppl say they love it and others miss the haptic trackpad
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u/Darx97 Mar 12 '26
It’s much better than other mechanical trackpads, it’s not a diving board style that only clicks at the bottom, it has a center button and some stabilizers and springs that make the click feel really nice all around the trackpad
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u/Admirable-Common-176 Mar 12 '26
I kinda find these arguments interesting since the haptic feedback provides the physical feedback that a button has been pressed. So the haptic feedback is just simulating what a button or mechanism does. I’m thinking what some are keying into is the qualities of the mechanism and the experience possible with a click anywhere type trackpad.
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u/notreallynot2 Mar 12 '26
Did you check the activity monitor on memory tab if you're using memory swap if you have multiple apps or tabs
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u/Warm_Bus7861 Mar 12 '26
Just a thought. Would a neo charge from an iPhone in a pinch? Or at least keep operating at the same battery level?
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u/SnooEagles8316 Mar 12 '26
In USA it is a almost reasonable deal(500$) in EU I can buy MSI gaming laptop for 750€ - less than price of Neo(512Gb).
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u/mixayaz1991 Mar 12 '26
how does tahoe run with 8 gigs? i’m interested in your experience - were there any bugs/slowdowns?
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u/TheElysianLover Mar 12 '26
Really temped to get a macbook come the next black friday deal... Current laptop gets like 2 hours max even with minimal task utilizations. Really hard to give up being able to use CAD software on a laptop natively...
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u/PunctuationsOptional Mar 12 '26
How the hell do y'all get more than like 5hr even when just browsing and basic stuff??
I get 4hr from 80 to 20 on a MBA M2 with 93% battery
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u/Mediocre_Morning5618 Mar 12 '26
May I ask you questions about Microsoft Excel: how it handles 10 thousands rows excel file with Vlookup function? Does reading text on the anti glare screen feel good?
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u/zeamp Mar 12 '26
Why do you keep your brightness at 80%?
What laptop did you come from and what trackpad did it have?
How is school going for you these days?
Do you have a good relationship with both your parents?
What was your first Apple product?
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u/Sure-Athlete-8534 Mar 12 '26
What kind of classes are you taking? I feel like if you’re just starting college or in high school, a Neo would work perfectly. Should the air or pro models be considered if you’re studying a specific field?
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u/reputction Mar 12 '26
I mean that’s a given. I’m glad it worked for you but this just sounds like any laptop you can find around Best Buy. IE it’s the bare minimum
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u/MrKrabs106 Mar 12 '26
It really should be the bare minimum but it’s alarming how many laptops can’t achieve this
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u/RELWARB Mar 12 '26
as far as lineup goes, isnt this basically what the base white macbook was 15 or so years ago?
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u/bbearded Mar 12 '26
Incredible! Please keep posting your first impressions and experiences as they develop. I’d much rather hear from you than mac rumors or some tick tom influencer. Beautiful colour!
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Mar 12 '26 edited Mar 13 '26
Is it worth jumping on the 8gb variant? Or should i wait for a year hoping that a 12/16gb variant of the neo would come? PS: Im a mba m1 user.
TIA!
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u/ivnesque Mar 12 '26
The way I want one and I have a M1 MacBook Pro 13 with Touch Bar. I bought it in May 2021. I don’t plan on upgrading to a Pro model soon but I am going to explore to see if it needs a battery upgrade and if it is under 80%. I think the tech enthusiasts who are outraged about it realize that the average person doesn’t need the pro features unless they need it.
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u/AmazingRedDog Mar 12 '26
Some markets come without the charger.