My opinion is that $599 is a lot of money, and I cannot call anything that costs $599 as cheap. It is not surprising to me that the computer industry that thinks that $1,000 phones, monthly subscriptions for software, and that $20 per month is alright for access to cloud-base AI is out of sync on the definition of prices seems to think $599 is “low cost.”
Because I think $599 is a lot of money, I don’t think the decision to buy a MacBook Neo is a no-brainer. Consequently, if I were deciding whether to buy one for my wife or recommend one for a friend I find myself with the question, will it be a good computer a year or two from now?
Christina Warren in this week’s MacBreak Weekly makes this point about the Neo, that it will likely not be a good computer five years from now. From what I see, it looks like the Neo is comparable in performance to the first MacBook Air that Apple started selling in November, 2020. While it is remarkable that the performance of a computer holds up over six years, just how much longer can that last?
And for those writing reviews who seem to not be giving a second thought about the constraint I ask, will you ask Apple to release a lower cost MacBook Air with 8 GB of RAM? You accepted the baseline Apple created of 16 GB seemingly with no complaint that it was too much. Yes, I know the Neo isn’t for you, but should we be asking people to replace their laptop every two years?
Like nearly all other things that Apple sells, I don’t doubt that Apple will sell plenty of Neos, particuarly in this hype cycle. The Neo looks like a nice first release of the product, but I expect next year their will be a new model with more RAM and storage that will provide more for your money. If you want a Neo I recommend waiting to see whether the price comes down later this year. Also, keep an eye on Apple’s competitors who I would expect to answer with competing products at that price point.
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