If you thought that "available" MacBook"is more of a contradiction than a reality, MacBook Neo will correct you very quickly. Apple with it, they are targeting users who want to enter the world of macOS, but at the same time do not want (or cannot) spend tens of thousands on MacBook Air or Pro. The new product attracts with its modern design, solid performance based on the iPhone chip, long battery life and surprisingly high-quality workmanship. But the question is – where were the savings made and are these compromises even noticeable in practice? That is exactly what I focused on in my review. MacBookat Neo, which will tell you whether it makes sense to go for it or whether it's better to pay extra for a higher model. So if you're still hesitating, I believe the following lines will make it clear to you once and for all.
You might be interested in
The look is simple, but still fun
I can't really start without evaluating the appearance. The new product comes in four colors (specifically yellow, pink, blue and silver), and I had the blue version for testing in varia256GB. And although some might argue that this is a rather boring shade close to the dark blue of MacBooků Air, it is definitely not the case. The blue one, which Apple used by MacBookThe Neo is much more playful and what is important is the computer body, which is MacBooku Air visually quite different.
Although it was assumed that the Neo would be just another recycle of the old chassis, Apple decided to surprise in this regard and created a brand new body for the new product, which is much more rounded than the one on the MacBooku Air or Pro, especially on the edges of the display lid. Thanks to this, it looks MacBook Not a very unobtrusive impression, which is personally very pleasant for me, because it is precisely this difference that fundamentally shapes its unique identity.
Once you open the computer, you will be delighted by the keyboard in the color of the chassis, which is Apple decided for the first time in the modern history of its notebooks. Up until now, it has only relied on black, so any other keyboard color is definitely a welcome change. Its shade is actually much lighter than it is in the product photos, where it almost tends to blend in, but I must say that despite its difference from what Apple presented, the result actually looks great in real life. But I'll come back to how to type on a computer later.
However, after turning on the computer, you cannot help but notice that with the frames around the display, Apple didn't worry too much and left them quite wide. But even here I dare say that it's not really a bad thing, because their width on the sides can withstand comparisons with, for example, MacBookem Air M1, with the Nea frame on the top side opposite AirThe M1 is even noticeably narrower. And because the bezel itself is actually evenly thick everywhere, the display itself looks really nice.
Gallery
As for the workmanship, there is honestly absolutely nothing to criticize here, quite the opposite. In the past, we have witnessed several times that Apple cheaper products were made with lower quality, so for example their backs moved slightly (in the sense of a simple dent) or their side buttons wobbled. But here I dare say that the level of workmanship is comparable not only to MacBookem Air, but also significantly more expensive MacBookem Pro. Everything fits perfectly, the display hinge provides pleasant resistance and opens smoothly, nothing creaks anywhere, and thanks to the aluminum body, the computer feels like it can withstand anything. Apple therefore, it definitely deserves a discharge in this regard.
As a whole, the new MacBook I'm not afraid to evaluate the Neo as very successful in terms of design. Visually, it is a truly beautiful computer with first-class workmanship, which is definitely pleasing for a computer in this price category.
Pleasant trackpad, less pleasant keyboard
The keyboard in combination with trackpadHowever, they were one of the most laundered items after the show. MacBookfor Neo. In the case of the keyboard, this is due to the absence of its backlight, for trackpadagain, the absence of Force Touch support, i.e. pressure sensing, which we are used to from MacBooků Air or for, or from Magic Trackpadu. And I have to say that although I didn't really think so at first, miniThe lack of keyboard backlighting can actually be a problem for some people.
This is because it is harder to see the individual keys in dim light, let alone in the dark. So if you can't type without looking at the keyboard, then you are in for either a good workout or a nightmare. And I honestly think that Apple knew very well that the absence of backlighting can be quite a problem. I conclude this mainly based on the use of a color keyboard, which is supposed to slightly eliminate the absence of backlighting by simply making the characters easier to see on it than on the black version. And in fact they definitely are, at least after I tried typing in the same light on the color keyboard first MacBookon the Neo and then on the black keyboard with the backlight off on the MacBooku Air.
The absence of a keyboard backlight is a shame for me personally, and I secretly hope that this technology will be included in the next generation of Neo - perhaps for an additional fee, along with Touch IDwhich you Apple Comes with 512GB when purchased varianty. On the other hand, the absence of the basic 256GB model is a completely problem-free limitation for me for two reasons. First, entering your account password is usually really fast and secondly, it can be assumed that you MacBook Neo will be bought by apple lovers who own and Apple Watchthrough which it is possible MacBook Not only can you unlock them, but you can also confirm various things through them. For an additional fee Touch ID I would personally Apple did not lynch.
What about then trackpadu, it's fantastic even without Force Touch support. Considering that we're talking about a relatively small computer with a 13" diagonal, it's trackpad really big, thanks to which macOS is very easy to control and what's more – the Force Touch function (usually displaying detailed information about a certain phrase or word, opening an additional menu for web links, etc.) is replaced by a touch gesture. This is not new in this regard – the gesture for simulating Force Touch offers MacBookfor many years, so Apple He just bet on something that simply works well for him, which is the ideal scenario for me.
The monitor is perfectly adequate.
As I wrote above, MacBook Neo was given 13" Liquid Retina display with a resolution of 2408 x 1506 pixels and a brightness of 500 nits, which are more or less the same values that 13,6" MacBooky Air (The resolution is of course higher, but that goes hand in hand with the larger diagonal.) The only major difference should be sRGB versus support for the wide P3 color gamut.
This difference may sound like a detail on paper, but in practice you will recognize it at first glance, especially when comparing monitors side by side. While sRGB is a certainty that can display websites and most applications nicely, a display with P3 support pushes colors a bit further and makes them visibly more vibrant, especially in red and green shades. So if a device supports P3, photos and videos on it look more expressive and natural, which is the effect you want from a modern display. On the other hand, you need to take into account that outside of a P3 compatible environment, the advantage is partially lost, which is why in practice sRGB is still often used as a universal basis.
From the previous lines it is probably clear that the display capabilities of the display MacBookThe Neo's are really good, but not exactly top-notch, and when you put it next to it MacBooku Air and you start looking at the same things, Air has the upper hand in terms of color and overall vividness of the image. Compared to the Neo, its display output is more plastic, more vivid and, in short, more pleasing to the eye. On the other hand, I have to objectively say that if you don't have a direct comparison and MacBookThe Neo works in a completely standard style, for example, writing emails, editing text documents, and so on. The display will definitely not offend you.
And it will not offend you in any way even if you are on MacBooku Neo watch your favorite movies or series on Netflix or anywhere else. The image of this machine is really nice and overall at a high level, although there is certainly room for improvement. It is quite difficult to describe it in words and has to be seen. However, do not expect a difference in the style of OLED vs. LCD, which is abysmal, but something far, far smaller and less pronounced.
The webcam and sound will pleasantly surprise you
MacBook For me personally, the Neo is a computer for students, for simple use.ancelectrical work or for undemanding users, for example my parents or grandparents. All these groups ultimately have in common that they may want (or need) to communicate with their surroundings through video calls. But when you look at the paper specifications of a webcam with its 1080p resolution, you might at first think that there is no way to talk about a high-quality image here. However, that is a mistake.
If you use the webcam in an environment with solid lighting, the image sharpness is very solid and completely sufficient for video calls. In poorer light, some noise is already noticeable, but it is not so extreme that the video would be completely unusable. And if you still don't like the quality, if you have iPhonem, you can use it as a makeshift webcam with significantly better image quality. So there's not much to complain about in that regard, especially for a computer with this price tag.
What really took my breath away was the sound quality. Although the Neo only has two speakers instead of four, as we are used to with more expensive models, it certainly doesn't skimp on this aspect, quite the opposite. Even these two speakers are able to provide a truly great sound experience that can almost be compared to the sound from MacBooku AirNo, it's not the same, but these machines are definitely much closer in sound than you might expect. So it's perfectly adequate for watching movies and videos, and there's absolutely no need to talk about video calls.
And while we're on the subject of video calls, the dual microphone system for capturing your voice is definitely worth mentioning. MacBooky Air Although it offers a system of three microphones, I dare say that in terms of quality, one missing microphone is MacBooku Air you simply don't have aanceven recognize. The voice that the computer is able to record sounds clean, natural and generally good. So I don't think the shoe is pushing the innovation in this regard in any way.
Gallery
Not enough performance and RAM? But where!
If above MacBookIf you're thinking about the Neo, you probably already know that this is the first commercially sold Mac since Applu originally equipped with a mobile A-series chip. The first Mac with an A-series chip was Mac mini equipped with the A12Z chip, which, however, only served as a developer kit for developers during the period when Apple Macs were switching from Intel processors to Apple Silicon and needed to provide developers with hardware on which they could test everything in advance. MacBook Neo is truly a pioneer in this regard. And I must say, a truly convincing one.
I don't want to overwhelm you with various benchmark measurements and the like in my review, because I think that these sometimes meaningless numbers don't tell the user much in the end. I will try to give you a simple description of the performance by describing what I have been doing on the machine over the last few days and how I managed it. However, the entire assessment could be summarized as follows: if you don't need to edit 4K videos, work on advanced graphics or do similar "indulgences" where the back canchat i MacBook Air, then you will be thrilled with Neo.
Gallery
My job is essentially very simple in terms of performance requirements. I use my Mac specifically for writing texts in Pages whether Wordu, sometimes I create tables in Exceloh, I have several windows permanently open in Safari whether Chrome, I simply edit photos via Preview (meaning various basic cropping, adding arrows to screenshot(for how-to articles and the like) and I often have Spotify running in the background. Of course, I also have a few other apps running, including Beeper for communication on Messengerat or WhatsApp, then Canva for mockup creation, native Notes for notes and in recent months Logi Options+ for the mouse. So my work is definitely not rocket science, but on the contrary, in my opinion, it is by definition common toancand this is where he manages MacBook Neo practically as good as MacBook Air The M3 that I normally use.
Although the Neo has "only" 8GB of RAM, during my testing I never encountered a single lag due to its lack. This pleased me especially when I had a lot of work to do. Safari about 20 tabs open and 3 windows open in Pages, Spotify in the background and an email arrived in Mail. In addition, I often had the computer connected to a 32" 4K monitor, which also keeps it busy in terms of performance. However, this load did not cause it to freeze at all and honestly, I did not freeze it even when I tried very hard and launched all native applications at once via Finder. They started jumping into the dockand despite their enormous number, the computer still responded reliably.
You might be interested in
It has literally no problem with quick tasks like bulk converting multiple photos to another format or quickly changing their sizes, which is something I do on a daily basis. However, even when I was converting dozens of photos in MB units, I was only a few seconds slower than it could handle. Air M3. I bought it years ago for almost double the current selling price. MacBookwith Neo, which is almost unbelievable.
Because I have both with me at the same time MacBook No, so too MacBook Air and Pro M5, of course I tried a short speed test across all of these machines. And you probably won't be surprised to find that the Neo also held up very well with them in normal tasks.onech step. Yes, photo transfers were noticeably faster on these machines, but if we are talking about launching applications, which is something that, by the way, Apple used to demonstrate the speed of chips Apple Silicon in the first years of sales, the lead of Macs with M5 was literally negligible. So I'm not afraid to say that if it has been enough for you without any problems so far MacBook Air in terms of performance, it is very likely that if you go down one floor to MacBookWith Neo, you'll save a lot and still have the same user experience. I definitely have the same experience.
All-day battery life
Together with theoneI also tested the battery life intensively, because I often work either on the go or from the comfort of my couch or bed, where I'm not connected to a power outlet. And I have to say that AppleThe promised up to 11 hours of wireless web browsing or 16 hours of video streaming is definitely not far from the truth.
I don't browse the internet all day, and I don't mind streaming videos for long periods of time, but I do keep my web browser open quite often, as do the Mail, Messages, and so on. Pages, in which I write articles including this review, which, by the way, is entirely created on MacBookat Neo. And the result? My roughly ten-hour workday filled with this commonancmastered the plumbing work MacBook No, without hesitation. All-day endurance can be guaranteed without any problems, so if you want to buy it for school, for example, for notes and the like, there's nothing to worry about.
What's also great is that you can charge it from 0 to 100% in about 2 hours with a 20W charger, so there's absolutely no limit to the charging time. It's just a shame that it only charges via USB-C port and not via MagSafe toonewhich. In addition to faster charging, MagSafe is also safer for me thanks to its ability to quickly magnetically disconnect when, for example, you mess with the cable. From the point of view of use in schools, this little thing would make a lot of sense to me, because it could save many a computer on the desk. On the other hand, if students walk around every day with a charged MacBookWith Neo, you won't need to drag the cable with you.
The port equipment will neither offend nor inspire
The port equipment won't really limit you in any way. At first glance, it's relatively weak, as it only consists of a pair of USB-C ports, where one is USB 3 and the other USB 2, but it is more than enough for simple transfer of smaller files and also for connecting one external monitor. Sure, we can talk about that maxThe minimum transfer speed of 5 Gb/s on USB 3, or 480 Mb/s, is not much, but in the wireless and wired era cloudI don't think it's necessary to drag and drop tens of GB of data back and forth over physical media. Besides, there's no need for that. MacBook Not adapted in terms of storage either.
I used the Neo for over 10 days as my primary workstation connected to a 32" 4K LG monitor and I must say that it worked great in this combination. The monitor "tightened" without any problems in the form of heating, stuttering or anything similar. So the reliability is considerable even when connected to a monitor.
Summary
Honestly, MacBook Neo is a machine that, within Apple The new product has definitely excited me the most in recent years. It is unprepossessing, superbly crafted and, most importantly, I dare say, put together in such a way as to completely satisfy the masses. And I mean that quite seriously. In my opinion, this is a machine that should have been around for many years and which I would have easily bought as my first one years ago. MacBook instead of the previous one Airu.
In my opinion, Neo is even so good that it has the potential to make some existing older users MacBooků Air to the fact that some achievements actually AirThey don't really need it and they can easily get by with a basic laptop from Applu. Because the operating system, which is ultimately the alpha and omega of the computer, is identical to the rest of the Apple portfolio and the hardware that Apple The novelty is, in my opinion, completely sufficient considering the price.
Even me as a user MacBooku Air M3 I'm now toying with the idea of whether my Air not to send a house further and instead start using MacBook Neo. In the past few days, I have fully proven that in terms of performance, this is a computer that can handle classic gaming.ancelectrical work without any shortness of breath and which is therefore completely reliable.
Sure, there are a few "buts" that may be insurmountable for some. I'm thinking of the non-backlit keyboard, but also the lack of MagSafe or Touch ID at the basic varianty. However, I dare to say, except for the keyboard, that we are talking about concessions that are defensible and, most importantly, that can be used to.
In my opinion, a separate chapter is for users who have already Apple products, but they have so far avoided Macs, for example, because of their price. For them, it will start to MacBook Neo sense even a thousand times greater than in the case Applem people who haven't kissed yet. Thanks to the great connectivity of macOS with iPhonewith other products, an incredibly complex world will open up for them Apple world with completely new ways of working across individual products that can greatly simplify, speed up and make your work habits more enjoyable. So if you have in your pocket iPhone, on the wrist Apple Watch, in the ears AirPods and you're thinking about buying a laptop, think no more - the only sensible choice for you is this machine.
Bottom line, sum up – MacBook In my opinion, the Neo can completely change what people think of as an "affordable laptop." Applu has obviously managed to find a recipe that can satisfy us at an affordable price.chat an irresistible combination of hardware and software that can appeal to a huge number of people. Sure, you'll probably have a harder time editing 4K video on this machine than on MacBookThere are many more things you could list for Pro and similar tasks. But if your daily bread is emails, web, text documents and similar simpler things, there's nothing to hesitate about. MacBook Neo will completely satisfy you in all these ways and what's more, from MacBooku Air suddenly makes a bit of a choicelsaa feature that you don't really need.
TIP:U Mobil Pohotovostyou can also get new MacBook Neo can be rented for only 349 CZK per month. This makes it a really affordable option.
I'll wait until the next generation, see where Neo goes, and then I'll buy a few for myself and my daughter. After a long time, a really great product that will be enough for many users.
You won't go wrong. I still play with it and I enjoy it so much that I might actually trade it for my current one. Air. That machine is so good 🙏🏻
He's great, but Air it's better. And more expensive. Why change it? That was a stupid, illogical downgrade...🙄
I'm all about colors in my clothes and now I'm testing Neo purple and it suits my clothes quite well.
I got it Air M 4 and I find out why? Neo will take care of everything and I will save money….
Hypothesis – the next generation could already have 16GB in the base and even more 'future proof'. So far, it's probably almost as good as the estimates...
I'd do it right away.