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@klara@wandering.shop

Post #611742

2026-03-09 21:52 UTC

Someone I know, an obligate Mac user without much money, has an ancient and dying laptop. They'd been thinking maybe a refurbished 13" M2 MacBook Pro or Air as a replacement, given the M-series' reputation for long lifetimes, but are now tempted by this "Neo". What should I advise here? One might hope that a newer machine would last longer, but is the "Neo" less built-to-last or otherwise bad? And there's the question of locking them into the reviled latest MacOS.

Replies (7)

  • @flippac@types.pl 2026-03-09 22:12

    @klara@wandering.shop It's new enough we don't know what's been cut - and the M2's better specs except maybe screen diagonal

    Open ##2968060

  • @klara@wandering.shop I probably wouldn't recommend a machine with 8GB of RAM if they're planning on using it for a long time. Unfortunately if they need the latest software apple may only support devices for around 7 years.

    Open ##2968064

  • @klara@wandering.shop I saw an article saying the Neo is just a marketing gimmick. You can buy a Mac laptop with those specs already.

    Open ##2968065

  • @amsomniac@mastodon.mit.edu 2026-03-10 00:53

    @klara@wandering.shop oh weird, it's an iphone laptop

    Open ##2968066

  • @anco@tech.lgbt 2026-03-10 01:15

    @klara@wandering.shop my gripe with the Neo are: one of the USB ports is 2.0, and as far as I can tell they aren’t labeled, and the ram being only 8GB The trackpad also is not using haptics, so maybe another component that can potentially break Edit: sorry I misread and thought you mentioned going away from macOS, not using the latest one.

    Open ##2968067

  • @klara@wandering.shop Maybe an M4 Macbook Air refurb would be better, if they can afford it, but i’d bet the Neo will have a longer supported life than just about anything older than that. That “iPhone Chip” is very capable, and it’s a nice little computer, especially if they can swing the upgraded model.

    Open ##2968068

  • @klara@wandering.shop M1-M2 have the advantages of 1) Linux already supporting them, and 2) being compute SoCs, meaning good I/O. The Neo being a laptop designed around a phone SoC has like none of it. One of the USB-C ports supports USB3 and DP while the other one is just USB2 :D

    Open ##2968070