Hi, you’re here reading a tech blog. This automatically means that MacBook Neo is not for you. Congratulations.

If you’re thinking about plugging in external displays, it’s probably not for you (though it can do one).

If you’re mad about the USB protocols it’s using, it’s not for you.

If you know what Thunderbolt is, it’s not for you.

Who It’s Actually For

Apple’s very clearly stating who this laptop is for: kids, students, and those that just need The Big Screen (and if you don’t know what that means, you guessed it, it’s probably not for you).

Direct Quotes From Apple

…browsing the web and streaming content

…browsing the web, creating documents, streaming content, editing photos, and taking advantage of AI

…their favorite apps, like Messages, WhatsApp, Canva, Excel, Safari, and more.

…summarizing notes in Bear or using the Clean Up tool in the Photos app

…a perfect on-the-go companion for work or play, from the classroom to the coffee shop…

The Differentiation

This happens rather often in the tech zeitgeist—a major division between the people who are into tech for the tech and those who are into the tech because of what it enables. Some people just want to see the best of the best in technology—faster benchmarks, beefier chips, higher resolutions and refresh rates, but there’s also a subset of us who are less interested in the numbers and more interested in what the technology enables.

Applying This to MacBook Neo

At $599, this is a major shake up in the budget laptop world. If you wanted a MacBook for under $1,000, you had to go used, which isn’t always attractive to the general consumer. People want to be able to walk into the Apple Store or the Best Buy or the Target and come out with a laptop. Most people aren’t concerned with finding the most bang for their buck and trying to find that perfect inflection point between performance and value. Some people just want to buy a computer.

Taking a notable step into this market is huge for Apple because now people have an option for connecting with their (probably more expensive…and more powerful) iPhone. While most people buy their phones on 2–3 year contracts, they don’t do that with their computers. It’s a much harder sell to drop $1,000 at once than it is to pay $35/month for a little while, which is why people have historically been willing to pay more for phones than laptops.

This is a Mac, and it sits firmly within the price that most people are willing to pay for a laptop, and it’s a pretty decent one for doing things that people do on their phones…because it is a phone, but it has the advantage of a longer battery life, a better keyboard, and a huge screen.

Not a lot of techies in the space are going to get it (both in the sense of “understanding it” and “buying it” but this has the potential to have a huge impact in the general consumer market and I’m really excited to see what this means for the desktop/laptop world over the next few years.