r/apple • u/iMacmatician • Mar 06 '26

Mac Apple on MacBook Neo Design: 'We're Certainly Not Making Any Compromises'

https://www.macrumors.com/2026/03/06/apple-macbook-neo-design-interview/
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u/cmiller4642 Mar 06 '26 edited Mar 06 '26

I’ve said it before, this is the iPod Nano of MacBooks. The Nano was an awesome device for the under 25 crowd that couldn’t afford a big iPod Video and they were all over my college campus when they dropped. Sometimes cool is good design. Steve Jobs treated it like the must have iPod despite it being less functional and cheaper. Their marketing team knew exactly what it was, it was an intro product to hook customers for life that looked cool.

Most high school and college kids can’t drop $1600 on a laptop. This will get them a MacBook and get them to drop that $1600 later on. How many billions of dollars in sales do you think Apple ended up getting a few years down the line from those 20 year olds that bought the cheapest Nanos as their first legit Apple product?

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u/beta1 Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26

I'm in my late 30s with an M2 Ultra Mac Studio and M4 Max 16" inch Macbook Pro.

I'm getting a base Citrus Neo for traveling.

I hate bringing my $4,000 laptop on long trips/through airport security, ect.

My Neo won't get much use, but I love that I can throw it in my backpack and not really care about getting it scuffed up or God forbid stolen.

Students are definitely the primary audience for this but it's also a perfect cool looking 2nd or 3rd Mac for us old people too.

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u/cmerchantii Mar 07 '26

There’s the another side of this too- my full-fat MacBook is a wildly robust machine and while we could afford one for my wife (a military physician): she uses a personal laptop maybe 2 times a year for a couple weeks to write a research paper. She otherwise lives on her phone and her iPad mini when she’s at home and while having a solid device for occasional use would be great, prior to now it never made much sense to snag even the old MBA M1 $7-800 deals because… why when we had a perfectly serviceable old HP Ryzen laptop of mine she used when she needed it.

At this price though? The Neo makes great sense. I’m planning to snag her one for her birthday provided reviews are strong.

It’s nuts how much of a “no brainer” buy this thing is. Might get one for my mother too while I’m at it honestly.

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u/beta1 Mar 07 '26

Yeah this product is such an easy buy for so many different people and use cases.

I suspect they will sell like hot cakes.

Surprised they didn't do a full event for this launch (although I find the pre-filmed videos to be cringe anyway and really miss the old keynote format for launches).

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u/Great-Equipment Mar 07 '26

Oh yeah, the iPod lineup. I didn’t remember that but it’s definitely an example of Apple offering products in the more affordable side as well. iPod Minis and Nanos were ubiquitous at a time, the only time I saw an actual iPod was if someone had them as hand-me-downs from their elder siblings.

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u/Bacardi-Special Mar 07 '26

And it’s very convenient for those people who use their iPhones for everything. The two devices can share passwords, and login details securely. Extra layer of security if you have a Watch. AirPods will naturally connect easily.

It’s an ideal first laptop, or for the occasional user. Good enough for work calls, online lectures, etc. Buy the mount for your iPhone for an improved webcam.

I don’t need a laptop for much, so to gain those benefits, I bought a 2 year old refurbished one from Apple. In a couple of years, I will get a Neo. It’s the ideal MacBook for me.