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After playing closely with this new version of the MacBook, it’s clear that Apple has something special here.
Brigitte Carey Editor-in-chief
Bridget Carey is an award-winning journalist who helps you improve your life while having a great time being entertained. Her CNET-exclusive videos take you behind the scenes as she covers new trends, experiences and original gadgets. His weekly video show, “One More Thing,” explores what’s new in the Apple world and what’s to come. She started as a reporter at the Miami Herald with columns in syndicated newspapers for product reviews and social media advice. Today, she’s a mom who also stays on top of trends in the toy and robot industry. (Kids love robots.)
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- Bridget spent more than 18 years as a consumer technology journalist, hosting daily technology news shows and writing columns for syndicated newspapers. She is a frequent guest on national radio and television networks, including ABC, CBS, CNBC and NBC.
I need you to understand why MacBook Neo it’s a big problem.
Maybe it’s not clear to you yet because you haven’t gotten your hands on it yet to know that it handles like a high-end machine. It may be hard to feel the joy that a pink or yellow laptop brings until you open one with colorful accents.
Watch this: Apple is right! Practical with the MacBook Neo
Maybe you don’t care about the specs because it uses an iPhone processor and has 8GB of RAM, but you don’t realize that the A18 Pro chip outperforms the M1 in MacBooks are still sold today (which also always come with 8 GB of RAM).
Maybe you don’t think about how, for most people, a MacBook Air with an M5 chip that costs over $1,000 is excessive for their needs. You might not consider everyone who owns an iPhone, but you might not bother investing in a MacBook because of its cost.
I had a chance to tinker with the Neo this week, Apple’s newest 13-inch machine that starts at $599 and does everything I need it to, with style and pizzazz to boot. It has a 1080p front camera for video calls. The battery lasts 16 hours. And students can get a discount to $499. By all accounts, I didn’t feel like any of the feature compromises were major. For the first time, we have a MacBook that’s priced competitively with mid-range Windows laptops and Chromebooks.
In this week’s episode of One More Thing, embedded above, I take you to see the Neo for the first time, while exploring other Apple hardware updated this week, including the iPhone 17e and new accessories.
This may be Apple’s smartest hardware decision in years. This is the time when the MacBook is no longer just for rich kids or creative professionals. Many people own an iPhone but opt for cheaper computers to get basic work done. And now, by lowering Apple’s front door, you’ll see more new Mac owners enjoying the benefits of having a laptop that syncs better with their iPhone’s software and services.
Apple held a special event in New York on Wednesday, inviting journalists and video personalities to get acquainted with the new machines. When Apple’s vice president of hardware, John Ternus, introduced the Neo to the public, he explained that the purpose of its creation was simple:
“We want the Mac to be in the hands of as many people as possible,” he said.
When I attended the event, it was clear that the Neo’s main mission was to attract people who had never purchased a Mac before. But I also consider it a smart buy for commuters or those who want a secondary machine for the family.
I also had the opportunity to demo products on the other end of the spectrum. It’s easy to covet the specs of the latest MacBook Pronow with the ability to get an M5 Pro or Max chip stuffed to the gills with more cores than I’ll ever need. A fully modified model can cost up to $6,899. I saw the benefits by watching someone use AI to code an app in less than a minute. In the blink of an eye, another program used AI to layer new instruments onto a music track.
But creative people have always been Apple’s customers. The Neo, on the other hand, seems to be aimed at the average computer user who manages their money intelligently. It offers high school and college students a reasonably priced choice to convince their parents to get a Mac when they haven’t even chosen a major yet. I can’t wait to give it a real test when it hits stores on Wednesday.
For more one more thingsubscribe to our YouTube page to see Bridget Carey break down the latest Apple news and issues every Friday.
