Imagine trying to fix it! But hey, who cares, it’s Apple ecosystem l, you just need a repair subscription to pay 100 less or something.
If only there was some sort of high school economics principle that could help predict the fact that cheaper things always outsell expensive things.
Apple stuff are mostly Veblen goods, whose demand increases with price. That’s why this is interesting.
I just saw them in person for the first time. It’s not surprising to hear that.
They are priced extremely well and seem to be built really well.
They also look great. It has all the great things about Apple without the cost.
I hope this line continues to be around for some time. It will likely be my wife’s next computer… if her m1 ever feels dated.
Isn’t it their cheapest model?
Yes, and there’s clearly been a market for more affordable Apple products for a long time.
I run all Linux at home, but I an enthused about Apple silicon and I like the fact that macOS is certified UNIX, making a lot of aspects of working with it more similar to Linux than working with Windows.
I’m poor, but I plan on saving up and eventually getting one just so I have a functional modern Apple device for once in my life. (Other than when I was 12 and my parents bought a 66mhz PowerPC Macintosh)
I was thinking of getting one in the future for similar reasons. My current laptop is an Intel Mac from 2011 running Ubuntu (Windowmaker session). It runs macOS and Ubuntu well enough, but it does run hot and the fans are loud.
My only fear is that unlike previous MacBooks, when macOS expires the device could become e-waste rather than something I can install linux on.
Valid fear especially considering Asahi Linux is being developed for the M-series chips from Apple and this laptop is technically an A-series chip that they usually use in their phones. There’s no telling on if or when there could be even baseline Linux support for it!
I actually forgot that this machine isn’t M-series. Thanks for the reminder!
Not only cheapest, it’s the cheapest by far.
Exactly. So none of this is really surprising.
Yes, which is why this news is surprising.
I was making the complete opposite point, actually. That’s why it’s not surprising in the slightest. Just like cars, phones, and other tech. The base model moves the most. It’s always been that way. This is probably the least surprising headline I’ve heard about Apple in years.
The base model moves the most. It’s always been that way.
Except that it doesn’t, and hasn’t been that way in more than a decade. In any given Apple tech lineup the more premium options always sell the most. This is a surprising headline because it actually defies the expectation.
What you said would make more sense if you were comparing laptops across brands, but not when comparing Apple devices.
I am both surprised and also entirely not surprised. I forgot it’s Apple we’re talking about. Of course they sell more of the expensive model.
So all it took was for them to finally price one of their products competitively, compared to the performance of the competition, for the base model to become the sales leader.
I am vastly disconnected from the Apple world.
Yeah I think you’re on the money now. I think the Neo is just genuinely a good deal even compared to non-Mac budget competition.
Can it also be the case that a lot of the buyers are first time Apple users that have never owned a macbook because of the price? So it’s an entirely new segment of users. Most people buying the flagship models are likely repeat customers.
That is the scenario that this data suggests.
Oh boy, one of Apples products outsold other Apple products, what are the odds. 😱
Quick, clear the front page for this sensational news. 🤡
This is really hard core technology new for you right here! 🙄Sorry for the sarcasm, I just don’t think one Apple laptop selling more than another Apple laptop is interesting in any way.
Especially considering how predictable it is, since it’s their cheapest laptop at almost half the price of the cheapest MacBook Air.It’s interesting because it completely bucks the normal Apple trend where the best selling devices are their most premium offerings. People who buy Apple devices don’t usually want the cheapest base models, those folks usually turn to cheaper mid-market alternatives from other brands.
The fact that MacBook Neos are their top selling laptop is objectively sensational news precisely because, and to the contrary of your suggestion, it was not predictable at all.
Err have there ever been cheap laptop option from Apple for Apple customers to turn to?
For the last six years the MacBook Air was the cheapest option with the MacBook Pro being the premium option. During this time the more expensive MacBook Pro was the best seller between the two when you look at consumer sales.
There’s an argument that the air is overpriced so it was worth paying more for a better option. Now that the cheap option starts at 40% cheaper than the cheapest air, it is a good value. I’m not making that argument as I have no stake or knowledge in apple sales, just throwing out possible reasons. I think it’s more likely that they are poaching Windows users to some degree.
Right but MacBook Air is still incredibly expensive compared to Neo or other cheap laptops. Just not in the same category.
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Since it uses a mobile chip is it any good for real tasks or is it very limited?
Their mobile chips are actually quite powerful, they might not be gaming beasts, but for simple laptop work they’d be very capable.
Apple could make a desktop OS for their phones that triggers when you connect it to a monitor with a USB C to HDMI cable like on Android, but if they did it well, itd just eat into laptop sales vs sell more phones.
But they could sell some more dongles/peripherals that way and possibly make bank.
Travelling? Don’t bring the laptop, just bring a small portable monitor and your phone.
Edit: they could even make a laptop shell you slide your phone into so you can get the whole laptop experience without paying for all the hardware in the phone a 2nd time.
It’s around the performance of an M1 Mabcbook pro. So like a 10th Gen. i9, but using basically no power.
Depends what your real tasks are. If they involve writing, researching, watching videos, filling out web exams, etc., yeah, very capable. If you’re compiling massive codebases, editing composited video, or recording several audio channels, obviously not. But that’s the pitch. If you’re a student and want a well built machine at a competitive price with a long battery life, they’re tough to beat.
My main computer is an M1 MBA and the performance of the Neo is overall about 15% worse than the original M1 MBA https://www.techradar.com/computing/macbooks/i-put-the-macbook-neo-through-the-same-tests-as-i-did-the-macbook-air-m1-i-think-the-results-will-surprise-you
Single core performance is better though, but with 4 fewer cores it falls behind in multi core.
My M1 is not laggy at all even in 2026 and I do an IT degree. It’s my primary machine and it dutifully does everything I throw at it. The only qualifier to my experience is I’ve not updated to macOS 26 (Liquid Glass) as 15 works just fine and I still get security updates.
My personal opinion is the Neo would be perfect for anyone going through college, with all sorts of productivity apps open and browser tabs, but don’t expect more from it.
I would describe it as limited.
Who is actually buying laptops in 2026? What’s the use case these days? Don’t most people just use their phones for email and web browsing?
dO yOu gUyS nOt hAvE pHoNeS?
This would have been a baffling question to me just a few months ago. But lately as I’ve been expanding my self hosting journey, I have realized that most people don’t use computers anymore except for at work. I just assumed everyone needed and wanted a PC, but my kids only care about them as game consoles, any other task is handled by phones or tablets.
So, these days I’m putting more effort into stuff that can be used for both. Im trying to de-big-tech myself and the cloud stuff is where we are mostly locked in. Evaluating Nextcloud at the moment and it’s maybe what I need; works great everywhere I’ve tried it so far. I do worry about enshittification though.
Adults.
Quite the opposite in my experience. Those that use a computer for work have a desktop supplied for them in the office.
Me. I’m a scientist and need access to my tools wherever I am. I often move between two labs and keeping all my work with me is essential.
At home, I sync the data to my desktop, and work from there.
As per Mac Neo specifically, I believe students massively benefit from it. For starters, it’s likely their primary computer, as you wouldn’t normally carry an entire desktop PC to the dormitory (assuming you move to study somewhere). Then, a laptop is very useful during studies - making lecture notes, corrections, checking additional info, using computational software for advanced math, completing digital assignments, etc.
I never had a laptop through the entirety of my four year degree and the thought of lugging one around to every lecture just seems baffling to me. If I had someone sat next to me clacking away at a keyboard during a lecture I’d be pissed off.
Me too, I went through my bachelors with nothing but pen and paper. Yet, when I had a laptop during my masters, it helped a lot, not least because we were working with some software, and I’d rather have my machine for that. For postgraduate studies, a laptop is straight up a must, as it’s used pretty much everywhere for everything.
Also, modern laptops typically have their keyboards on a quieter side.
I like to be able to just do things on a proper full-sized interface. In theory I could do everything on my phone but it’s just so much easier having access to keyboard shortcuts that unless you’re doing something as simple as just email and web browsing you need a full computer.
Especially if you want to do anything high powered like image editing or 3D modelling. Of course I wouldn’t get a Macbook Neo for that, I would need something with an actual GPU in it.
I’d say that’s more of an argument against laptops. If you need the horsepower then a desktop PC is much more suitable. Laptops like the Macbook Neo seem to fit in this weird middle ground where they don’t have the power to compete with higher end stuff and don’t have the pocketability of a phone.
I can’t really lug around a desktop all day
Why would anyone buy one of these overpriced, underpowered computers that runs on an OS that’s worse than Windows (which is really saying something).
Mostly still because it’s Apple, and in certain regions of the world, having that logo means a lot for some reason. I mean, I remember there was a heated debate over Apple using different color bubbles for messages coming from Android devices, with concerns that Android users, particularly youth, could be excluded from social life because they don’t have Apple products.
But also because Macs are lighter, have an exceptionally good battery life, and pair well with the rest of the ecosystem.
So lazyness and stupidity and maybe also battery life.
My understanding is that it’s mostly used for school work by kids that want a proper operating system and don’t want to have to deal with Chromebooks which are a terrible idea.
It’s also decent for people who want a low-power MacBook for cheap, but don’t need a lot of bells and whistles, without the limitations of an iPad.
overpriced,
Compared to what? It’s great value for what it offers
underpowered computers that runs on an OS that’s worse than Windows (which is really saying something).
I think for web browsing, it really isn’t that bad, especially when you compare it with windows. Also macOS is superior to windows, no debate about this unless you want to game.
Breaking News: company’s cheapest product outsells other products twice its’ price.
Tim Cook and the entire Apple leadership must have Alzheimer’s.
They are repeatedly surprised by how every time they make a colorful and low end something it sells like gangbusters.
They are honestly caught off guard. Every time.
(Bring back the SE, you fucknuggets!)
Apples low end something’s usually do not sell gang busters. Thats why they’re surprised here, because their cheapest tier of a given device line selling the most is pretty rare for them.
Apples low end something’s usually do not sell gang busters.
Like when they retooled the iPhone 5 into the 5c (that was a mistake).
Like the iphone 5c
By SE, do you mean the Macintosh, or the iPhone?
