Apparently so many people decided that the Neo is for them that Apple is running out of (binned) CPUs for the Neo…
I was walking past an Apple Store yesterday and slipped in to have a look at the MacBook Neo.
Wow, all I can say is that, given the reviews I’ve read and the fact that I have a Mac mini running as a server, if the MBN had been available 9 months ago, I would have seriously considered this versus the MBA I bought to replace my iPad. The only thing which would have probably swayed me towards the MBA is that the MBA can support 2 external screens and the Neo can only support one.
The hardware quality seems excellent. I like the keyboard and trackpad, and it can run any Mac App I’m ever likely to want to run (I’m not a heavy user on my laptop.)
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Walking past the electronics display at Costco yesterday, the Neo was front and center on the Apple display beside the entrance. I wanted to pick it up to see how light it was, but it was strongly affixed to the tabletop, not tethered. Interesting, to me, was someone decided to put out the plan old silver model, not one of Neo’s colorful models.
Katie
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Must have been an old boomer, like me. 
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A few months ago I bought M5 13" iPad Pro with everything. I had not used iPad Pro since 2019. I was hoping that, with all the changes to multitasking, that I could make it work. But I’m frustrated every time I use it, especially Safari. Now I just use it to watch movies in bed — an expensive screen. There were other reasons I bought it that didn’t work out, but that’s another story.
So, I bought the Neo and it arrives in a few days. It was cheap enough for me to try it out. I just want a portable device that I can do some light work while away from my Mac mini.
If it works out, I’ll buy an iPad mini for bed. Selling the iPad Pro + accessories means I will still be out ahead.
Forgive me but IMO those 2 combined is an oxymoron. Touch ID is less than worthless FOR ME. I’ve NEVER managed to get it to work for me on any device AT ALL no matter how many fingers I try to train it with.
Also FWIW I can’t get fingerprinted (a job requirement) easily either and I have had to send in multiple partial fingerprint datasets to get one composite with readable prints on all 10 fingers. I used to think it was my spinning but even fingers I never use for manipulating wool do not fingerprint well which is kind of a prerequisite for touch ID to work. I’d be just as happy if it was left of everything and give me more RAM instead.
By chance, do you have very short arms?
nope, normal for my size
20 characters to get this to post
I think the neo is a great alternative for Apple users not needing the power. I’m not sure it will attract those who don’t have iPhones/are Android users.
I would suspect that the upgrade cycle is also going to be a lot shorter, so it will be interesting how much of a saving it makes long term and would think it’ll have a minimal if any secondhand value.
My Neo replaced an iPad mini, and yes, I use it in bed. It has a built in stand.
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The Neo arrived and I’m smitten. It reminds me of the 2011 era 11-inch MacBook Air. I won’t be duped by iPad Pro ever again. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me…
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Fool me three times… ahhh, Apple got me again. Sooo shiny! 
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I bought a Neo. I don’t really need it, but the price was too good to pass up. I already have a 2022 MacBook Air, and now the Neo just sits around most of the time.
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I did much the same - bought it, liked it, don’t use it very much.
But, buying it had a surprising positive side-effect: I like my MacBook Pro m4 much more.
That’s partly because it’s sooooo much better than the neo, but the neo actually got me liking Mac again, and using the iPad less for proper work.
The neo sparked a little joy in me, that had faded.
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What you need to do is add an additional floor to your home, then, like Stephen Hackett, you can have an upstairs and a downstairs Mac.
In all seriousness, if I get to the point where I can walk to the local library, I may get a Neo to take out of my apartment to write at the library, and leave my MacBook Air at home.
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That’s the argument I keep seeing for the Neo. Low-stress applications like Scrivener or a word processor.
For writing, high performance at the cost of battery life is a liability. Everything runs a long time these days, but more battery is never enough.
An example of real world Neo use from yesterday…
There was an online training session I attended. It was run on Zoom and the only audience participation was via chat, so there was no need for camera or microphone.
I was connected to the session for around 90 minutes, with around 50 of those minutes AirPlay mirroring Safari to my Apple TV. The screen was at about 50% brightness, I think. The battery dropped from 78% to 42%.
That’s not a super long time, but it’s also more than enough for me. Normally, when I’m not attending 90 minute training sessions on it, I use it daily to watch 60-90 minutes of video, plus do some reading and possibly writing (e.g. this forum) and I charge it every 2-3 days and even then only because I don’t want to wait for it to get super low.
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