MacBook Neo Review - It Might Be TOO Cheap.

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Summary based on the YouTube transcript and episode description.

Dave2D reviews the MacBook Neo and concludes the MacBook Air is a better buy for most people despite the Neo’s exceptional build quality at $500.

  • MacBook Neo costs $500 with educational discount; a used M4 MacBook Air with 16GB RAM costs $760 on Apple Refurb Store.
  • RAM is locked at 8GB with no upgrade path due to chip limitations; Apple chose a phone-derived chip.
  • New mechanical trackpad replaces the haptic trackpad used on every Apple laptop since 2015; Dave calls it better than most Windows trackpads.
  • 36.5 Wh battery, 20W charger in box, charges at max 30W, takes over an hour to fill.
  • Drive reads at ~1,600 MB/s; Cyberpunk ran at ~50fps on lowest settings, revealing the GPU is phone-class but surprisingly capable.
  • Screen is 60Hz, covers sRGB but not full P3 color space; smaller than MacBook Air screen.
  • Only two USB-C ports (one USB 3, one USB 2) and a headphone jack, all on the left side; no MagSafe.
  • Dave predicts the 8GB model will feel noticeably slow in 5 years; a 16GB version would not.

2026-03-10 · Watch on YouTube