Apple appears to have prematurely revealed the name of its rumored lower-cost MacBook model, which is expected to be announced this Wednesday. A regulatory document for a “MacBook Neo” (Model A3404) has appeared on Apple’s website. Unfortunately, there are no further details or images available yet. While the PDF file does not contain the “MacBook Neo” name, it briefly appeared in a link on Apple’s regulatory website for EU compliance purposes.
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Like leaving the iPhone in a bar that time
Slopbook
The story is gone
Suspicious
“Accidentally leaked”
Its Apples Chromebook huh… boooo
I genuinely wonder who “lower-cost models” are targeted toward. I feel like anything that these things are designed to do can be done quite well on tablets.
Primarily institutions. They want to sell these to schools, prisons, libraries etc. at scale
prisons
Will we see translucent Macbooks once again? Currently I’m pondering whether to replace the shell of my Dualsense controller with a translucent one (would look sick alongside with the LEDs), as translucent electronics look cool, except the techbro class wants us to have “sleek, ultrathin models made with premium materials” only.
I suspect it’ll come with 8GB RAM to ensure the price can’t justify it’s usefulness…
E: looking up the leaks confirms it’s supposed to be 8GB RAM. Imagine selling a PC with 8GB RAM for $700+ in 2026. So insane. I can get a better PC than that for $400.
Apple heard you and released it for $599-699!
I’m not planning on touching them, but in this economy + the Apple tax, I’m almost impressed
Unified memory, so more efficient with that. Also MacOS has RAM compression.
I suppose more is better, and 8GB seems like bare minimum for something useful. But one should always mind that now (unlike before 2020) Apple’s hardware has caught up with their advertising in the fact that it’s really specifically optimized for the job.
It’s fine for an “Apple Chromebook” I think, especially if bulk orders for institutions will get different deals.
LMAO you actually bought into that 8GB = 16GB marketing nonsense
No, that’s you happily laughing at the nonsense you yourself said attributing that to me.
I said that RAM compression in MacOS is an OS feature, well-tested and always on. You can play with something similar under Linux and find out it really makes things better. Which means you can fit more there. Like 10%-20% more is notable enough.
And I said that unified memory is a feature of their hardware, which is correct. Which is the reason Intel and AMD were playing with that X86-S idea (a new architecture with much of legacy removed, and also, yes, unified memory), until they dropped it because Intel is going to shit.
I don’t see any marketing nonsense in technical facts. Your GPU can use all the same RAM with less expense for doing that. And RAM allocated to applications does get compressed, which is more CPU-intensive obviously, but happens.
These are obviously correct.
Not who replied to you originally but,
You aren’t wrong (you even stated that more is probably better) , just not necessarily presenting the whole picture.
Ram compression isn’t a benefit only scenario, there is a cost in processing power to make that happen.
So it’s a trade off of memory utilisation vs processing requirements.
Whether or not it’s worth it is down to circumstance, though i agree that generally i think it’s worth the tradeoff.
Unified memory is useful in specific circumstances, most notably LLM/ML scenarios where high vram utilisation is part of the process.
It’s not an apples to apples comparison by any means.
I have an M1 mini with 8Gb of RAM that I use as my Home Assistant server. I’ve given 4Gb to HAOS running in UTM, and let Ollama use the rest to run a modest LLM for speech to text. It’s flawless.
I’m not suggesting that 8Gb is the gold standard or anything, but for some applications it’s still perfectly usable.
I have an M2 Air with 16Gb, and for what I need it to do, I couldn’t have any less, but the target market for a bargain basement entry level MacBook almost certainly won’t ever notice. It’ll literally just be a portal to access iCloud and whatever browser they use to get on their socials. And if they do find they need more, then Apple will happily sell them a new laptop.
Don’t get me wrong, I think Apple’s approach to RAM pricing has been criminal for years, and as a company they’re really figuring out how to plumb the depths of scumminess, but on this I don’t really see the issue.
With that said, the cost of an extra 8Gb to them is literally pennies, so withholding it is shitty. But it won’t really make that much difference to the average performance of the computer.
There’s no such thing as a “flawless” LLM
The performance with regards to Home Assistant is spot on.
One of the chief things that make macbooks commendable over PCs is the build quality. While I don’t doubt there are very many PCs with better hardware at that price point, often macs are superior by robustness, display resolution, and the quality of their keyboards and trackpads.
I hope this cheaper model doesn’t cheap out on that front. And if it also gets good Asahi Linux support, then it would get me to recommend it above anything else.
We will see soon enough.
I also used to prefer macOS over Windows, but now macOS is also utter shit, especially with Liquid Ass update.
So now Linux is the only good operating system.
I can get a better PC than that for $400.
Are you sure? Because at this moment with $400 you only get the RAM.
I’m positive, thanks. 2x8GB CL16 DDR5 RAM currently sells for <$250.
E: here’s a whole ass laptop for $360
https://www.amazon.com/HP-Stream-BrightView-N4120-Graphics/dp/B0DC6KMWJS/
And it even has ports and shit
deleted by creator
This is already less powerful than an old iPad. My SO is looking for a cheap laptop and this one is one I would tell her to avoid like the plague.
Power is meaningless without RAM. It’s like a Lamborghini rolling on bicycle tires.
The bottleneck of that laptop is CPU and drive, and with 8 gigs of RAM it would still be. 16GB RAM is the only thing that laptop has going for it.
Honestly, as a Certified Apple Hater I still have no doubts that the laptop with the A18Pro will run circles around the one you showed and will be a better bang for the buck.
here’s a whole ass laptop for $360
You’re absolutely right, that is an ass laptop.
Almost as ass as a an irreparable, unupgradeable $700 Macbook with a phone processor and 8GB of RAM.
That Celeron ain’t got nothing on any phone processor Apple’s made in at least the last half decade lol
I’m not sure the Macbook Neo will make sense, but I know for sure that docked tablet doesn’t. They’re also ass to repair, performance doesn’t exist and the screen belongs in 2008.
A fancy processor is meaningless without RAM. It’s like a Lamborghini rolling on bicycle tires.
Intel celeron N150?
I mean, yeah, technically it’s got more ram, but that’s literally the only thing going for it. I’ve got a mini-pc server with that exact CPU. It’s good enough for what I need it for, by my wife’s 5 generation old M1 Air from 2020 trounces it several times over in terms of speed, even with 8GB.
An N150 w/16GB RAM is gonna be way more useful than a A16 or whatever with 8GB. Most people will never touch the potential power of their processor but they certainly will be doing a bunch of shit simultaneously.
Categorically: nope.
Seriously: yep.
As an owner of both an n150 minipc with 16gb of ram and an m1 8g air I can assure you this statement is false. The first is a toy compared to the latter. You can use it as inexpensive home server, but not as a work machine.
I also own both and disagree. But this isn’t an M1, regardless.
I mean, if that fits your use-case, I’m not gonna tell you not to get it. Plenty of folks just need a machine for scrolling a social media feed, documents, and Youtube.
But anyone who wants more than what amounts to a Chromebook can get it pretty affordably with the low-end macbooks. Effectively tripling your speed for another $200 is definitely worth it for lots of folks, and memory paging is a lot faster than it used to be.
Benchmarks can be hit or miss, but aren’t totally useless:
N150: https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+N150
Low-end M1 from 2020: https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Apple+M1+8+Core+3200+MHz
And finally, the A19 they’re talking about using: https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Apple+A19+Pro
These are CPU benchmarks, they don’t account for available RAM.
It’s a celery with a 128GB emmc. Even with 16GB of ram it’ll be so slow.
So pull it out and replace it. A 128GB (like Macs come with) NVMe stick is $50.
Emmc is not nvme. They’re not compatible or interchangeable. You’ll be limited by the max emmc speeds for storage. It’s probably why it comes with an external drive, because they know just how slow the drive is.
It has an NVMe slot.
I just checked out the specs, that model does not support NVMe. So yeah, there’s that.
Nope, still wrong. It has an e key m.2 for Wi-Fi.
Put up, or shut up.
NVME is not a port. M.2 is a port, and there’s lots of versions of it. You can’t put an NVME SSD into all of them.
Better to get a used Thinkpad with how well those hold up being over thousand dollars, but get discounted steeply to hundreds with companies offloading them once warranty is up. Can get actual nice Ryzen CPUs and have a proper storage.
True, but now you’re talking about used PCs.
Yep, and used in this case is much better than the new cheap laptops with crappy specs.
I mean that’s often going to be the case. That’s why you don’t compare used PCs to new ones.
I got a 16GB RAM M4 MacBook Air for 600USD so it better be cheaper than that if it comes with 8GB…
There’s more to a computer than RAM (or even ither specs), comparing what’s shown in the article to the low-cost option you linked the two systems are leagues apart in terms of build quality.
Wouldn’t be surprised if the battery life was miles apart too.
That cheap plastic HP laptop is destined to have its hinge mounts snap away from the upper palmrest through normal day-to-day use.
There’s more to a computer than RAM
Sure, but having insufficient RAM sufficiently kneecaps it to the extent that the other specs don’t matter.
That cheap plastic HP laptop is destined to have its hinge mounts snap
LOL at least if it’s hinge mounts snapped you could repair them. Can’t say the same for the $700 Macbook.
Uh, good luck with that repair.
I’m no fan of apple’s business practices, or the general non-upgradability of their machines, but i’d take apple hardware over cheap plastic any day. It’s overpriced and it’s locked down, but it’s also well engineered.
You’re free to hate Apple, that’s fine, I’m right there with you. But if you think their build quality is poor, you’re simply misinformed.
I didn’t say anything about their build quality
Memory utilization is relative to the user though. For someone who wants to do nothing more than check their email and manage online banking, no specs matter (well, within reason, but people do use Chromebooks with 4GB RAM)
Just because such a system would not be suitable for your use-case does not mean that it is not suitable for any use case.
The iPhone 16 Pro is a very capable device, yet it “only” has 8GB of RAM. We don’t have the full picture for these new devices, but it’s possible that Apple will be handling memory in a similar manner to iOS, making it possible to do more with less.
Repairing broken hinges on such a cheap laptop practically has to be a DIY repair. I get this exact repair inquiry every now and then, the owner often balks when the repair cost is more than 50% what they paid for the device. For these low-end laptops, I also find that parts are usually less available than those for most Apple devices. Apple tends to use certain part designs / assemblies for multiple generations. Apple stuff is consistent enough that there are plenty of used parts available aftermarket.
Far as your repair scenario is concerned, I can only think of 2-3 times where a Mac came in with hinge related failure and those cases all stemmed from abuse like opening the lid too far / egregious mishandling. Meanwhile, I’ve bread lots of butter with HP laptops whose hinges break through regular operation.
If something costs more to fix but only breaks 1% as often, are you really saving money by purchasing the cheaper solution with the higher fail rate?
For someone who wants to do nothing more than check their email and manage online banking, no specs matter
Almost no one uses their PCs that way. They will, at bare minimum, have a couple of applications, and several webpages open, and that’s enough to cause problems on a modern system with 8GB RAM. I have lived this experience too many times with friends and family members who complain that their computer is too slow, and the only solution I can offer them is to buy a new one, because their current one was intentionally crippled to create a price ladder, and intentionally designed so that they couldn’t fix it.
Repairing broken hinges on such a cheap laptop practically has to be a DIY repair.
It does. But it ain’t hard. Anyone with a screwdriver can do it.
While I’m not a fan of 8 GB RAM for a new laptop, I’ve used a Fedora Gnome system for a year or two, with just 4 GB RAM. I used it for simple tasks in a workshop, and it was a usable computer. It struggled only when I opened too many browser (Firefox) tabs. If I kept the browser tabs count low, it wasn’t that bad. Also, I used the same system with 8 GB RAM, and it was much much better. To the point you won’t really notice it’s something limiting. So, technically, 8 GB is plenty for an average light use.
but is it pretty pink with an iconic apple on it? I think not.
Spray paint
Way back in 2007, my one college buddy had an elderly Thinkpad that he’d spraypainted red and stuck an Apple sticker on. People constantly came up to him and asked him where he got the red Macbook, since they didn’t think Apple made them.
Its easy to fool the fools
Then don’t buy one. Idk why people get so offended when a company releases a product they’re not personally interested in.
I have no intention of buying one.
People get offended when customers are swindled. And Apple are expert swindlers.
Aside from that, the choices other people make affect your choices available on the market. No better example than the headphone jack. Apple removes it and people scream DONT BUY IT IF YOU DONT LIKE IT, ignorant of the fact that not only this an option that’s no longer available, but that the market as a whole would follow Apple’s greedy lead until the only thing left is a handful of budget devices, for inexplicable reasons.
People get offended when customers are swindled. And Apple are expert swindlers.
So it’s a case of “everyone’s stupid except for me”?
No better example than the headphone jack.
Incredibly vocal minority on reddit/Lemmy aside, your average consumer doesn’t give a shit about having a 3.5 jack in their phone. The market prefers thinner, lighter, and better waterproofing. Know how I know? Because if there was a big market for a phone with a 3.5 jack, someone would be making it, and lots of people would be buying it. It’s not saving these companies a ton on manufacturing to not include one. They cost pennies each when purchased in bulk.
Know how I know? Because if there was a big market for a phone with a 3.5 jack, someone would be making it, and lots of people would be buying it.
that’s not how it works, so I’d argue you don’t know… as Jobs said, he’ll tell you what you want.
Jobs is dead, had been dead for 5 years when apple removed the 3.5 jack, and was never in charge of the myriad other phone manufacturers who also removed their 3.5 jacks. I’m not sure he’s as relevant here as you’re implying.
Anyway, as an adult, “company made a product that isn’t catered to my specific preferences” is well below my threshold for outrage. I actually can’t imagine living like that. It must be horrible.
So it’s a case of “everyone’s stupid except for me”?
No, lots of other people also understand that they’re swindlers.
your average consumer doesn’t give a shit about having a 3.5 jack in their phone
Whoosh. It wasn’t about “the average consumer”, it’s about why people are upset about trends in a market, even if it’s not something they would ever buy.
It’s not saving these companies a ton on manufacturing to not include one. They cost pennies each when purchased in bulk.
LOL you actually thought this ever had anything to do with saving money? Did you not notice that they also released another product simultaneously that now makes enough money on its own to be a Fortune 500 company? They created a problem and then immediately turned around and sold people a solution. Absolute masterclass in swindling.
No, lots of other people also understand that they’re swindlers.
And lots of other people like their stuff and might want to buy this. I’m not one of them, but I’m happy they can get something they like. Why isn’t that good enough?
It wasn’t about “the average consumer”
It’s absolutely about the average consumer. Do you honestly believe Samsung removed the 3.5 jack simply because apple did and they’re conditioned to follow apple? They follow money. The money is in thinner, lighter, and better water resistance. The money is there because that’s what the average consumer actually wants.
Did you not notice that they also released another product simultaneously that now makes enough money on its own to be a Fortune 500 company?
And how does that help the competing manufacturers who also removed their 3.5 jack?
Why isn’t that good enough?
Why isn’t people liking something they were swindled into paying way too much money for not good enough? Do you really have to ask that? Maybe you can ask the anti-trust regulators why they feel the need to protect people from themselves?
It’s absolutely about the average consumer
It’s absolutely not. It’s not about what the consumer wants at all. These companies didn’t remove them because customers wanted them removed. They removed so that they couldn’t use them anymore.
And how does that help the competing manufacturers who also removed their 3.5 jack?
Because they also made buckets of money removing them. Every fucking one of them removed the jack and then immediately introduced new Bluetooth headphones that were several hundred dollars. Even Fairphone went down this hole.
No one makes money selling $7 wired headphones.
Are you beginning to understand how things you don’t buy still affect you yet?
some computer shops have scrap computers with 8GB of RAM 💀
Stop helping Apple marketers with their “genius” marketing.
“accidentally”
Edit: Have fun and change Apple for any other company to see those “accidental” leaks
Not sure what your point is. Apple notoriously works really hard to keep all this stuff under wraps. They even sue the people who leak them. The fact that people are reporting on the leak is supposed to somehow suggest that it wasn’t an accident?
When the product is ready to be put on sale a good marketing strategy it’s that “was leaked”. As you say, Apple is a big company that has very strong security metrics, that’s why nothing is leaked when is in development, those are the true leaks (like the GTA VI leak). If I read right, the product it’s going to be announced this wednesday and was “leaked” to make people talk about it. It’s just some kind of engagement bait.
Is it not an equally good marketing strategy to just release the product?
Not really no. It doesn’t build hype.
WHAT!? 🤣
do you really think marketing starts at a launch? people have to know what’s going to be announced to be excited to watch.
of course leaks are a part of that.
do you really think marketing starts at a launch?
Generally, yeah?
people have to know what’s going to be announced to be excited to watch.
Yeah, and everyone knew there was a MacBook Air in that manila envelope, right? 🤔
I can’t imagine it going anywhere near $599. That would undercut their current entry level models so much.
Well, with how things are going with Windows and laptop OEMs, it’s still a better deal than those.
A lot of user need an iPad with a touchpad and keyboard for their needs, which is precisely what this is.
I’m personally waiting for a folding iPhone. I use an (old, 2nd gen) iPad to mix guitar tracks that I record, but it’s to the point where I can’t run effects and my DAW without having both crash. My phone’s also a bit long in the tooth so having one device that can do both jobs would be ideal for my particular use case.
To be blunt, I dunno if that’s coming? Apple’s designs are pretty conservative these days; I doubt they’d make a big folding iPhone.
iPhones do go on firesales from some carriers, sometimes even below cost.
Eh, rumor is September along with the iPhone 18 and whatnot. Time will tell.
Can’t wait to hear how much a “lower cost” macbook costs. I bet it’s still pricey.
I mean, an m4 air with 16GB RAM and a 256SSD destroys almost any windows laptop at 600USD, and that’s how much they’ve been going for. Any lower than that, even with 8GB RAM and that’s an extremely good deal.
Those are pretty solid and bold colors.
Those are just something Mac rumors made up. Only text with the name leaked.
They must be telepathic
Surprised it doesn’t come in Fascist White though.
Very… “contemporary”…
It’s a good marketing tactic. Apple is covertly implying that colorful hardware means “cheap,” while their standard muted tones mean “premium”
Call me cynical, but I think you’ve put quotes around the wrong part of your title.
Try around “accidentally”.
While I agree that sometimes these leaks are “accidental”, it’s legitimately difficult to keep a secret like this as it gets closer to announce, when more and more people (regulators, retailers, marketers etc) have to be briefed
Wasn’t that also the name of a Microsoft Surface device? 🤔
