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I think this is actually the reason the Neo has 8 GB of RAM (non-upgradable). It’s their anti-cannibalization strategy. They’re relying on the huge portion of

I think this is actually the reason the Neo has 8 GB of RAM (non-upgradable). It’s their anti-cannibalization strategy. They’re relying on the huge portion of their existing laptop market who self-identifies as “tech-savvy” or “enthusiast” and thinks 8 GB of RAM is a non-starter. Those folks will keep buying Mac laptops at double (or triple, quadruple, …) the price.

alwillis 7mo ago
> I think this is actually the reason the Neo has 8 GB of RAM (non-upgradable). It’s their anti-cannibalization strategy. It has 8 GB of RAM because they wouldn’t be able to hit the price point of $599 with more; their target audience doesn't need more. It's also why the SSD is slower than a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air; it's the only device in the lineup other than the entry-level iPad with a sRGB display; the other devices have P3 Wide Color Displays. No Thunderbolt ports, only supports 1 external display and only at 4K. No Wi-Fi 7. These are some of the compromises they made to keep the price down. They're also using a binned A18 Pro with 5 GPU cores instead of the 6 core version in the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. There are lots of potential customer for which a Mac laptop was out of reach; it's a lot more affordable at $49.91 /month for 12 months for the $599 model. Its display is better than PC laptops in the same price range, but that display is a non-starter for graphic designers, video editors, etc. That's why cannibalization is a non-issue.
- labcomputer 7mo ago
  > It's also why the SSD is slower than a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air; It's actually not that much slower, at least if you compare machines with the same amount of storage. The M2 and M3 MacBook Air with 256GB comes in at 1700 MB/s[1], while the Neo with 256GB is... drumroll... 1700 MB/s[2]. Yes, Air and Pro machines with more storage are faster. I have not seen any benchmark of the Neo with 512GB, so maybe it lags behind the Air and Pro there. But I've not seen anyone publish a benchmark which actually demonstrates that. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/mac/comments/1gvovdt/the_ultimate_guide_to_mac_ssd_speeds/ https://www.reddit.com/r/mac/comments/1gvovdt/the_ultimate_g... [2] https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macbook-neo-has-up-to-8-slower-ssd-speeds-compared-to-new-macbook-pro.2478979/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macbook-neo-has-up-to-8...
  - alwillis 7mo ago
    I should clarify that I was referring to the memory bandwidth. Compared to the 100 GB/s of a M3 MacBook Air, the 60 GB/s of the Neo is 40% slower. My M1 Pro MacBook Pro's memory bandwidth is 200 GB/s; that's 3.33x faster than the Neo.
NookDavoos 7mo ago
It has 8gb ram because the A18 pro chip has that baked in. They won't spend money on redesigning. If next iteration has A19 pro chip in it - it will have 12gb.

alwillis 7mo ago

> I think this is actually the reason the Neo has 8 GB of RAM (non-upgradable). It’s their anti-cannibalization strategy. It has 8 GB of RAM because they wouldn’t be able to hit the price point of $599 with more; their target audience doesn't need more. It's also why the SSD is slower than a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air; it's the only device in the lineup other than the entry-level iPad with a sRGB display; the other devices have P3 Wide Color Displays. No Thunderbolt ports, only supports 1 external display and only at 4K. No Wi-Fi 7. These are some of the compromises they made to keep the price down. They're also using a binned A18 Pro with 5 GPU cores instead of the 6 core version in the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. There are lots of potential customer for which a Mac laptop was out of reach; it's a lot more affordable at $49.91 /month for 12 months for the $599 model. Its display is better than PC laptops in the same price range, but that display is a non-starter for graphic designers, video editors, etc. That's why cannibalization is a non-issue.

labcomputer 7mo ago
> It's also why the SSD is slower than a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air; It's actually not that much slower, at least if you compare machines with the same amount of storage. The M2 and M3 MacBook Air with 256GB comes in at 1700 MB/s[1], while the Neo with 256GB is... drumroll... 1700 MB/s[2]. Yes, Air and Pro machines with more storage are faster. I have not seen any benchmark of the Neo with 512GB, so maybe it lags behind the Air and Pro there. But I've not seen anyone publish a benchmark which actually demonstrates that. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/mac/comments/1gvovdt/the_ultimate_guide_to_mac_ssd_speeds/ https://www.reddit.com/r/mac/comments/1gvovdt/the_ultimate_g... [2] https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macbook-neo-has-up-to-8-slower-ssd-speeds-compared-to-new-macbook-pro.2478979/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macbook-neo-has-up-to-8...
- alwillis 7mo ago
  I should clarify that I was referring to the memory bandwidth. Compared to the 100 GB/s of a M3 MacBook Air, the 60 GB/s of the Neo is 40% slower. My M1 Pro MacBook Pro's memory bandwidth is 200 GB/s; that's 3.33x faster than the Neo.

NookDavoos 7mo ago

It has 8gb ram because the A18 pro chip has that baked in. They won't spend money on redesigning. If next iteration has A19 pro chip in it - it will have 12gb.