Disappointment with the New Gadget: Apple Made a Toy, Not a Working Tool

Technologies
BB.LV
Publiation data: 08.03.2026 13:02

За внешним образом не стоит революционного содержания.

Transferring a document archive or photos can turn into a torturous process.

The cheapest MacBook in history or the most expensive accessory? We analyze the technical specifications of the MacBook Neo and explain why the good old Air M2 is still head and shoulders above this shiny new product.

It cannot be denied that for a certain category of users, the Neo will be the ideal choice. Its main advantages are phenomenal compactness (it weighs just over 1 kg) and record battery life. Thanks to the mobile chip, the laptop lasts up to 16 hours on a single charge — that's a full working day without searching for a socket. Additionally, it is the cheapest way to enter the Apple ecosystem, gaining a Retina display and a premium aluminum body in new colors.

However, if you look "under the hood," it becomes clear that behind the external appeal lies a harsh engineering calculation.

Processor Downgrade: Smartphone as Desktop

The main technical paradox of the MacBook Neo is the use of the A18 Pro chip. This is the first case in history where an Apple laptop runs on a processor architecturally designed for the iPhone. Although Apple claims high performance, the reality is more complex. The A18 Pro has only 2 performance cores compared to 4 in the base M5 chip. For a journalist working with heavy admin panels (CMS) and dozens of active tabs, this means a quick loss of interface "smoothness" during multitasking. Essentially, the Neo is an iPad with a glued keyboard, not a full-fledged successor to the Air line.

Apple is not a pioneer here but a continuator of a series of dubious experiments. The industry has been trying to transplant laptops onto "phone" processors for 15 years, and the results have always been controversial:

ASUS Eee PC (2009) and Motorola Lapdock (2011): Early attempts to combine mobile Snapdragon chips with laptop bodies failed due to catastrophic power shortages even for a simple browser.

Microsoft Surface RT (2012): The first attempt at Windows on ARM chips from Nvidia Tegra turned the device into an expensive toy incapable of running standard programs.

Modern Stage (2024–2026): Even the latest Snapdragon X Elite chips in Dell and Samsung laptops still suffer from software emulation issues and sudden "freezes" during multitasking.

RAM: The Eight Gigabyte Dead End

In 2026, macOS Tahoe and modern browsers became extremely resource-hungry. The most critical point: the MacBook Neo does not have a 16 GB configuration. The buyer is forever locked into 8 GB. For professional work, this is a "bottleneck." When the memory is filled, the system begins to use the SSD for swapping. Considering that budget models often use slow single-channel memory chips, switching between messengers and the browser can be accompanied by second-long delays, which is unacceptable for operational information work.

Interface "Hello" from the Past

An analysis of the ports revealed a surprising detail: of the two USB-C ports, only one meets modern speed standards. The second port is limited to USB 2.0 speed (480 Mbps). In the era of 4K content and cloud storage, this looks like deliberate sabotage. If a user mistakenly connects an external drive to the wrong port, transferring a document archive or photos will turn into a torturous process. The lack of Thunderbolt support also deprives the owner of the ability to connect high-speed docking stations or multiple external monitors.

Who is this Laptop For?

Technical analysis shows that the MacBook Neo is perhaps not so much a working tool as a device for consuming content. Even if the laptop is only needed as a typewriter. For a journalist, writer, or analyst, saving 25,000–30,000 rubles compared to the MacBook Air M3/M5 (with 16 GB RAM) can turn into daily frustration from slow performance and a quick loss of the device's relevance.