Apple MacBook Neo?

[Dryce]

I see the iPad and this Neo very different - and I have both. The keyboard is a major improvement over the onscreen tapping and whilst I did consider buying a Magic Keyboard rather than the Neo it is not the same.

I have an iPad along with my laptop.

But. Looking at replacing my iPad then there's no point in going for a higher end model because I have the laptop. Whereas there are others who would buy a high end iPad Pro and not buy a laptop as well.

The upper models in the iPad range start to look very much like competition for a laptop to some customers if you add a keyboard.

Apple are in an interesting position with these product ranges with the internal architectures overlapping - and a mix of market opportunity and risk of market cannibalisation.

 

[myotis]

It's not as if they don't know how to incorporate them into products and make them work well .....

I suspect that Apple have an internal divide between the iPad Pro and the Macbook lines that means that they must be differentiated.

The Neo is an interesting product because it causes an even greater overlap with the iPad Pros for those who might choose one over the other.

The big divide for me is that the iPad won't run the programs I want to run, so until we get an iPad that runs MacOS, it's of very limited value to me, even if it's nice to have for the occasions I use it.

 

[cuthbert]

I think the mistake Apple made with iPad is to put laptop chips in them, which sets the expectation that you can use it like a laptop, when really you can’t. I’m happy with iPad existing as its own separate category- I think putting a keyboard on an iPad is a bit like putting a touchscreen on a laptop- it’s trying to mush together two completely different paradigms, the result being somewhat unsatisfying in either case. I like the Neo, it’s a good device for on the go/light tasks. I couldn’t justify getting one really as have MBP 16”, but if I did I think it’s a good device for on the move, or sofa browsing/editing.

 

[Tulipone]

I think the mistake Apple made with iPad is to put laptop chips in them, which sets the expectation that you can use it like a laptop, when really you can’t. I’m happy with iPad existing as its own separate category- I think putting a keyboard on an iPad is a bit like putting a touchscreen on a laptop- it’s trying to mush together two completely different paradigms, the result being somewhat unsatisfying in either case. I like the Neo, it’s a good device for on the go/light tasks. I couldn’t justify getting one really as have MBP 16”, but if I did I think it’s a good device for on the move, or sofa browsing/editing.

This.

 

[ChrisR]

The big divide for me is that the iPad won't run the programs I want to run, so until we get an iPad that runs MacOS, it's of very limited value to me, even if it's nice to have for the occasions I use it.

I keep thinking I'd like an iPad; it turns out I'm the only member of my extended family that doesn't! But then I think what I use my Mac for: search and social media and browsing, yes, fine on an iPad. But anything to do with photos (real ones, not iPhone snaps) is in my C1Pro catalogue and the Mac filestore... some 240+ GB as of today, sat on my Mac hard drive (plus backups). I think if I wanted to use an iPad the way I'd like, I'd have to restructure that to some sort of could-like storage... no, I can't really see a way to do it. So I'd have to bring my Mac on travel anyway, so life just got worse!

 

[myotis]

I keep thinking I'd like an iPad; it turns out I'm the only member of my extended family that doesn't! But then I think what I use my Mac for: search and social media and browsing, yes, fine on an iPad. But anything to do with photos (real ones, not iPhone snaps) is in my C1Pro catalogue and the Mac filestore... some 240+ GB as of today, sat on my Mac hard drive (plus backups). I think if I wanted to use an iPad the way I'd like, I'd have to restructure that to some sort of could-like storage... no, I can't really see a way to do it. So I'd have to bring my Mac on travel anyway, so life just got worse!

I have an old iPad, that I read ebooks and kindle books on, as well as making notes that sync with my phone, Mac Studio and Macbook.

But many programs I regularly use either don't run on the iPad, have cut-down versions on the iPad, or would cost me extra for an iPad version (e.g. C1).

If I had a newer iPad, I would probably use it more, but it makes no sense for me to buy a newer iPad, when I would make much more use of and get much greater benefits from updating my Macbook or Mac Studio.

Even if I could afford to buy a new iPad, and a new MacBook Pro, I would still continue taking both when I travel, just as I do now.

As an aside, it looks like you can get iPads with 2tb of storage

 

[LCPete]

The issue I have with my iPad , iPad Pro (12.9-inch) (4th generation) is that copying images from a card reader via a dock to an external drive is very slow
I was hoping to use my iPad for working on images while travelling but soon found that wasn’t really suitable for me at least and use a laptop for travelling

 

[ancient_mariner]

We use Dell laptops at work and both the construction of the case and quality of screen, to my eyes, looks far superior on the Neo. I suspect the Dell laptops cost much more.

If they are the Latitudes like we have then you might be surprised. OTOH if you have XPS or Precision laptops then yes, they are more expensive.