Hi Friend,

​The MacBook Neo is here, and it's already obvious it will be a massive hit for Apple. I've heard from three Apple-adjacent friends in the last week that intend to buy them. Apple is going to sell so many of these.

But I want to talk about what the Neo isn't. If you've been waiting for Apple to make a truly ultralight Mac, something more premium, smaller, and yes, more expensive, the Neo isn't that machine. The Neo is about accessibility and volume. It's the MacBook for everyone.

I want the other thing.

Apple has made ultralight laptops before. The original MacBook Air was a revelation when Steve Jobs pulled it out of a manila envelope in 2008.

But every ultralight Mac has been held back by the same problem: Intel. Those chips ran hot, throttled under load, and demanded compromises in battery life that made the "Air" name feel like a warning label as much as a product category.

That constraint is gone now. Apple silicon changed everything about what's possible in a thin enclosure.

The M-series chips run cool, sip power, and deliver performance that would have seemed absurd in an ultralight just five years ago. The engineering that makes the current MacBooks Air and Neo possible is the same engineering that could make something even more ambitious.

Apple has covered the pro market with the MacBook Pro lineup. The Neo is about to cover the mainstream and budget-conscious buyer.

But there's a gap at the top. A premium ultralight for people who travel constantly, who want the absolute minimum weight and footprint, and who are willing to pay for it. A MacBook that weighs two pounds or less, with a stunning display and all-day battery life. Not a compromise machine. A showcase.

The technology is ready. Apple silicon was basically designed for this. The question is whether Apple sees the market opportunity, or whether they think the Air (or whatever it becomes post-Neo) already fills that slot.

I don't think it does. There's a difference between a laptop that happens to be light and a laptop that's built from the ground up to be as light as physically possible. Apple used to understand that distinction. The original Air proved it.

With the Neo handling the mainstream, there's room in the lineup for Apple to go back to that idea. Not an Air. Not a Pro. Something else entirely. Something that shows what Apple silicon can really do when weight is the primary design constraint.

I'd buy one tomorrow.

Your pal,
David
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My thanks to Boom 3D for sponsoring MacSparky this week.

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