I can't help feeling this is the size/weight that the Air should be targeting.
I have an Air (M2) and I use it where I once owned a Pro. No fans sold it to me -- that's a quality feature, tired of them getting dirty over time. But I have the 15" model and essentially use it as a pro laptop.
This? This is an Air.
But the Air has become the Pro, the Pro has become the one you get for ports and super power and I don't know if many people even need it, and now 'Air' has lost its meaning (light, entry-level, portable) so they need a new name. So they name it, literally, neo: New.
Steve Jobs would weep. What happens in five years when it's not new any more?
The body, size, weight, shape of the Neo is almost exactly the same as the current Macbook Air. What are you talking about?
'What are you talking about' aside: exactly. What is the Neo, if not an Air? What is the Air, then? What is the product segmentation?
Once upon a time, there was the white MacBook. Maybe this is trying to be the new plain MacBook?
> Maybe this is trying to be the new plain MacBook?
Well yes, obviously!
> What is the product segmentation?
RAM, CPU cores, GPU cores, for the most part.
Segmentation is about product fit. I think it’s amazing and an amazing price and I expect and hope it will be very successful. Yet I feel like this is where the Air used to be, but the Air has crept more towards Pro.
I don’t dislike it! Just, confused how three models all fit together.
My feel is the "feel" segmentation is like this:
MacBook Neo: for students (some primary school, probably more geared to post-secondary) and people who want a lightweight (form factor, price, performance) laptop that still feels premium.
MacBook Air: people who frequently move around, have an actual need performance but in a highly portable form factor.
MacBook Pro: professionals who highly prefer performance over ergonomics, basically a portable PC, as they likely keep it plugged in more than not, and it spends more time on a desk than being used as a laptop.
Basically the Pro is like a PC that also happens to have a screen and a keyboard and foldable, the Air is their laptop that intends to be a laptop, and the Neo is their Air on a budget.
The Neo is for when budget is primary. The Air is for when weight and size are primary. The Pro is for when the others aren’t enough.