> This is such a better deal than I had growing up, Apple has to be taking a bath on these.
Apple doesn't sell anything where they're taking a bath; their margins have been high 30's to low 40's for many years. All of the technology in the Neo already existed; they didn't have to create anything new.
To me the price seems to be so uncharactaristically low for Apple during a time where hardware prices are rising across the board that this almost feels like an attempt to try and capture the desktop market. During a time where Microsoft is fumbling with Windows on every front, having a competitively priced Macbook even for budget-concious people seems like a smart move that will pay off even without direct high margins.
USB 2 in a type C form factor is pretty novel.
Apple has been doing that on their base spec iPhones for the last 3 years.
How so? Buy a newish keyboard it has USB 1.1 in type C form factor.