Macbook Neo

[John Hegarty]

Just curious, anyone here get to play with one of these yet. Any first impressions.

Not looking to start a Chromebook/Flex vs Windows vs Apple argument/discussion. Just wondering if we have any early Neo adopters who can give their real world experience.

jh

[Chris Reina]

Hi John,

I haven’t put hands on one yet. While the specs are a bit low for me personally (I would work with video, graphics, audio) a lot… the specs are excellent otherwise, especially for Education and home use.

I have seen lots of reviews and searched out the bad ones - but have only found a single bad review so far!

I think it’s a very interesting machine - Apple clearly are trying to push in to the education market - after seeing the success of Chromebooks I suspect.

Would also love to hear anyone else’s thoughts in real-world tests.

I do want to start a discussion (argument) however. Not about brands or devices - but about IT providers in general.

I find [extremely often] that schools/business’, etc. are led by an IT providers personal opinion - rather than what may be best for the school.

This is costly for the school - not to mention a severe waste of time. Also not to mention, when kit is sold, there is often very little support and backup for the site.

I’m seeing this more and more often unfortunately. I think what we need is to start to enable school leaders to ask better questions in order to better identify their needs.

> This rant is mostly started by 2 conversations I have had “Sure, the Neo is pretty cheap, but it’s a Mac. I don’t know anything about that - I know Windows.” (From an IT provider)

Also - the waste I still see when IT providers tell a school they have to dump their 5 year old machines and buy new ones.

If I had a goat… I would surely get it - this seems (to me) to be clear profiteering.

Let’s all ask better questions to obtain better answers.

CR

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[Miriam Walsh]

I have one and used it in the two weeks before Easter break. 

I am an Apple user and have only ever used Mac or iPad in my classroom, if I wasn't using a Neo I would be using my MacBook Pro as I work in Apple environments so my opinion is very one-sided. 

The main reason I have one is I travel a lot and my MacBook is often at the mercy of weather and a packed train commute. The Neo is a lot cheaper to buy and to repair if I get unlucky. 

My expectation was to use this for admin, presentations, basic video editing and graphic production and I could then use my MacBook Pro at home if I needed a bit more. I was basically very gentle on it. 

However, in week 2 of using it I really needed to use Final Cut Pro and didn't really have the time to wait until I got home so I installed it and said I would see how it went. I have been using it with Final Cut Pro ever since. 

The main apps I use are the usual productivity apps (I opt for Pages, Keynote, Numbers over office) but also Adobe, Canva, Final Cut, Teams, Webex. 

I have yet to encounter any barriers and return from Easter break with this as my main teacher device (alongside an iPad) 

I have also seen a lot of teachers return from break with a Neo so they are out there! 

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[Mags Amond]

A practical question Miriam - you mention not lugging the Pro about to protect the machine itself; I'm curious as the how much easier on you it is to lug the Neo about instead - in terms of size and weight etc.,

Mx

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[Miriam Walsh]

Mags 

The Neo is definitely lighter than my MacBook which is a a 13 inch model so the size is comparable though Neo is noticeably tidier. A quick search suggests the Neo is 170g lighter. 

I’d love to say my bag is lighter but on an average day I could also be bringing sphero, tripods, green screen etc so the Neo is purely to gives me the access to a MacBook. 

Sent from my iPhone

On 14 Apr 2026, at 13:35, Mags Amond <mags...@cesi.ie> wrote:



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[Mags Amond]

Sounds like a Mary Poppins work bag!

Thanks for the insight Miriam. I lug about a 15" Pro and sometimes I feel like a hunchback carrying it ;)

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[Miriam Walsh]

There is a big difference between the 15. I have had a couple of 15s for work through the years and I just can't with my commute. 

There are a lot of hills in Cork!! 

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[Natalie Doyle Bradley]

From my 12 year old; The Neo is running out as they don’t have enough parts. They made them with cheap old iPhone chips that weren’t needed and they  can't replicate them for the same price. They are pretty though. End quote 😂 

Think she is going to take after her mum. 

Natalie 

Sent from Outlook for iOS

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From: cesi...@googlegroups.com <cesi...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Mags Amond <mags...@cesi.ie>
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2026 2:55:39 PM
To: CESI-list <cesi...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [CESI List] Macbook Neo

 

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