Does the MacBook Neo run full MacOS?

Yes. The MacBook Neo will run macOS Tahoe at release

MacBook Neo - Apple

gulmatan wrote:

Thanks for the clarification. Now the next question. That model has a nice price point. Even so, I'm also thinking that an M based chip would give me much more functionality and possibilities.

Although, I wonder if the Apple Store would still have an affordable MacBook using an M-number processor. From what Apple history tells, is there an M-based MacBook or MacBook that would be as affordable as a top of the line 256GB or 512GB Neo with the more capable trackpad? If I could get a MacBook or MacBook Air at a same price point of a Neo, I might as well look at MacBooks or MacBook Air models instead.

What do you think?

Other than the MacBook Neo, the only new Mac notebooks that Apple now sells are MacBook Airs and Pros that are based on M5-series processors. Apple discontinued the last "plain" MacBook in July 2019.

The least expensive of those would be a 13" M5 MacBook Air with a 10/8/16-core chip, 16 GB of RAM, and a 512 GB SSD. That would run you $1099 USD, as opposed to $699 USD for a MacBook Neo with half the amount of RAM, and the same amount of SSD storage.

Looking in the Certified Refurbished store, the cheapest Mac notebook that I see there now is a 13" M4 MacBook Air with 16 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. It's $759 USD. I also see 13" M4 MacBook Airs with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB SSDs for $849 USD. I do not see any notebooks based on M1-M3 generation chips, and I'd really doubt if any M1- or M2-family notebooks would show up in the Certified Refurbished store at this point.

Apple – Certified Refurbished – MacBook Air and MacBook Pro

gulmatan wrote:

Thanks for the clarification. Now the next question. That model has a nice price point. Even so, I'm also thinking that an M based chip would give me much more functionality and possibilities.

The Neo is only suitable for basic tasks and usage. This forum is full of posts where people cannot do things due to the very limiting 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

The Neo is even worse because the USB-C ports on the Neo only support the USB protocol....No Thunderbolt support at all. And one of those USB-C ports only supports the USB2 protocol which has extremely slow transfer rates & is only useful for a keyboard, mouse/trackpad, USB stick, or for charging the laptop. There are a lot of other less important items missing from the Neo such as no ambient light sensor to alter screen brightness automatically or keyboard backlight (good luck using the keyboard in a room with dim lighting or a dark room).

Most people should be looking at a MBAir or a MBPro.

Here is an Apple article with the Technical Specifications for the Neo:

https://www.apple.com/macbook-neo/specs/

You may want to review the following articles as well (I think they are being too generous to Apple):

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/03/macbook-neo-hands-on-apple-build-quality-at-a-substantially-lower-price/

https://www.macworld.com/article/3078635/macbook-neos-missing-features-ranked-from-meh-to-ehhh.html

gulmatan wrote:

The last MacBook I owned is the PowerBook G4. Previously: Mac Plus→SE/30→PB 540c→PB G3→PB G4

There were several PowerBook G4s. Those are so old that while MacTracker has listings for them, it does not show any CPU or GPU benchmark scores for them.

The startup drives on those were mechanical hard drives that held anywhere from 10 GB to 120 GB. Many had weights a bit over 5 pounds, although the ones with 17-inch screens were closer to 7 pounds. Their USB ports were all USB 1 ports (early models) or USB 2 ports (later models). Their video ports were at best dual-link DVI. Battery life was "up to 5.5 hours" (MacTracker) with the better models.

With that progression, which MacBook Air should I consider (M2, M3, M4, or M5)?

Any M-series MacBook Air will run rings around any PowerBook G4. The real question is not "what Mac best fits this progression," but which one best suits your current and likely future needs.

gulmatan wrote:

Thanks for the clarification. Now the next question. That model has a nice price point. Even so, I'm also thinking that an M based chip would give me much more functionality and possibilities.

Although, I wonder if the Apple Store would still have an affordable MacBook using an M-number processor. From what Apple history tells, is there an M-based MacBook or MacBook that would be as affordable as a top of the line 256GB or 512GB Neo with the more capable trackpad? If I could get a MacBook or MacBook Air at a same price point of a Neo, I might as well look at MacBooks or MacBook Air models instead.

What do you think?

I think you're getting lots of great guidance here. 👍🏽

Our friend, @Servant of Cats, provides a great link to Apple's refurbished products. Any M-series laptop will outperform the MacBook Neo. There among the refurbished offerings are laptops with 16, 24 or more RAM and much higher storage capacity than the Neo. If you cannot find a model at a competitive price then you may not be looking hard enough.

I would not be surprised to see MB Neos start appearing in the refurbs after a month or two of their release, so there is potential to save $ on the upper tier, though it will still be RAM limited at 8 GB.

And no, you cannot purchase a refurbished Mac to bring home from the Apple store the same day. They ship from their location(s) to you at home or to your local Apple Store for pickup.

For a couple decades I used MacBook Pro models, the last being the 2012 workhorse. I finally upgraded from that to a MacBook Air with its two Thunderbolt ports. I thought it might be a mistake to move to a computer with less built in connectivity, but I was wrong. There is nothing about the MBP that I miss, and even an inexpensive dock/hub can add a few extra ports to the MB Air when I feel I need them.

The Mac model that is best for you depends on your intended use, budget and peripherals needs. To help you discover what may be best for you, please use the guidance found here: Compare Mac Models.

Could a refurbished MacBook (Pro or Air) be purchased to take home the same day at an Apple Store or do I need to place the order and be notified by Apple when I could pick it up?

I've never seen any Apple retail store with stock-on-hand refurbs. We've bought LOTS of aapple refurbs and all have been for the Apple Online Store. You could probably have it SHIPPED to an Apple for for pickup, but check with Apple first (they don't respond in these user-to-user forums)

gulmatan wrote:

I know, we don’t have a crystal ball and Apple has an NDA, but I’d think thay the most current model would have a longer MacOS upgrade path. In other words, if I pick up an M5, my MB Air’s OS update history would last (probably) until MacOS for 2031 (I’m guessing) rather than an M1, M2, or M3 which might have upgrades until 2029 (again, I’m guessing). So, I’d be better off getting a MacBook Air M4 or M5. Does this make sense?

It does make sense that a M4 or M5 MacBook Air would have more future macOS upgrades ahead of it than the M1 through M3 models.

Another point to consider is that the M4 and M5 MacBook Airs are the only ones which

• Could/can be ordered with 32 GB of RAM
• Could/can drive two external displays with the lid open
• As a consequence of that display support, have Thunderbolt 4. (The M1-M3 models have Thunderbolt 3.)

The M5 MacBook Air is likely to have significant improvements over the M4 MacBook Air with regards to (a) GPU speed, and (b) speed of handling certain AI-type tasks.

gulmatan wrote:

I know, we don’t have a crystal ball and Apple has an NDA, but I’d think thay the most current model would have a longer MacOS upgrade path. In other words, if I pick up an M5, my MB Air’s OS update history would last (probably) until MacOS for 2031 (I’m guessing) rather than an M1, M2, or M3 which might have upgrades until 2029 (again, I’m guessing). So, I’d be better off getting a MacBook Air M4 or M5. Does this make sense?

As you say, we don't have a crystal ball, but yes, this does make sense and fits right in with Apple's history of Mac support.

Where the cutoffs fall when and when they fall is anyone's guess today. We would expect the M1, M2 & M3 perhaps to fall off the supported list before the M5, and the new MB Neo with its A18 could potentially remain longer than those chips as well. We can only wait and see.

You've not really said what you want to do with it. I use an old iPad Pro for travel when I don't want to take my Mac and it's getting a bit long in the tooth. I've recently been looking at getting a new iPad but the Neo looks like a decent alternative from a price point of view. It's bigger, but it's got a keyboard, which I like and depending on the iPad the price is comparable. It's main use will be browsing to search for accommodation, route and trip planning and such plus email. I'll load a few films on it and maybe a bit of music but it won't have my full libraries on it, just what I want for the trip, so the basic disc size will be fine. I won't be video processing or photo editing or compiling huge chunks of code so the RAM shouldn't be a problem and as a second/standby PC it's looking like a potential option.

You need to think carefully about what you want it for before deciding if it's what your want.