Apple MacBook Neo first look and hands-on

Source Domain: indianexpress.com

When I woke up this morning, the first thing I did was find the nearest Apple Store to my hotel in Los Angeles. Thankfully, the Apple Store was just a few meters away from my hotel at the posh Beverly Center. As soon as the store opened its doors, I was among the first few people to walk in. And there it was: the MacBook Neo, Apple’s first “budget” Mac notebook in many years.

The MacBook Neo, in many ways, reminds me of the MacBook released in 2006. Powered by an Intel processor, the notebook featured a 13.3-inch glossy display and a chiclet-style keyboard in an all-new white plastic case, replacing the iBook G4. While it is still remembered as the affordable Mac notebook, the MacBook was an entirely new machine. And it was a huge success: it not only brought new consumers to the Mac but also introduced Intel processors to Apple computers, something I feel the iMac and MacBook Pro couldn’t.

I see a parallel between the MacBook and the MacBook Neo; the intention remains the same: to offer a Mac notebook at a never-before-seen price ($599/Rs 69,900) and to reach an audience of first-time Mac users.

No wonder, like many others, I have had a series of questions about the MacBook Neo: Is it a MacBook, or an iPad inside a notebook shell? Or a combination of the two? My curious mind couldn’t stop thinking.

I spent some time with the MacBook Neo at an Apple Store in Los Angeles to satisfy my curiosity, and here are my early impressions.

I walked into the Apple Store in Los Angeles to check out the newly launched MacBook Neo. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/ Indian Express)

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I wouldn’t be lying if I admitted that I thought the MacBook Neo would be a cheap notebook but I was so wrong. Before trying it out myself, I was under the impression that the Neo would be a low-cost netbook, those plastic-y laptops that were once all the rage, disguised as a MacBook. But no, the Neo feels like a regular MacBook. It…

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