The Budget Desktop Gap
The Mac Mini is a great desktop computer, and back when it cost $599, it was easy to recommend to anyone who wanted something speedy, simple, and cheap. The new M6 model is even better, but it starts at $899, and its 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU might actually be overkill for someone who just wants macOS and mostly does web stuff.
It’s time for the Mac Neo
Now that the Mac Mini starts at $900, there’s room for a cheaper Mac desktop with an A-series chip.
Come on, how adorable would this be?
iPhone Silicon for Desktops
That’s why we need a Mac Neo. The MacBook Neo proves Apple can get good-enough laptop performance from an iPhone chip for $699. And you get a great screen, keyboard, trackpad, and battery with that money. Throwing a smartphone chip, a power supply, some basic speakers, and a few ports in a small box shouldn’t cost all that much if a whole laptop version is $699.
And while the current Mac Mini chassis is incredibly small for what it can accomplish, a stripped-down model with a phone chip and no fan could be even tinier. Apple could go super small or just repurpose something that exists, like the chassis it uses for the Apple TV 4K. Add some ports, give it a couple fun colors, and you’ve got a Mac Neo.
As Apple’s M-series chips keep getting more powerful and more expensive, there’s a segment of people it’s leaving behind. The Neo showed that a lower-cost MacBook wasn’t just viable — it could be great. There’s no reason a Mac Neo can’t do the same.
