MacBook Neo, the perfect ‘terminal’ laptop?
No, it’s better than that!
Ten years ago I tried to make a 12″ MacBook my main computer. We travel a lot, weight is very important and the idea of a light, small laptop in my backpack was irresistible. The experiment didn’t last long as the screen wasn’t good enough and the speed was cripplingly slow. The recent release of the MacBook Neo reawakened this ambition.
I am not a target customer for the MacBook Neo, but here I am typing this note on one and pretty much in love with this little laptop. The Neo is aimed at education, media consumption, and everyday communication, not an experienced software developer and small business owner who requires power on tap and a lot of data storage.
Current Hardware
My daily driver for the last four and a half years has been my MacBook Pro 14″ M1 Pro, which is without doubt my favourite Mac since first laying hands on the original 128k Mac in 1985. Prior to the MB 14″ I spent just under a year with the initial 13″ MacBook Pro M1 that blew me away during this transition from Intel to this first Apple Silicon Mac.
In addition to the MacBook, there’s an iPhone 17 Pro and an 11″ iPad Pro M4 with Magic Keyboard that is used as a portable computer for emergencies when the MacBook is too bulky to take with me, as well as a travelling second screen using Sidecar.
Objectives
As a director of Craft ICT, my work requirements include building and maintaining either side of 20 Windows Servers running in the cloud and many clients’ Mac and Windows on premises servers, for which Jump Desktop and Splashtop are our chosen apps. We do some development running FileMaker locally on our Macs, PCs or within a Parallels VM, but the vast majority of our development is using Windows App (previously Microsoft Remote Desktop for Mac) workspaces from our cloud based Microsoft Windows RemoteApp servers, which in turn are connected on the same subnet to FileMaker Servers, providing comparable and sometimes exceeding LAN performance. This has been an important part of our business since 2011.
In addition to FileMaker development, cloud and server maintenance, there are support, technical, marketing, accounting and many other responsibilities associated with running a small company.
Software in Use
In addition to software mentioned above and the standard macOS suite, needless to say Microsoft Office is installed, alongside FM Perception, various other web browsers and AI chatbot apps, Pixelmator Pro, Inkscape, VS Code, BBEdit, ExpressVPN, Splashtop Business, Zoom, Transmit for AWS S3 access, WhatsApp, Final Cut Pro for training, development and web videos, and various utilities. We also use the Windows App Beta, which we’ve been testers of for many years, alongside the App Store version.
New Hardware
The time is approaching to replace my trusty MB 14″, for which we’re very pleased with the ROI and it will remain in use as our daughter is patiently waiting to replace her old Intel MacBook Air with it for her equine veterinary work. With the release of the Neo, it struck me that the cost of the replacement MacBook Pro would match the price of a Mac Mini Pro, which I would still need in the office, and MacBook Neo. This started an itch I needed to scratch.
MacBook Neo Purchase
I took the plunge in mid-March and opted for the more expensive model to get the additional storage and having had touch ID, I’d be reluctant to go back to repeated password entries. My objective was to establish whether the Neo would make the perfect travel ‘terminal’ laptop, with no, or very little data actually stored on the computer.
Working Practices
I adjusted my working setup, so that any data I need on a regular basis was transferred to iCloud Drive, as we already subscribe to Apple One. I only downloaded the essential apps I’d need, planning to use the web interfaces for the Microsoft office suite, iCloud and our family email. FileMaker Pro 2025 was installed for onsite support and my own personal apps written for it, then all the remote support, remote access and messaging apps. Despite not being recommended, I’ve been running my own local FileMaker apps in iCloud Drive for years without problems, so jumping between Macs for our internal timesheets for instance, has never been a problem.
Setup and Testing
I picked up the Neo while travelling, so first used it linked to my iPad Pro. Since then, I’ve worked in the office for a week with the Neo connected to a 34″ widescreen.
Within a day of use, I downloaded all my other apps including MS Office, Pixelmator Pro and Final Cut Pro but not Parallels or Outlook. Out of the office I’m determined to use email web interfaces, as one of my objectives is to establish if the entry level 256Gb model would be an option for our clients to use our cloud based Erpyrean or SaleFaith CRM systems.
I rapidly started to feel the same excitement I experienced when I first adopted the original 13″ M1 MacBook Pro. I still find it hard to believe what this little laptop is capable of.
Part of my work readjustment is to replace Parallels with remote access to two existing mini PCs in our office, one running Windows 11 Pro and the other Ubuntu. These are already in place for us to support clients running streamed versions of FileMaker Pro on Windows and Linux, and to utilise i5 or AMD processing power for lengthy processing tasks such as data restructuring.
With fibre into the office, SSL VPN, and Splashtop Streamer as a backup, I can connect to these machines as quickly as Windows responds after launching a Parallels VM.
Regarding email, I’ve had no problems with the Outlook (work), iCloud, or family webmail and am happy to continue to use these.
Accessories
I had to purchase a few accessories. In the UK, as in Europe, power adapters are not included with our device purchases for sustainability. Therefore an Anker Nano 45W was added. Power in, HDMI out and Ethernet RJ45 was a challenge with 2 USB-C ports. I already had a Satechi 3-port USB-C hub with RJ45 connector (I couldn’t find a quality USB-C hub with power through anywhere), leaving the need for an HDMI to USB-C adapter with power through, which thankfully Belkin solved when connected to the USB 3 port. 2m and 3m Anker USB-C cables have been added to establish which is the best length for me, as the 1.5m isn’t long enough when working from different locations.
Weight
Now that everything is working as I’d hoped, 98g of weight had already been saved by previously using a 2-port GAN power adapter instead of the standard Apple 96w unit. Replacing the GAN unit with an Anker Nano has saved an additional 128g plus 351g between the weight of the M1 Pro and the Neo. Overall I’ve saved about 0.6kg, as I always took a USB hub with me when away.
Size
The size is noticeably smaller than the 14″ MB Pro but still with a full size keyboard, which is nice to use, albeit without backlighting (I don’t care) and the large trackpad works well.
Screen
I’ve had no problems working in the office with the 2 screens and I worked outside in the sun this week. Surprisingly the Neo’s screen was easier to read than the MB Pro’s despite officially being half the brightness. Whether this is due to the age of the Pro is a possibility, but true tone was switched on and off and other settings changed, but the clarity remained better on the Neo.
Alternative?
A question I’ve asked myself is “so why not the MacBook Air?”. It is bigger but exactly the same weight as the Neo, has a bigger screen, M5 processor and, as I went for the touch ID Neo, £400 more expensive. My answer (to myself) is that the Mac Mini Pro/Neo combination works out perfectly cost wise and I don’t need an M5 working the way I’ve described above. When travelling, we stay in hotels, AirBnBs, Booking.com properties and friends’ houses. Often we have to work in public view, so the risk factor is fairly high for damage or theft. The loss of a £500/£600 laptop without any locally stored data would not be so hard to swallow as losing a £900 computer, let alone a £3000 plus MacBook Pro.
Superpowers
The Neo runs FileMaker Pro, Office apps, in fact all my apps fine for day-to-day administration work and light development. I’d go as far as to say, I don’t really notice any speed differences between this and my M1 Pro, but I do keep the open apps to a minimum due to the available RAM.
I have now edited my first screen recorded video in Final Cut Pro, which was fine and typical of what I’d be doing when not in the office, which feels like a superpower for an iPhone processor!
The Apple Ecosystem allows us to overcome many of the restrictions of having only 8Gb RAM, as does our cloud infrastructure and remote access. In addition to the second screen role of the iPad, it and the iPhone can be used to run additional apps using the Neo keyboard or trackpad (or existing Logitech Pebble travel mouse) via Handoff. This is particularly useful allowing use of the iPad email apps, OneNote, Freeform, browsers, chatbots, etc. In particular, messaging apps can be offloaded entirely to the iPad or iPhone, with notifications still appearing in macOS. The iPhone Mirroring app is particularly useful for typing messages to non-iPhone users.
Summary
The MacBook Neo has exceeded my expectations.
It’s not a replacement for a MacBook Pro, but it doesn’t need to be. With remote access to an office based Mac Mini Pro (currently my MacBook Pro) and PCs, all on UPSs with auto-restarts enabled, and cloud services it becomes something different: a small, lightweight cost effective access point to a much more powerful system. Apple’s integration with the iPad and iPhone increases their value as part of this distributed workstation.
When travelling the reduction in weight is very noticeable. Although a reduction of 0.6kg doesn’t sound much, due to the size and weight of the Neo, I’ll now leave the iPad’s Magic Keyboard at home, doubling the weight saving to 1.2kg.
At the moment I can’t fault this little laptop. When in the office I find myself picking it up and working away from my desk, just for change of environment and sitting position. It is light, it is small and, particularly with the iPad, iPhone combination appears to do everything I need to keep the company running when travelling. If the next model uses the A19 Pro, then the 12Gb RAM that should come with it will only improve this already impressive first model.
Sure, the Neo is a compromise and our setup is not a particularly common one. We will have to see the impact of the lack of fan when the summer comes (or forthcoming trip to Greece), as it was previously a justification for the Pro over the Air in the first place.
And the last thing. What colour? – Indigo!
Andy Hibbs – Director
Craft ICT Ltd
March 2026