The Mac Neo kills the iPad
Considering buying an iPad for productivity? Think again
What was it about the Mac Neo that made me find a reason to buy one five weeks ago? I’m a simple soul, and I like simple things, so maybe the Neo’s simplicity did it. It’s a Mac laptop at a great price. Everything you need is there. Simple.
Simplicity of a different sort was what attracted me to the iPad in 2010. Apple had simplified what a computer was. There was no need for disks, command lines, or a clutter of windows. It had the potential to be focused on what you wanted to do, not needing to know how a computer worked. From humble beginnings, it could be a new computing paradigm.
The iPad was the future once
At first, I think Apple thought that about the iPad as well. It was the future of personal productivity, A computing device built from the word go for simplicity and security. Locked down to fend off malware. A computing appliance rather than a computer. No need for a command line, or even a keyboard.
It didn’t work out like that. Apple Silicon revitalised the Mac. Dumping Intel delivered impressive computing power and even more impressive battery life. The iPad had been the future once, but now it was being completely overshadowed by Mac. That’s ironic because the Neo is possible only because of technology originally developed for iPhone and… iPad.
Sticking plasters
Boy, did Apple Silicon-powered Macs hurt iPad. Whether Apple had a product plan for iPad or not, I don’t know, but if it did, it went out the window. iPad support for external monitors didn’t arrive until 2022. 2022. Fully functional professional productivity apps were as rare as rocking horse droppings. Even fully functional overlapping window support didn’t arrive until 2025. Windows had that back in 1995.
Still, 2025 was the year when the iPad leapt forward. Apple did love it after all. Fully functional windows and proper monitor support. Pro applications such as Logic Pro became available. They still weren’t the fully functional Mac versions, but you could do 80% or 90% of the stuff you needed… probably.
Full fat Mac
And then Apple drops the Mac Neo, running a fully functional version of macOS. No compromises. And with that macOS, you run fully functional apps. No app anxiety.
And you get a keyboard. Want to plug in a monitor? Go ahead, but the 13” screen is great. Fancy overlapping windows? Not a problem. And the Neo is affordable. Oh, yes. The 13” Neo is half the price of a 13” iPad Pro, which doesn’t have a keyboard.
Another irony. The Neo is running last year’s iPhone Pro processor. Not last year’s iPad Pro processor. The iPhone Pro processor. Yes, a phone chip runs full macOS. And the Neo, doing far more, is cheaper than an iPhone Pro, doing far less.
Buyer’s regret finally hits
If, like me, you bought an iPad Pro, hoping to do pro work, how do you feel? In iPad world, so much of your life was spent searching for workarounds and making compromises. Each WWDC would be the year Apple fixed iPadOS.
But Apple never did. It was sticking plaster after sticking plaster. There was a better way. All they had to do was to release macOS for iPad. Job done. The Neo proves that.
If the rumours are true, Apple will release a MacBook with a touchscreen this year. If Apple does, iPad owners focussed on productivity can ponder what it’s like to be on the wrong side of corporate history. Meanwhile, I’m enjoying my Neo.