Yesterday, Apple debuted the MacBook Neo, which has an unprecedentedly low starting price at just $599. With the newest addition to the line, Apple now has four ‘computer solutions’ that you can get for $600.
Base iPad + Magic Keyboard Folio
The current base iPad with the A16 chip starts at $349, but if you want to get Apple’s first-party keyboard cover for that iPad, you’d have to pay $249 for the Magic Keyboard Folio. This will set you back a total of $598. Although you’d get more versatility with this setup as you can use this iPad as either a tablet or a “laptop” with the Magic Keyboard Folio, the downsides are that you’d get 128GB of storage by default, and you’d get a single USB-C with USB 2.0 speeds (480Mb/s).
iPad Air
You could step up to the iPad Air, which just got updated with the M4 chip, so you’d obviously get more powerful performance and more memory (12GB on this iPad vs. 6GB on the base iPad) compared to the base iPad. The iPad Air starts at $599, but that also comes with 128GB of storage, and of course, doesn’t include the Magic Keyboard, which would set you back $269, so the price really starts to add up if you purchase those accessories.
Mac mini
The Mac mini also features the M4 chip, and it’s actually the full-fledged variant with all the CPU/GPU cores enabled, unlike the chip on the just-updated iPad Air. Plus, it even comes with more memory by default at 16GB. Anyways, the Mac mini also starts at $599, and it comes with double the base storage at 256GB and a wide variety of I/O ports, such as Thunderbolt 4, compared to any iPad offering. The catch, you would have to supply your own display, keyboard, and mouse, as the Mac mini doesn’t include those peripherals, so if you own none of these peripherals, then you’d have to spend extra. Plus, the Mac mini is a desktop that needs to be plugged in all the time, so it’s not made to be portable, just like a tablet or a laptop.
MacBook Neo
However, if we take a look at the MacBook Neo, it’s in a traditional laptop form factor, so it has the display, keyboard, and trackpad built right in. Sure, you’d get the less powerful chip, specifically the A18 Pro chip, and less memory at 8GB, but you’d still get the more capable macOS experience and two USB-C ports (compared to one on any iPad), so you can both charge the MacBook Neo and directly connect to other ports at the same time. Just remember that the rearmost port is the one you should be using for your peripherals, as that port features USB 3 speeds. And it starts at $599 with 256GB by default.
Conclusion
Out of the four “computers” you could get, what it all comes down to for versatility is the base iPad + Magic Keyboard Folio combo, as you could use the iPad to run all the apps from the App Store, directly draw/annotate on the iPad’s built-in display, and attach the Magic Keyboard Folio for longer sessions of typing. However, for utility, the MacBook Neo is the clear winner since it’s now Apple’s best-valued Mac that comes with everything you need built in, and it runs the more advanced macOS for even more advanced features that the iPad just can’t replicate. If you want an all-around computer for just $600, I’d highly recommend you check out the MacBook Neo. It’d be the perfect entry-point into the Apple ecosystem.
