600 is a bargain for a MacBook, but I can't see the public windows users switching en masse. Most people who buy cheap windows laptops do so because 1) they need to replace a broken laptop and want to pay the lowest amount possible 2) they don't want to learn some new thing

600 might seem budget, but it's out of budget for most people. And my guess is PC manufacturers will retaliate against this by cutting prices just a little to drop under that 600 price point for mid range ryzens, with more ram and space.

Any family members I've helped shop for computers only care about how much space it has, how cheap it is, and will it struggle to run things like the last one. As it sits the MacBook is more money for less gigabytes

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lm28469 14 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> 600 might seem budget, but it's out of budget for most people.

Out of budget for my parents but I'll pay the difference myself. It's just painful to see them use their pile of shit $300 laptop that can barely open a text editor, sounds like a jet engine and has about 45 minutes of battery life.

The only haptic feedback they get if the entire fucking thing creaking as soon as you lightly touch it.

They've been through at least 5 of them since I bought my 2015 mbp, which is still working fine in every aspects

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kreco 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

The funny thing is that it would do the same for double the price.

You need to spend a ridiculous amount of time on research because the producer itself is selling very different product (very different quality) from a year to another.

I wish a "brand" would be consistant but it's not 99% of the time.

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tim333 12 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

That's an important point - the been through 5 of them. The cost or running a $600 mac is probably similar to running $300 pc laptops that pack up.

	▲	MengerSponge 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory

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basch 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The thing about "switching" is you just need to capture the next generation. Kids who have an iPhone 17e. Then go off to college.

	▲	intrasight 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Also, there are plenty of users such as myself that won't be "switching" but will instead be augmenting my AMD desktop with a laptop. I've not purchased a new Mac since year 2000-ish but I do play to purchase a Neo.

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kstrauser 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The last time certain family members asked me for a computer recommendation, I gave them a detailed breakdown of which MacBook they could get to meet their lightweight needs for the next decade. They thanked me, agreed, went to Best Buy, and came back with the laptop that the salesperson convinced them was better "because he knows computers". It was an utter piece of crap and they've had nothing but problems with it.[0]

Had this existed when they were shopping, I would've just asked what color they wanted it in, ordered it for them, and been done with it.

[0] OTOH, that got me out of all future tech support duties. "Hey, why can't I connect our new printer to it?" "I'm not sure. Does that Best Buy expert still work there? He might have some suggestions." (Phrased more politely IRL because I'm not a monster, but the intent was there.)

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asimovDev 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

you might be underestimating how much lifting the apple logo on the lid will do for this laptop. If it advertises the whole apple ecosystem thing well, then those people who already have iPhones, AirPods etc they would be very very compelled to go with this versus an Acer or a Lenovo

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unethical_ban 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

My dad the other month, in need of a computer with webcam and ideally portable, bought some $400-500 HP 17" laptop. He was so proud of it, proud of buying a piece of hardware without asking me, and rather than tell him the truth, I nodded and said "yeah this is neat".

The monitor is awful. Like, the horrible way it changes color and brightness depending on exact viewing angle is sickening; I am shocked California hasn't declared it illegal. It feels cheap, keyboard is cheap, who knows what the battery life is.

If the Apple Neo were available then, and he had asked what to buy, I would have instantly told him to get one.

	▲	ezst 3 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		I broke that circle by having a sibling ultimately follow my recommendation of getting a ThinkPad T at a discount (prev-gen during a sale) and then letting them advertise it to the rest of the family. If you ask me, for a comparable price range, the ThinkPad still is a much better pick than the MacBook Neo: that thing has no IO and not even enough RAM for nowadays light web browsing.
	▲	nirava an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		LOL I had the exact same experience. Somehow it was a goddamned HP too (oh how I detest HP everything). And to think I'd explicitly mentioned to him that Apple would probably be releasing the kind of cheap beautiful laptop he was looking for in a month :(