Apple's chip count in their laptops is insanely low compared to the competition. They're reaping the rewards of their continued investment in simplicity. People are appalled that they don't use standard M.2 storage; Apple's thing is bespoke and incompatible. Evil Apple's trying to prevent us folks from upgrading our laptops!!

Nope. They use standard chips without a dedicated controller, because it's all controlled directly on the M-series chip, saving them a bunch of money. Which that, with the Macbook Neo, they absolutely pass the savings down to you.