{"id":14612,"date":"2026-04-15T15:05:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T19:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/?p=14612"},"modified":"2026-04-15T15:05:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T19:05:29","slug":"macbook-neo-versus-ipad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2026\/04\/15\/macbook-neo-versus-ipad\/","title":{"rendered":"MacBook Neo versus iPad"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='__iawmlf-post-loop-links' style='display:none;' data-iawmlf-post-links='[{&quot;id&quot;:15245,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/mjtsai.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/15\\\/ipados-postmacbook-neo&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/mjtsai.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/15\\\/ipados-postmacbook-neo\\\/&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:15246,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/mastodon.social\\\/@bshanks\\\/116197170795540015&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;}]'><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/15\/ipados-postmacbook-neo\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/15\/ipados-postmacbook-neo\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Michael Tsai&#8217;s roundup,\u00a0<em>iPadOS Post\u2013MacBook Neo<\/em><\/a>, got me thinking about how Apple&#8217;s iPad and MacBook Neo actually stack up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/@bshanks\/116197170795540015\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/@bshanks\/116197170795540015\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">As Brendan Shanks points out:<\/a> for $598 you can buy a 128GB A16 iPad ($349) plus a Magic Keyboard Folio ($249) \u2014 or a 256GB A18 Pro MacBook Neo for $599. That&#8217;s a genuinely compelling comparison, and anyone spending that money should pause and think carefully about what they&#8217;re actually getting. For most people, this isn&#8217;t about raw performance; it&#8217;s about what the machine actually lets them do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For first-time Apple buyers stepping outside the iPhone ecosystem, the choice between macOS and iPadOS is real and personal. I won&#8217;t belabor it \u2014 I&#8217;ve used both for 15 years and the split is intuitive at this point. My iPad goes everywhere; my Mac comes out when I need it. This morning I spent 90 minutes working on an iPad, then switched to Mac for a meeting that demanded heavier multitasking. It&#8217;s a balance for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the merits, MacBook Neo wins the $599 matchup. More storage, more speed, a built-in keyboard and trackpad, and better build quality that will actually last. I replace my Magic Keyboards every 15 months \u2014 they crack, the nylon frays, the hinges fail. $249-349 for that? Apple&#8217;s worst product by price, full stop. That degradation penalty makes the iPad a materially worse proposition for anyone who needs a keyboard and mouse. macOS wins on the operating system front too, though that part is personal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s why I can&#8217;t fully commit to the Neo-versus-iPad framing, though: the real comparison is MacBook Air versus iPad Pro, and it isn&#8217;t even close. A 13&#8243; iPad Pro M5 with 512GB of storage plus a Magic Keyboard runs $1,848 \u2014 the equivalent MacBook Air starts at $1,099.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><div>A tier down, you&#8217;ve got the 13&#8243; iPad Air M4 at 512GB with keyboard configured to $1,448; still more than the MacBook Air at $1099 and still running iPadOS.<\/div><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>That gap exposes the actual problem: Apple&#8217;s iPad pricing is broken.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ipad2026lineup.avif\"><img data-dominant-color=\"dcdae0\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #dcdae0;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"480\" data-attachment-id=\"14619\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2026\/04\/15\/macbook-neo-versus-ipad\/sc-7\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ipad2026lineup.avif\" data-orig-size=\"2558,1198\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Sc&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Sc&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Sc\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Sc&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ipad2026lineup-1024x480.avif\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ipad2026lineup-1024x480.avif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14619 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ipad2026lineup-1024x480.avif 1024w, https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ipad2026lineup-300x141.avif 300w, https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ipad2026lineup-768x360.avif 768w, https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ipad2026lineup-1536x719.avif 1536w, https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ipad2026lineup-2048x959.avif 2048w, https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ipad2026lineup-380x178.avif 380w, https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ipad2026lineup-800x375.avif 800w, https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ipad2026lineup-1160x543.avif 1160w, https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ipad2026lineup-760x356.avif 760w, https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ipad2026lineup-1600x749.avif 1600w, https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ipad2026lineup-2320x1087.avif 2320w, https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ipad2026lineup-600x281.avif 600w, https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ipad2026lineup.avif 2558w, https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ipad2026lineup.avif 2400w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>iPad should start at $249. iPad Air at $399. iPad Pro at $599. Or Apple needs to stop charging $249 to $349 \u2014 effectively half the cost of the iPad itself \u2014 for a keyboard. Magic Keyboard pricing was outrageous in 2020 and it&#8217;s outrageous now. It&#8217;s a $25-to-build product sold at an insane margin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Magic Keyboard should retail for $99 and $149.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a world with honest accessory pricing, iPad wins on value at the entry level and MacBook Neo becomes a clear, logical step up in price, performance, and capability. Instead, we have an iPad Pro M5 13&#8243; with keyboard landing at $1,848 \u2014 a machine that is demonstrably less capable than a $1,099 MacBook Air, yet costs 68% more, running an operating system with worse software and limitations that are choices, not constraints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Neo-versus-iPad comparison is valid. It just exposes something Apple should have fixed years ago. Drop the iPad prices; drop the accessory prices and then you have a solid product line where spending $600 on a MacBook Neo is an upgrade from the comparable iPad. Just a little more money, a little more performance and MacOS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Michael Tsai&#8217;s roundup,\u00a0iPadOS Post\u2013MacBook Neo, got me thinking about how Apple&#8217;s iPad and MacBook Neo actually stack up.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_custom_appearance":"","csco_disable_excerpt_posts_layout":false,"csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_location_hash":"","csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17,1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-14612","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-technology","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"cs-entry","9":"cs-video-wrap"},"apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb3IC4-3NG","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12140,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2023\/10\/27\/technology-macbooks-are-getting-cheaper-and-why-do-we-have-the-ipad-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":14612,"position":0},"title":"Technology: MacBooks are getting Cheaper and Why do we have the iPad, again?","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"October 27, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Via Naver.com & Macrumors: Apple is actively developing new 12-inch and 13-inch MacBook models for sale at a planned price point of around $700 or less, claims a rumor out of Korea. My love for the iPad has been steadily growing for many years. The Magic Keyboard finally enabled me\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12282,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2024\/07\/17\/ipad-pro-m4-2024-ding-dong-the-bloom-is-gone\/","url_meta":{"origin":14612,"position":1},"title":"iPad Pro M4 (2024) &#8212; Ding-Dong, The Bloom is gone!","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"July 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I paid $2099 for my M1 12.9\u201d iPad Pro in 2021 with the Magic Keyboard. I just paid $2450 for the same machine in 2024 albeit with double the storage (1 terabyte) and the updated keyboard. Maybe it lines up with inflation? I honestly don\u2019t know but I do know\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"IPad Pro M4 13\" Nano-Textured Glass with Cellular.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53861901021_0ca18322b8_b.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53861901021_0ca18322b8_b.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53861901021_0ca18322b8_b.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53861901021_0ca18322b8_b.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12742,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2025\/05\/15\/ipad-mini-7-the-best-ipad-for-a-lot-of-people\/","url_meta":{"origin":14612,"position":2},"title":"iPad mini 7 &#8211; The best iPad for a lot of people","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"May 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Right now, the iPad mini with an A17 Pro and 8Gb of RAM is $399 through some retail partners. It was released in October of 2024 and through BestBuy\u2019s price matching, Total Tech Program and my lack of sales tax in New Hampshire, I paid $399 for a device that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"IPad Mini 7 (2024) versus iPad Pro 13\" M4 (2024).","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54522354494_2f8bcc95b7_b.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54522354494_2f8bcc95b7_b.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54522354494_2f8bcc95b7_b.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54522354494_2f8bcc95b7_b.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1634,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2011\/01\/30\/macbook-air-or-ipad\/","url_meta":{"origin":14612,"position":3},"title":"\u2605 MacBook Air or iPad?","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"January 30, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"This question was actually not on my radar at all until I started doing research on the new MacBook Air 11-inch and if it was a worthy purchase. There were just as many people debating between each of the devices as in there was overlap or a choice or a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"MacBook Air 11 Inch versus iPad","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5211\/5385054002_9b5dccbf8f_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5211\/5385054002_9b5dccbf8f_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5211\/5385054002_9b5dccbf8f_z.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4631,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2015\/04\/17\/linked-the-2015-macbook-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":14612,"position":4},"title":"Linked: The 2015 MacBook Review","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"April 17, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"via Anandtech: Compared to the tablets on the other hand the MacBook is still well ahead of any of the tablets \u2013 as it should be with Core M\u2019s greater power consumption and the larger chassis \u2013 but there\u2019s no denying that by scaling down the MacBook so far, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Linked&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Linked","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/linked\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8582,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2021\/09\/26\/technology-the-m1-ipad-pro-12-9-2021\/","url_meta":{"origin":14612,"position":5},"title":"Technology: The M1 iPad Pro 12.9&#8243; (2021)","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"September 26, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I stand by the remarks made in my update on how life with the M1 MacBook Pro was going. I\u2019ve realized a more appropriate thing to have said is that this isn\u2019t the \u2018pro\u2019 for me and I should aim to sell it when the real professional MacBook Pros are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Aople 12 9 M1 iPad Pro","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51521648555_bbbf7164d5_b.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51521648555_bbbf7164d5_b.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51521648555_bbbf7164d5_b.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51521648555_bbbf7164d5_b.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14612"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14612\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14620,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14612\/revisions\/14620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}