// THE VERGE — HARDWARE & GADGET
It’s time for the Mac Neo
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Now that the Mac Mini starts at $900, there’s room for a cheaper Mac desktop with an A-series chip.
Now that the Mac Mini starts at $900, there’s room for a cheaper Mac desktop with an A-series chip.
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The Mac Mini is a great little desktop computer, and back when it cost $599, it was easy to recommend to anyone who wanted something speedy, simple, and cheap. The new M6 model is even better, but it starts at $899, and its 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU might actually be overkill for someone who just wants macOS and mostly does web stuff.
That’s why we need a Mac Neo. The MacBook Neo proves Apple can get good-enough laptop performance from an iPhone chip for $699. And you get a great screen, keyboard, trackpad, and battery with that money. Throwing a smartphone chip, a power supply, some basic speakers, and a few ports in a small box shouldn’t cost all that much if a whole-ass laptop version is $699. I mean, it’s a screenless phone with a couple of USB ports, Michael. What could it cost? $499?
And while the current Mac Mini chassis is incredibly small for what it can accomplish, a stripped-down model with a phone chip and no fan could be even tinier. Apple could go super small or just repurpose something that exists, like the chassis it uses for the Apple TV 4K. Add some ports — maybe not quite enough, knowing Apple — give it a couple fun colors, and you’ve got a Mac Neo. Or, dare I say, a Mac Nano?