Is the MacBook Neo a downgrade from the M1 Air?
Carter Nolan
193,215 views
The two laptops I've tried and reviewed recently- the M1 MacBook Air from 6 years ago, and the new MacBook Neo- are SURPRISINGLY similar... but there are a few differences, most notably the price. So I wanted to make a video going over my experience having used both now from build quality, features, battery, performance, which one is better- and why I think the better laptop is NOT the one I'd recommend most people to buy.
You can buy the Neo here: https://amzn.to/40RIJ0P
M1 Air refurbished on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4sCtVzA
My Neo review: The reality of the MacBook Neo...
My M1 Air review: Is the weakest M1 MacBook worth it in 2026?
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
0:28 - The Air & Neo
1:25 - Physical differences
2:35 - Displays
4:02 - Keyboard & trackpad
6:33 - Speakers, webcams, and mics
8:10 - Ports & transfer speeds
9:57 - Battery
11:20 - Editing & render speeds
13:39 - Which one should you buy?
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š² All of my links: https://linktr.ee/CarterN
šø Gear I use: https://kit.co/CarterNolan/my-gear-fo...
Carter Nolan is a participant in various affiliate programs - the creator may earn a commission when there's a purchase from the links. There's no additional cost to the buyer.
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Contact: CarterNolanBiz@gmail.com
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Current Subscribers: 24,947
20 Comments
TrueTone changes brightness and white balance in a way that its more comfortable to the eyes while trying to keep the colors relatively the same. But it sacrifices color accuracy to achieve that. I'd say for everyday tasks and most media consumption itās not only neat but even actually great to prevent eye strain. But as soon as you rely on color accuracy (i.e. for design work) you need to disable it.
The Apple Neo is not my daily driver. It does what I need it to do when out, and about which for the most part is content consumption like this YouTube clip full screen.
Going to use it until it is no longer supported, or drops dead.
This video is not that. You came up w a real world dilemma and answered some good questions for people who find themselves in a similar situation.
Respect for not being clickbaity. Solid production too.
That's an easy sub for me. Cheers
I do you one better, instead of the air I've managed to get the 2020 M1 Macbook Pro with the touch bar, Backlit keyboard, Fingerprint scanner ( in the base model ) and also a fan to cool the machine down and with a new battery. All that for 380ā¬ euro. I call that a Steal. It the Neo worth double ? Hell no. And it would've given me less
Is the MacBook Neo a downgrade from the M1 Air?
Carter Nolan
193,215 views
The two laptops I've tried and reviewed recently- the M1 MacBook Air from 6 years ago, and the new MacBook Neo- are SURPRISINGLY similar... but there are a few differences, most notably the price. So I wanted to make a video going over my experience having used both now from build quality, features, battery, performance, which one is better- and why I think the better laptop is NOT the one I'd recommend most people to buy.
You can buy the Neo here: https://amzn.to/40RIJ0P
M1 Air refurbished on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4sCtVzA
My Neo review: The reality of the MacBook Neo...
My M1 Air review: Is the weakest M1 MacBook worth it in 2026?
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
0:28 - The Air & Neo
1:25 - Physical differences
2:35 - Displays
4:02 - Keyboard & trackpad
6:33 - Speakers, webcams, and mics
8:10 - Ports & transfer speeds
9:57 - Battery
11:20 - Editing & render speeds
13:39 - Which one should you buy?
--
š² All of my links: https://linktr.ee/CarterN
šø Gear I use: https://kit.co/CarterNolan/my-gear-fo...
Carter Nolan is a participant in various affiliate programs - the creator may earn a commission when there's a purchase from the links. There's no additional cost to the buyer.
--
Contact: CarterNolanBiz@gmail.com
--
Current Subscribers: 24,947