Apple Neo or an iPad?

[clee01l]

With the introduction of the Apple Neo using the Apple A18 Pro chip and 8GB of unified memory, would this MacOS be a suitable replacement for the M1 iPadPro that I now use? At $600-700USD, it is priced attractively.

I can see it running Lightroom Desktop but probably not Lightroom Classic. And Maybe on any intensive AI type processes beyond what you might be able to manage with an iPad.

With MacOS on an Apple A18 Pro chip, does this mean iOS days are numbered?

 

[Gnits]

It will be interesting to get some real world feedback.

I think having the Mac O/S is a distinct advantage…plus twin USB C ports.

Also… personally… I do not need to be doing heavy Ai tasks when travelling. I prefer to do that on a more powerful rig, larger screen, etc..

 

[clee01l]

It will be interesting to get some real world feedback.

I think having the Mac O/S is a distinct advantage…plus twin USB C ports.

Also… personally… I do not need to be doing heavy Ai tasks when travelling. I prefer to do that on a more powerful rig, larger screen, etc..

I agree on all counts. I've been successful using Lightroom on an iPad when I travel My iPadPro has a charging USB-C port in the keyboard freeing up the other USB port for a card reader. The second USB-C port is only USB2 and only available for charging. The main USB -C port is only USB3 (10GBs). I would have hoped for more but perhaps the A18 chip can't manage better.

I am tempted to order one to see just what it can do with Lightroom Classic and Desktop.

 

[Gnits]

I will look at the physical models in store and compare to my MacAir M2… pity about the spec for the ports.

The 13 inch MacBook Air with M5 , 2 x Thunderbolt and MagSafe power is almost twice the price… but also an interest travel option.

 

[Swingman]

I agree on all counts. I've been successful using Lightroom on an iPad when I travel My iPadPro has a charging USB-C port in the keyboard freeing up the other USB port for a card reader. The second USB-C port is only USB2 and only available for charging. The main USB -C port is only USB3 (10GBs). I would have hoped for more but perhaps the A18 chip can't manage better.

I am tempted to order one to see just what it can do with Lightroom Classic and Desktop.

I think it’s a precursor to introducing touch screen to MacBooks. I have a M2 iPad Air, it would be ideal candidate for experimental Mac OS.

 

[Gnits]

I think they will ultimately merge... a lot to value the tablet (especially, for me, the smaller tablets) as well as the laptop form factors.

For me .. for travel .. a small, light laptop form factor with real thunderbolt ports and ability to backup cards to an external drive (easily) is better ... but casually surfing on the sofa ... the tablet wins.

 

[clee01l]

I think it’s a precursor to introducing touch screen to MacBooks. I have a M2 iPad Air, it would be ideal candidate for experimental Mac OS.

Except for the touch screen hardware, there has been nothing to prevent Apple from introducing laptops with touch screens. I have an iPadPro that has a Magic Keyboard cover. This cover has a touch pad and standard keyboard. It is essentially a laptop. It just does not run MacOS. It even uses a M1 Silicon chip.

 

[Swingman]

Except for the touch screen hardware, there has been nothing to prevent Apple from introducing laptops with touch screens. I have an iPadPro that has a Magic Keyboard cover. This cover has a touch pad and standard keyboard. It is essentially a laptop. It just does not run MacOS. It even uses a M1 Silicon chip.

I thought the new Neo would have touch screen like my M2 iPad. So this is a MacBook light.
I heard that they are working on MacBook with touch screen for realest next year. That’s why I thought this neo would have it.
I am ok with my iPad to use as travel Lightroom loader.
I am off to Japan again on holiday in May. This time going to sync to LrC back home. Last time sync to cloud worked very /well with fast WiFi in the hotel rooms.
After looking at the spec for Neo, I am not tempted to buy it,
. I don’t use keyboard with my iPad as I also use it for browsing and light emails etc.

 

[clee01l]

I don’t use keyboard with my iPad as I also use it for browsing and light emails etc.

I had a 13"MBP that was 11 years old when I retired it. I did and still do all my heavy lifting with a Desktop. When traveling I needed a computer for email and web browsing AND Lightroom. With the introduction of the Adobe Cloud, I found that I could get the same requirements from a table (email and web browsing and Lightroom).
What appeals to me about the Neo is the price and the form factor. My iPad Pro costs today over $2200USD.

 

[clee01l]

Well my curiosity has gotten the better of me. I've ordered a 512GB Neo. $750 USD with tax and an additional discount using ApplePay. I'll report on its Lightroom Desktop and Classic suitability. My expectations are that Lightroom Desktop performance should be about the same as Lightroom Mobile and Classic Desktop will be lacking.

 

[Replytoken]

The challenge I see is that Apple offers refurbished Airs with M4 chips for $759. I like the Neo, but as long as refurbished Airs are that close in price, I think I would tend towards them over the Neo. But a Neo on sale would be a great value.

--Ken

 

[clee01l]

The challenge I see is that Apple offers refurbished Airs with M4 chips for $759. I like the Neo, but as long as refurbished Airs are that close in price, I think I would tend towards them over the Neo. But a Neo on sale would be a great value.

--Ken

I think Apple is trying to offer competition for the Chromebook computer users that think Apple is too pricy. .

 

[Replytoken]

I think Apple is trying to offer competition for the Chromebook computer users that think Apple is too pricy. .

Absolutely. Schools use Chromebooks, and I am sure Apple would like a slice of that market. And the student discount makes the Neo quite attractive. But at full retail, and fully configured, the refurbished Air is currently only %50 more, and it the same weight and size.

--Ken

 

[Swingman]

I had a 13"MBP that was 11 years old when I retired it. I did and still do all my heavy lifting with a Desktop. When traveling I needed a computer for email and web browsing AND Lightroom. With the introduction of the Adobe Cloud, I found that I could get the same requirements from a table (email and web browsing and Lightroom).
What appeals to me about the Neo is the price and the form factor. My iPad Pro costs today over $2200USD.

With only 6 core cpu, 5 core GPU and only 8GB unified memory, it would be a hard push to run LrC.

 

[clee01l]

With only 6 core cpu, 5 core GPU and only 8GB unified memory, it would be a hard push to run LrC.

That is why I don't have high expectations for LrC on a Neo

 

[johnbeardy]

Adobe's Terry White got one and tried PS/LR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBFi-JTQZhk

 

[clee01l]

Adobe's Terry White got one and tried PS/LR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBFi-JTQZhk

I watched the video. It pretty much agrees with my expectations for Lightroom Classic and Photoshop. I am still waiting on my Neo to ship. I want to see the comparison of Lightroom Desktop on the Neo with Lightroom mobile on the iPad. I think it should compare well, First, you can't do Assisted Culling on the iPad (if you can I have not found it on my iPad). There may be other AI features that don't make it to the mobile app.

I don't see Neo as a replacement for Classic on a Laptop but as a replacement of Lightroom Desktop for Lightroom Mobile on a portable platform.

 

[Conrad Chavez]

To me it looks like the Neo would be fine as the "cheap laptop just for importing on a trip for Lightroom Classic" laptop that is often discussed here.

No, the Neo would not be a good laptop for everyday Lightroom Classic use. So far, the tests like Terry White’s have shown that anything highly dependent on the GPU or lots of RAM is significantly slower on a Neo. Although for CPU-dependent features, the Neo actually holds up well. (It looks like the Neo has surprisingly competitive single-core CPU performance.) I don't anticipate much difference between Classic and cloud Lightroom because cloud Lightroom makes comparable use of the GPU, right?

The reason I think the Neo could be a good basic travel laptop for Classic users is that if most of what you did was import and do basic culling and editing for quick sharing, the Neo can certainly handle that. If you import with previews set to Embedded & Sidecar, then you won’t tie up the Neo with unnecessary bulk preview generation at import time.

However, if you wanted to do more than that, and if you can wait, it should be better to wait for the Neo to be upgraded with a later A-series chip that can offer more than 8GB memory. I’m concerned about when Adobe might raise the Minimum system requirement for Lightroom Classic above 8GB.

 

[Conrad Chavez]

ArtIsRight has posted his performance test video of the MacBook Neo. The bulk of the tests and graphs are of Lightroom Classic, although there were some cloud Lightroom tests. The short answer is, for photography tasks, the Neo will get the job done…but you will wait. In many tests it’s slower than an M1 MacBook Air. Relative to M1 and later, the Neo is not too far behind in CPU tasks, but can be many times slower for some GPU tasks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOuUXtqaOEA

The Neo was not able to complete his standard tests for DaVinci Resolve or Adobe Premiere.

 

[clee01l]

The short answer is, for photography tasks, the Neo will get the job done…but you will wait. I

In the short 24 hours that I have had my Neo, this has been my experience too. Importing on either Classic or Desktop is Lightning fast. However DeNoise of a 48mp NEF posted an estimate of 20 sec (versus 8-9 sec. on my M2 Ultra Mac Studio). Actual DeNoise time was over 2 minutes.

Somewhat disappointing have been my WiFi Speeds. A test, side by side, yielded download speeds of 60 Mbps on the Neo and 300 Mbps on the iPhone 15 Pro. Both devices have the same A18 chip.

 

[Swingman]

In the short 24 hours that I have had my Neo, this has been my experience too. Importing on either Classic or Desktop is Lightning fast. However DeNoise of a 48mp NEF posted an estimate of 20 sec (versus 8-9 sec. on my M2 Ultra Mac Studio). Actual DeNoise time was over 2 minutes.

Somewhat disappointing have been my WiFi Speeds. A test, side by side, yielded download speeds of 60 Mbps on the Neo and 300 Mbps on the iPhone 15 Pro. Both devices have the same A18 chip.

I think the chip name is deceiving. Perhaps Apple should give additional parameter with the chip name to differentiate the products.

 

[clee01l]

I think the chip name is deceiving. Perhaps Apple should give additional parameter with the chip name to differentiate the products.

The chip has nothing to do with the products. Just as you can have 3-4 flavors of an M chip in a MBP or MBA etc. The A18 chip can go in a phone, iPad (older) or a Neo MacBook. The interesting thing to me is that you can install MacOS on other than a Silicon M Chip without needing to recompile the OS as you need to do between Intel and Silicon.

 

[Swingman]

The chip has nothing to do with the products. Just as you can have 3-4 flavors of an M chip in a MBP or MBA etc. The A18 chip can go in a phone, iPad (older) or a Neo MacBook. The interesting thing to me is that you can install MacOS on other than a Silicon M Chip without needing to recompile the OS as you need to do between Intel and Silicon.

I was referencing to the chip itself. Something like A18C6G6 OR M5C10G10 etc.
Are you uploading to cloud via Lightroom and sync down to LrC. Do you think using LrC on Neo would help you workflow during travels?

 

[clee01l]

I was referencing to the chip itself. Something like A18C6G6 OR M5C10G10 etc.
Are you uploading to cloud via Lightroom and sync down to LrC. Do you think using LrC on Neo would help you workflow during travels?

I'm still working out the issues. My travel computer has been an iPad Pro using Lightroom. The Neo is certainly an easy replacement for that. Plus you get some AI functionality in Lightroom Desktop that is not available in Lightroom Mobile. Lightroom Classic is now a possibility with the Neo. With 8GB of unified memory it is not expected to be fast.

With a travel catalog, you have to deal with the "Import from another catalog issues with the master catalog on one machine and a travel catalog on another. At issue for me is the need to store full size images in the Adobe Cloud to be accessed by Adobe Portfolio. cannot achieve this if syncing images from the master catalog. And you can only sync one catalog to the Adobe Cloud.

 

[Replytoken]

I was referencing to the chip itself. Something like A18C6G6 OR M5C10G10 etc.
Are you uploading to cloud via Lightroom and sync down to LrC. Do you think using LrC on Neo would help you workflow during travels?

I was under the assumption that the identical A18 chip went into both products. And in a YT teardown of both the iPad and Neo, the chips appeared to be the same. Is the Neo using a variation?

--Ken