Basic AF: a (mostly) tech podcast

MacBook Neo Real-World Review with Nate Gorby


Listen Later

Nate Gorby is back — and this time he's got two weeks of daily MacBook Neo use to report on. Coming from an M2 MacBook Air he'd already sold, Nate picked up the Neo on day one and has been using it the way most people actually use computers: browsing, email, watching YouTube, light social media, and a bit of writing. No benchmarks, no synthetic tests — just honest, real-world impressions.

The guys dig into the details: battery life, the lack of MagSafe and Touch ID, the physical trackpad experience, speaker quality, the color-matched interface quirks, and whether 8GB of RAM is actually fine (spoiler: it is). 

They also cover WWDC 2026 dates, the 26.4 updates, and Apple's decision to discontinue the Mac Pro.

In this episode:

  • Nate's daily use case: browsing, YouTube, Threads, light writing, some photo editing
  • The physical trackpad vs. the haptic trackpad on his wife's M4 MacBook Air
  • Living without Touch ID and why Apple Watch makes it a non-issue (mostly)
  • No backlit keyboard: why the Citrus color's white keys are a natural workaround
  • Battery life: good enough?
  • Why 8GB of RAM is genuinely fine
  • MagSafe as the one real missing piece
  • Target now selling the MacBook Neo — and what that means for reaching new Mac buyers
  • The education discount trick (you didn't hear it from them)
  • Speaker quality: surprisingly good for spoken word
  • WWDC 26 announced
  • 26.4 updates now available — keyboard improvements for iPhone
  • Mac Pro discontinued; the Mac Studio is now the top of the line

Links from the show:

  • Nate's previous episode (Meta Ray-Ban glasses)
  • Apple Announces WWDC 2026 Dates

More from Nate:

Last Month Online https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/last-month-online/id1824514139

Nate on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ngorby

Nate on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ngorby

Question or Comment? Send us a Text Message!

Contact Us

  • Drop us a line at [email protected]
  • You’ll find Jeff at @reyespoint on Threads and reyespoint.bsky.social on Bluesky
  • Find Tom at @tomanderson on Threads
  • Join Tom’s newsletter, Apple Talk, for more Apple coverage and tips & tricks.
  • Tom has a new YouTube channel
  • Show artwork by the great Randall Martin Design


Enjoy Basic AF? Leave a review or rating!

  • Review on Apple Podcasts
  • Rate on Spotify
  • Recommend in Overcast


Intro Music: Psychokinetics - The Chosen

  • Apple Music
  • Spotify


Transcripts and some images are AI generated and may contain errors and general silliness.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Basic AF: a (mostly) tech podcastBy Tom Anderson & Jeff Battersby