Apple’s new computer is a gateway drug

I have never been part of The Cult of Apple (and yes, it is a cult, as you can tell from the way Apple fans react when you tell them they are in a cult), not least because I’ve never felt the need to spend the fat part of two grand on a computer on which I will, at most, surf the web and write some words.

That might change, though, with the arrival of the Macbook Neo, released this week. Aside from the fact it comes in a range of eye-catching colours (OK, so it’s no iMac, but it’s a nice change from gunmetal grey), the main headline news here is the starting price – a frankly-bargain-basement £600 quid for the basic model, rising to £700 at the top-end.

Compare that to over a grand for an entry-level Macbook Air, or £1,700 for a basic Macbook Pro.

The price differential is because of what’s inside the box – without getting overly technical, the Macbook Neo is basically “a massive iPhone with a keyboard”, using the same chip as the one that powers the company’s mobiles rather than the more powerful processor that they’ve traditionally used in their laptops.

This means that it’s not going to cut it if you want to edit a blockbuster – but that’s not what most of us use our computers for. Instead, it’s being marketed as a competitor to Google’s Chromebook: cheap enough for mass-market usage with the traditional Apple imprimaturs of high-quality design and a pin-sharp display.

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One of Apple’s great strengths as a brand is the synergies enabled by its products: your iPhone(™) plays nicely with your Apple TV(™) which plays nicely with your Airpods(™), and so on, everything lives on Apple’s iCloud infrastructure.

Offering an easy way for people to buy into AppleWorld feels like a good way of hooking users in. If you’re a teen whose parents are flush enough to kit them out with an iPhone or who got a hand-me-down, then why wouldn’t you want an Apple laptop to match your mobile device? Now you can, without needing to sell a kidney.

The positioning is resolutely aimed at students and people using it on-the-go; a liquid retina display perfect for Netflix, a battery that promises 16 hours’ continuous streaming, decent cameras and speakers for videocalls. Its memory is a paltry 8GB, which means you’re not going to be doing 3d modeling without the whole thing melting on your desk, but overall this is a solid, entry level device which will do pretty much everything a normal person is likely to need it to.

Expect the Macbook Neo to become the cool kids’ laptop of choice. It will also be the gateway drug that gets them hooked on the Apple Experience. Anyone reading this should also probably be aware that by buying into the Cult of Apple you’re almost certainly making a lifelong decision, and that you’re committing to paying several thousand pounds into the Cupertino coffers as you strive to ensure that all of your digital devices come with that comforting logo and beautiful design ethos.

Still, who cares? They’re so pretty, and everyone will think you’re more creative than you actually are, so overall it’s probably worth it.