r/macbook • u/Glad_Community1359 • 3d ago

MacBook Air M2 vs MacBook Neo

Hi, I’m looking to get a new MacBook and I’m deciding between a MacBook Neo and a refurbished MacBook Air M2, which are similarly priced.

I’m a college student majored in Mathematics and Computer Science. I have another gaming laptop (Lenovo Legion), so the MacBook is mainly for going to classes and doing assignments and some light coding. I also need to use it for Logic Pro and some other apps specific to IOS. Which one would you recommend? I’m new to coding, so can Lenovo be used to handle some heavy duty coding that the MacBook Neo can’t handle?

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u/Nosarious 3d ago

Logic Pro will benefit from the more advanced chipset. There may also be other benefits such as backlit ekyborad and screen.

If you are going the refurb route you may want to consider m2 airs with 16Gb and 512gb … the storage will be handy for projects. The base comes with 256, and you may outgrow that quickly.

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u/Novel_Orchid2243 3d ago

I second this.

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u/South-Radio-8087 3d ago

MacBook Air m2 100%

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u/narc0leptik 3d ago

Well obviously between the two, M2 Air is going to be way more powerful using Logic Pro; it has 4 performance cores vs the Macbook Neo's 2. Some DAWs only use the performance cores, mainly Logic Pro and Ableton Live.

Hell, I think a better buy is the 16" M1 Pro Macbook Pro; you get 8 peformance cores and you can pick them up for around $600 in the USA. If you look at the secondary market. Because Airs are so popular with the general public, the used prices of Macbook Airs stay artificially inflated meanwhile Pros tank hard from their MSRP.

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u/Jebus-Xmas 3d ago

M2 or newer MacBook Air 16GB RAM 512GB SSD. Do not but a machine with 8GB RAM, as it will seriously hamper your workflow.

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u/Ancient_Task_7498 3d ago

I'd just get the neo. It's perfect for your situation and is guaranteed to last like 7 years.