Remember [that April post agonizing over device choices]? Back then I listed a bunch of candidates, weighed them one by one, and confidently declared I would “stick with the Fydetab Duo.” Well… it turns out humans can’t escape the universal law of zhen xiang (something you dismissed turns out to be great), and in the end I bought the MacBook Neo after all.
Scored a Genuine “Gently Used by a Girl, 99% New” Unit
The story starts simply: one day while browsing the second-hand marketplace, I came across a yellow MacBook Neo priced at just 3000 yuan. A quick chat revealed it belonged to a girl who had just started working after graduating. She had bought it for the looks, only to find that too much professional software wouldn’t run on it, so she had to sell it… Huh, a genuine “gently used by a girl, 99% new” unit. Still, since this was my first time buying such a nearly-new device second-hand, I played it safe and went through the platform’s third-party inspection service.
Worth Every Penny
I’ve had it for about half a week now, and the biggest impression so far: the screen, keyboard, and trackpad are all the best I’ve had on any computer I’ve owned.
The screen needs little elaboration—text rendering is crisp. The keyboard keys feel soft, which is exactly what I like (I’m not a fan of keys that need a lot of force). And the trackpad goes without saying—it’s excellent, being an Apple device after all.
All in all, for a 3000-yuan laptop, these three parts that users interact with directly all leave me more than satisfied.
The Right Size for My Shoulder Bag
My only hesitation was the weight. At 1.2 kg, it’s heavier than I expected. Given that this machine runs on a phone SoC, Apple could easily have kept it under 1 kg with their manufacturing prowess—but they deliberately made it heavier than the Air. The tiering is strict indeed…
But here’s the surprise: its dimensions fit perfectly into my shoulder bag!
I’ve used plenty of devices before; they were either too big to fit in the bag or too small and looked awkward. I never expected the Neo’s size to fit like it was measured for it—snug in the bag without being squeezed or rattling around, ready to grab for the commute. It even saved me from buying a new bag.
Software: Not Much of a Barrier
I didn’t have to put much effort into software and habits. Coincidentally, my new job involves using a Mac mini, so I had already stumbled over the basic pitfalls of the macOS ecosystem. After getting Homebrew set up smoothly, software has actually gone more smoothly than on Linux before, and Apple Container runs fine too. Still, with only 8 GB of RAM, I’m not going to push it. Light tasks are more than enough; the heavy lifting stays on my server and the Mac mini.
The Most Surprising Part: OneDrive and Google Drive Both Work Great
Last but not least, here’s what surprised me the most: OneDrive and Google Drive are absurdly well adapted on macOS.
After all, Google Drive on Windows is a mixed bag at best, and OneDrive on Chromebook is just a web portal that’s also quite unstable in mainland China… I never expected that on macOS, both cloud drives would sync smoothly and work flawlessly. A real “you only see this if you live long enough” moment.
Summary
In short, for 3000 yuan, this yellow Neo delivers a first-class screen, keyboard, and trackpad; a size that fits my commuter bag perfectly; a software ecosystem with no real barriers; and even cloud drives that just work.
Zhen xiang, indeed.
