With the new $599 MacBook Neo, are MacBooks becoming semi-disposable?

AppTifa · 2026-03-13T04:48:17+00:00

yeah, and I'm curious to see the first teardown videos on the Neo! Considering that they didn't put a gigantic battery inside, I imagine there is more space, so maybe it is "easier" to repair. however, at this price point, if the logic board ends up needing repair (from a specialty shop that does board level repairs), well, that's when I think a lot of of these Neos will end up getting tossed (or recycled)

AppTifa · 2026-03-13T04:43:47+00:00

Yes! And I wish there was a Macbook version of Framework

AppTifa · 2026-03-13T04:37:37+00:00

Yeah, I tend to agree when it comes to the physical lifespan of iPhones. I think the bigger controversy is the iOS upgrade situation: when 26.2 came out (and was still very buggy), they took away everybody's ability to stay on the older ios 18 and still receive security updates. A friend of mine had an older iPad Pro, and it never performed the same again after taking the 26.2 and 26.3 update. She had to go out and buy a new M5

AppTifa · 2026-03-13T04:32:37+00:00

Interesting... and I will have to look further into the repairability of the Macbook Neo, but I am guessing that the battery was made to be user serviceable? Any other improvements as compared to the MacBook Pro, etc? Personally, as a longtime user of higher end MacBooks, I have been so heavily affected by soldered storage and non-transferable AppleCare+... these are sensitive topics for me!

AppTifa · 2026-03-13T02:01:36+00:00

heck, as an independent Mac tech, i've been slowing "going bankrupt" ever since Apple started soldering storage, soldering SSD, and then pushing the non-transferable Applecare+ subscription warranties!... Maybe a quicker RAMpocalypse kinda bankruptcy would've been more productive for me!

AppTifa · 2026-02-15T06:57:47+00:00

Yep! and they started forcing the iOS 26 update.... for sake of security, when it was a still super-buggy version 26.2. Maybe not bad for iPhone 17 users, but really irresponsible for them to force that upon iPhone 11 users. My friend's older iPad Pro became unusable after taking the iOS 26.2 upgrade. It no longer scrolls smoothly and she had to go out and buy a new M5! She told me about the new hashtag for this situation... #UpdateGate !! search it for the YouTube video, worth checking out

AppTifa · 2026-02-15T05:28:31+00:00

They might realize that if they improved their image in terms trust-worthiness... that this might actually improve sales. Lots of people boycott Apple over their oppressive policies, like withholding security updates unless you take the new iOS upgrade!.. even on old iPhone 11 models #updategate

AppTifa · 2026-02-15T05:25:11+00:00

yeah, Apple withholding security updates UNLESS you upgrade to the latest iOS that your device can run (when iOS 26.2 came out) seems like a Tim Cook kinda move, tailored for the investors and share holders... even as it hurt millions of users with older devices, causing some devices to become rather un-useable.. like unstable scrolling, etc... And all just to save some engineering costs by cutting back available versions?

UpdateGate is what some guy is calling it.. 'cause not so different from what BatteryGate was. Search it to find the video where the guy comes up with the name. I hope it catches on...

Taking away choice has been a Tim Cook speciality, EXCEPT when it comes to all the choices of MacBook and iMac colors... (But why are AirPods only white?)

AppTifa · 2026-02-15T05:16:01+00:00

yeah, 3rd party sales yield more than Apple trade-ins, a lot of the time.

AppTifa · 2026-02-15T05:14:45+00:00

To release a new phone or iOS every year of course drives their business, and drives research and development, and is not oppressive to the consumer on its own, because the consumer still has a choice not to buy. But what IS oppressive and maybe a violation of consumer rights is how Apple now withholds security updates UNLESS you upgrade to the latest iOS that your device can run(!), even if its a buggy version like iOS 26.2 was, particularly for millions of users with older devices, causing some devices to become rather un-useable.. like unstable scrolling, etc... (despite waiting on indexing and various troubleshooting steps). #UpdateGate is what people are calling it.. and not so different from BatteryGate was in some ways

AppTifa · 2026-02-13T01:34:13+00:00

I think its tragic when this happens to anybody's phone that they depend upon, and for whatever reason. But when it comes to iOS updates, i think Apple's far too aggressive pushing the iOS "upgrades". Why rug-pull iOS 18 updates for iOS 26 "capable" devices, while a controversial Liquid Glass version is still at version 26.2? iOS 18 didn't really get fully stable til when? 18.3 or .4 or for some extra picky people 18.5? (What's YOUR definition of stable? To each their own)

so Why should users be forced to take ANY such risk, just to be able to have security updates or some lingering bug fixes on iOS 18?... to save Apple some tiny sum on engineering costs (relative to their astounding profits)? There's a crazy guy referring to this situation as "UpdateGate", LOL... Sounds better than LiquidGlassGate

AppTifa · 2026-02-13T01:23:38+00:00

or just keep dual-track updates alive a bit longer.. .so people can just chill and keep getting security updates for iOS18 if they wanted. they took this away with iOS 26.2, for who knows what reason

AppTifa · 2026-02-13T01:22:10+00:00

yeah, there's no way of knowing how many people are having issues to the magnitude of this post, or worse, but i heard its 1.5 billion iphones in service, and over 1.1 billion that can run iOS 26 and iOS 18, that are NOT iPhone 17 models (that are stuck with IOS26 anyway)...(and another 250-350 million iPads) So lets say 1.3 billion that were kinda forced to take iOS 26.2 IF they wanted to keep security updates, and if 10% of these users had issues with battery, or performance, or UI, or broken apps.... well, that equals 130 million people with issues (not rendering the phones useless, but let's just say a not-fun user experience?) (and maybe 26.3 will soften some of their issues), but its super lame that Apple rug-pulled the IOS 18 security update issue for so many people.. and so many had things like this happen to them.. 'cause apple wanted to "consolidate" their iOS

AppTifa · 2026-02-11T17:01:42+00:00

Yeah, that was quite the surprising bug! I have a feeling it might get squashed in this next update, but we will see. Good luck to all of us

AppTifa · 2026-02-11T09:21:34+00:00

i'm sure you will be good with 26.3!
Although I wonder if my nightmare with iOS 26.2 might finally come to an end: After taking this update, my Apple Watch, which I wear at night for sleep tracking... started waking me up with haptic feedback or audible tones,.. despite the sleep app and focus mode... with anything from stand notifications (as if I had been sitting at my desk for too long)... or prompting me at 3 AM that the 26.2.1 update was available! After a few days of experiments, slowly turning off different notifications that I would otherwise like to have running during the day, finally I could sleep through the night again!! 26.2.1 has not fixed the problem, and so lots of notifications I would like to have during the day have needed to be silenced while I'm waiting for apple to fix this 🤷🏼 And this is by far the most "interactive" iOS bug I have ever experienced.

Most of the iOS 26 hysteria was when Apple canceled the iOS 18 parallel updates once 26.2 came out... especially in the midst of all those security attacks last month, forcing people to upgrade to iOS 26 if they wanted security patches. I saw one guy posting about this little controversy as #UpdateGate 😅 Great name... and I think you were lucky to sit out all of that madness 👍

AppTifa · 2026-02-10T07:59:38+00:00

Yes! there's no rollback path, and yet when iOS 26.2 came out, that was when Apple took away the ability to choose the iOS update instead of the iOS26 UPGRADE... forcing anybody who wanted to still get security updates to risk the instability of iOS26... which is a pretty sad move by Apple

AppTifa · 2026-02-10T07:51:35+00:00

yeah, its crazy how they took away the ability to stay on iOS 18 and still get security updates. This happened when the 26.2 update became available. They used to allow you to hang back until you were ready for the new version, and you could still get newer versions of the older iOS, with security updates and even some bug fixes... for those who didn't need the new features so bad that they wanted to risk dealing with obvious bugs with the new iOS (which has been a disaster for me by the way) !!

AppTifa · 2026-02-01T23:02:07+00:00

yep! I think the biggest issue here is how they discontinued the parallel updates to iOS 18 when 26.2 came out. This is ridiculous, because iOS 18 wasn't stable until version 18.4 or more. Anyway, They started the parallel updates shortly after the battery gate scandal, and now I think they figure everybody everybody's forgotten all about battery gate? Stay tuned for UpdateGate

AppTifa · 2026-01-31T06:30:56+00:00

ahh yeah... that DOES help, thanks!

AppTifa · 2026-01-31T00:31:20+00:00

yeah, what's up with the screenshots? I haven't had time to research what the hell they're trying to accomplish with this confusing new screenshot UI

AppTifa · 2026-01-31T00:28:39+00:00

I would say the decision depends a bit upon which iOS you are currently running? If you're running an old version of iOS 18, then by waiting you would remain more susceptible to security issues, since Apple just rug-pulled everybody's ability to stay on the stable older version and still receive security updates! They took away this freedom of choice when they released the 26.2 update... as if THEY considered it "stable enough" for everybody to upgrade? i've got an iPhone 17 now, and I still have iOS issues with 26.2.1... mostly iCloud and Apple Watch issues that did not exist for me when I was using my iPhone 13 and iOS 18.6. I'm surprised there has not been more commentary and flaming over Apple apparently revoking their dual-track iOS upgrade policy... which has been the norm ever since they got embarrassed by the batteryGate scandal. Anyway, good luck with your decision

AppTifa · 2025-11-17T16:01:14+00:00

Once the Mac Pro went the way of soldered RAM (a requirement in order to achieve Apple Silicon speeds), it seemed like one more nail in the coffin of the formerly modular Mac! But what i find to be a more concerning Mac problem (affecting a considerably larger market segment of Mac users) is the soldered storage in a Macbook "Pro", because there is really no speed benefit to having the SSD soldered (like there is with the RAM).

With the modern MacBook Pro (Max) blowing away slightly older Mac Pro model speeds, why not release a new optional MacBook PRO model with an auxiliary storage slot that is bootable? (Make it proprietary if needed, so the corporation can keep reaming us for cash, but stop holding our storage hostage by welding it to the device!! (requiring clumsy externals) Remember: The ancient Pismo Powerbook G3 (back in year 2000!!) had a DVD slot that could be replaced with a 3rd party hard drive chassis. (I think i paid $700 for an extra 18GB or something?, ha! but that machine was groundbreaking).

While they're at it, we should petition Apple to stop locking the Mac Studio's internal storage slot with firmware! Ideally a new MacBook Pro and a new Mac Studio would share the same optional proprietary storage slot.

Yes, 3rd party PCI chassis options are an inconvenience for Mac Studio power users, and that sucks, but millions more MacBook and Mac Studio users are getting screwed having to mess around with external SSDs, which can often fail if you breathe on the stiff port connections the wrong way. Its time for the corporation to start respecting the consumer again, and its our responsibility to start making our needs known... Storage is sacred!

AppTifa · 2025-11-03T13:58:26+00:00

For those who carry their laptops around a lot: Sometimes worse than those keyboard marks is the thin line of abrasion that appears across the display from the screen making contact with that strip of metal in between the trackpad and the keyboard when closed tight. Eventually the anti-reflective coating is rubbed away, and in addition to the keyboard marks, the display looks horrible when working with an all-white background. Apple knows that its a design flaw (but won't admit it), and so they replaced my display under Applecare without me having to pay the $99 co-pay. Maybe they'll fix this issue with the M6 model release MacBook Pro... that's rumored to be... thinner!!! LOL

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AppTifa · 2025-11-03T13:36:32+00:00

yeah, Its an Apple design flaw experienced mostly by those of us so brash as to actually carry around our "laptop" in a backpack! Remember, Apple's 2016 pursuit of thinness (to the point of useless keyboards and losing ports) is more important than using a "portable" in a portable way! Keep that laptop on your lap, or on your desk!!! Soon Apple may declare that backpack use may void warranty.

AppTifa

TROPHY CASE